Tipping etiquette

"So a discussion of whether 20% is correct probably is a bit too Americanocentric for an international newsgroup"

Anders, while I usually am pretty defensive of the international nature of this group, I don't see how this thread is "too Americanocentric" for AFW. Brett clearly identified the location as NYC. If someone posted a question about wines available at the Swedish state stores, or about something in a Norweigan restaurant, would that be out of bounds? I certainly recall discussions here about VAT, etiquette in visiting Oz wineries, etc.. If a post has to have possible universal interest, should we all Google to try and discover the distribtion of wines we taste? Jeez, maybe the Cep Syrah I posted on isn't exported to Europe, NZ, or Australia!!!!

Back to subject. As I've said before, I personally wish that US didn't have current system, and waitstaff were paid market rates. But one deals with what is. In current situation, in the US, when one goes out to eat in a non-fastfood enviroment, one should be prepared to tip

15-20%. I tend to tip 20%, and make adjustments for service. I have on one occasion in memory left zero tip (a waiter in NYC who was downright offensive), and on one occasion left less than 10% (a waitress who was so busy talking to friends that obviously fresh cooked dishes were cold- actually that meal was quite memorable, I think of it every time I play the Fountains of Wayne song "Halley's Waitress"). In situations where a waiter or waitress takes good service to an extreme, I've gone much higher. I also tip much higher (generally 30-35%) if the management has offered my party a corkage deal.

That was a decent tip if the service was adequate but not great. Generally, you should tip on the wine as well. However, if I am buying lots of expensive liquor such that it dwarfs the cost of the food then I will stick to a fixed price for that part of the tip.

That is, I won't tip more than about $15-20 per bottle of wine no matter how much the bottle costs, since markups are high already. To me, $20 is as reasonable a tip on a $100 bottle of wine as it is on a $200 bottle.

Dimitri

Hi, I'm in Atlanta.

15% of total here is considered a bad "tip/gratuity", the norm is 18-20% figured after tax. I'm currently >I have a question on tipping etiquette:

Wes, I don't understand what you mean by "Americanized"

Can you explain.

I thought that was on the total bill? Explain please.