How To Know When To Tip

By Author: city treats
Total Articles: 18
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Tipping is an absolute minefield. Do you tip even if you’ve had really terrible service? Do you tip if you think you’ve already paid over the odds? And what about tipping if you’ve paid next to nothing for a daily deal? And how much?

If you are in a restaurant, the usual amount is 10, or 12.5% of the total bill. You can request that the service charge is removed if you think your service has been awful or not up to scratch but usually people pay it regardless. If the restaurant bill arrives and a tip is optional, then 10% is the standard amount to leave. This makes for easy bill paying, especially when there is a big group of you splitting the cost.
If this applied to every service we paid for, we’d all probably be out of pocket! So how does etiquette dictate when to tip? Should we pay extra for taxis? What about massages, spas, haircuts etc. Should this apply to discounted services? If you’ve bought a local deal for example, should you tip and if so, should it be 10% of the original cost price, or the discounted daily deal price?

To solve the dilemma it’s worth bearing in mind ...
... that tipping really should not be a given; instead, it should depend on the service offered. If you have been treated very well and you feel that the service deserves a reward, it’s a good idea to give extra (and it doesn’t always have to be 10%, either). This normally goes for most services – it’s always really appreciated by the individual staff.
However, you should expect exceptional service to warrant this. You are after all paying for it! Staff offering a service really should not come to expect a tip as a matter of course; they should work to offer you an incredible standard and it is with this that comes the reward.

On the other side, it is ok not to tip. If you are feeling impoverished one month then do not ever feel obliged to shell out extra. This applies for services that are already expensive: taxis, massages etc. If someone makes you feel bad for not tipping, their service is not worth paying that extra for!

What if you’ve bought something for a margin of the cost price? A daily group buying power deal, for example: Do you tip? The general consensus here is yes; if a business has discounted a vast amount and the service is absolutely brilliant, it’s worth shelling out a bit to show your appreciation. It’s not often, for example, that you would get to pay for a massage for a whopping 90% off the cost price.
Similarly if you have bought an amazing restaurant or hair deal – you’ve already saved a massive amount on what you would have paid for so it’s worth having this in mind when you first purchase the deal from the provider. You don’t need to tip a huge amount; just something to show your appreciation; perhaps as a compromise, 20% of the deal price.

Depending on the cost of the deal, this might work out as the same as 10% of the original price. However this needn’t apply if the service was horrendous or you have been treated badly; remember, the customer is always put first.

Here the author Sandy James Writes about hair deal, local deal. For more details please visit www.city-treats.com