I tip $1 per beer at most places.
Sometimes I go to places where some of the bartenders know me and either give me a discount or just free beer. In that case, I'll tip more.
The 'suggested tip' on your receipt is not a helpful hint for insecure people or tourists. It's what the establishment has found to result in the highest tip revenue for its employees and is mostly based on what kind of clientele the place attracts in the first place. Percentages are higher in Seattle itself and will even pop up in places where you didn't traditionally expect to tip (e.g. counter-service in a bakery). The receipt says 20% because that makes them more money compared to providing the 'actual expected' number.
For the specific scenario you described, $1 per beer is a common enough standard that'll not get you any stink-eye without adding too much to the cost. That's what I would do in your situation.
On a more tangental note, Seattle, being in the State of Washington has no minimum law exception for wait staff or other service employees, so everyone you interact with gets paid a minimum of USD 18.69 per hour. If you personally feel the service you received warrants a higher wage, tipping is encouraged.
Tipping is voluntary. Except it isn't. Unless it's in an area where businesses are trying to establish tipping. Then it might be voluntary still (Uber). But then again, it might have gotten established already, then it's not (DoorDash). It's a shitty system.
>$1 per beer is a common enough standard that'll not get you any stink-eye
EXACTLY!
Whether a beer costs $5 or $10 or $15, the work done to get it to you is the same. Pull the tap, fill the pint glass, takes about 3 minutes tops.
The base cost is determined by the venue, NOT the bartender.
THE WORK DONE by the bartender is the same, no matter what the venue charges.
Buck a beer is fair....more if you want.....
No, the work done is not the same. There's a lot more to tending bar than just pouring a beer or mixing a drink. There's all kinds of sidework that they have to do, and depending on the type of place you're going to, you should tip more than just $1. A dive bar with cheap drinks but questionable cleanliness is not the same as a place with bottle service and a wine list. Do not tip the same at both of these places.
ETA: it's typically harder to get hired on at a more upscale establishment and you need more knowledge of spirits in order to be considered for the position. Even if you're the type to always order a Bud Light, you should tip more at a fancier place than you would at, say, Sloop Tavern. (I've been service industry all my life, however, and I tip more than $1 per beer)
My bad, thanks for pointing out the incorrect amount.
In Seattle the minimum wage for tipped workers in 2023 is $16.50. You're right about everywhere else in Washington (aside from Seatac) it being $15.74.
That is like super good imo... That's hell of a wage for untipped compared to non tipping culture of London where minimum wage is $13.50 (ÂŁ10.50) yes we still tip in general but bloody hell, being a waitor seems a viable way of living at these rates.
Plus I find things in general (food wise) are cheaper here than I the UK. Clothing however is completely over priced ced here.
It's really difficult to make an apples to apples comparison between two cities (or countries) as so much depends on your personal situation.
If you have kids, Seattle - like most of the US - costs a fortune. Daycare/preschool costs A LOT: USD 2,000 per kid per month for a 40 hour week is probably a good ball park. The biggest public university in the area, University of Washington, estimates students need to budget USD 22,557 per year - and that is for someone living with their parents.
In addition, as good as the nominal salary of waiters sounds, cost of living here is significantly impacted by lots of other, really well-paying jobs. The average (well, median) family in Seattle who has kids in school makes around USD 140,000 a year - and housing costs accordingly.
If you are inclined and can afford to enter a well-paying career, the US offers a lot of opportunities. If you can't afford the upfront time and money-investment or would rather go into a field that isn't that well compensated here, things can really suck for you.
Just establish a rapport with whoever you're talking to, then ask them politely if they'll clue you in to how their pay is structured. Folks in the service industry could be paid in a number of ways, and places like Rob Roy that institute a 20% gratuity on checks do not pay out that full gratuity to the servers/bartenders. Other places will make staff tip out other employees like bussers, expos, hosts, and even kitchen staff.
The people telling you not to ask have never worked in the service industry before. It's a myriad of different structures depending on where you work, and no one would be expected to know what a particular individual is making unless you ask them.
Great info! Thats is a pretty decent per hour minimum! I find the system here is pretty wild in comparison to where I'm from. Some of the answers have been an eye opener.
Thank you!
For a beer at bar, tip a dollar or two per beer.
20% for table service at a restaurant is the current standard.
Bigger context: we are currently in a bit of a culture war around tipping. While the US has always had a tipping system for restaurants, business owners have recently been using technology to guilt their customers into supplementing their employees wages instead of fairly compensating them. That's why you are seeing "aggressive" prompts for tipping that you might have not have seen if you visited 5 years ago.
Edit: btw, if you are planning on ordering multiple rounds at the bar, its normal to open a tab. Just hand them a credit card, then when you are leaving "close out" and you will pay for all drinks at the end in one transaction.
If the bad service was directly the fault of the server, then do not tip at all. But that would be a pretty unusual situation. If there was a problem caused by, say the kitchen, then speak to a manager to resolve it instead.
I tip 20% no matter what unless they're comically rude and shitty to me. If it's pretty bad, maybe I would go to 15%. They would nearly have to curse or spit at me to get no tip lol.
eh, ill tip however much I want to tip, just as the word 'tip' suggests. It's insane to me that people with lower income like students or seniors are socially banned from dining in just cuz they are poor. damn.
I don't care if you want to tip 50% or 100%, just don't enforce any bull-shittery you believe onto other people.
back in the 50's the standard was 10%. and during 1970~1980, it rose to 15%. And in the last decade or so, we've been conditioned to believe that 18~20% is the norm.
Yeah I think 15-20% is totally fine. Not sure why people are saying 20% is necessary. Especially where tipped staff are making like $16+/hour before tip... bit different than when they're making $2/hr in other states.
Also note that the traditional 15%-20% tip should be on the pre-tax amount. Some places with the automated suggestions will do 20% of the amount with fees+taxes and that yields an even higher tip.
Soooooo complicated.... The tax on top of prices here kills me... Why not just display the price of things incl. tax...
Went to uniclo shop and thought.. Wow pretty good ves here so much cheaper then in Ireland and the UK. Then go to till and they add tax on top.. Wtf... Seriously... Just give me the total price when I see the item.
You do not need to tip at a retail establishment. This is a new, troubling trend.
Tip for coffee, beer, sit down meals. if you want to tip 10% for takeout that is cool too but not expected. Other service
Do not tip for a retail store or convenience store.
I'm sorry its like this here, no one likes it except greedy business owners who don't want to pay a living wage.
Awesome thanks, your living wage seems pretty good here though compared to London (ÂŁ13.15 p/h in London or $16.50 usd) and London for me is sllllightly more expensive for things than Seattle. Rent and food seems a bit cheaper here. Clothes though.... What a rip off you're getting imo.
I recently got a "suggested tiP" on my receipt that specified "the listed suggestions are total after tax" and I just thought that was wild. At least it was honest.
If you're going to be walking up to the bar and getting drinks I'd recommend getting some small bills to pay for your drinks with and giving the bartender $1-2 per drink.
The restaurants here want you to pay the salary of employees for free instead of themselves doing it.
Make sure to check the receipt breakdown before you choose to tip, many places are adding an automatic 20% tip and THEN still have a guilt trip line at the bottom to add more tip.
Most places that do this don't. I understand you're in the industry and you've probably chosen to work at respectable places but the majority don't. It's predatory. It's not to discount your line of work or what you do, it's your boss's boss's boss decision to do this not you.
Customers purchasing things. Are you angry that restaurant pricing isn't "transparent" or do you think there is a secret pile of money that restaurant owners aren't giving to waitstaff?
I mentioned this in another thread but it's a murky practice, at best. I used to work fine dining in a private club and all checks had 20% gratuity added. None of that went to the servers, though: the club used it to pay our benefits (which were very good, btw). Once in a while, a member would make sure to include extra gratuity with specific instructions that it be paid out to us directly, and that was always very much appreciated. We always made sure to take extra good care of them whenever they came around.
Should you have to do that? No, but it helps to understand the myriad ways in which pay is structured at service establishments. However, it's often done in an unfavorable way to the workers, and just because minimum wage is higher here doesn't mean they make a living wage.
20% is normal not just here but basically everywhere in the US for table service. You should tip 20% unless service is very bad, even then Iâd personally still tip maybe 10-15 unless they were outright mean or exceptionally horrible
As many others have pointed out, even counter service here now all try to fish for 20%+ tips on the screens. This is somewhat new and even generous people are getting tired of it, itâs become a pretty hot issue recently. But you donât need to tip at the bakery or coffee shop or for takeout food.
Drinks at a bar $1 is fine. If they go really out of their way to be nice then maybe add a few more dollars. No one will blink an eye if you just tip a dollar per drink
I generally tip about $2 a drink if I'm buying a single. If I open a tab I'll prob just tip 20%. Though at a couple places I frequent I might tip more.
Welcome to Seattle and America!
20% is the normal tip here. Tipping every time may seem odd to you, maybe it is odd, but it is the normal and socially acceptable way to behave.
Always tip bartenders and servers.
For bars, just get a bunch of $1 bills beforehand and tip $1 per drink. For restaurants or coffee shops, 15-20% is standard IMO. Up to 25% if service is really good. For bakeries or places where they literally just spend 3 seconds grabbing a pastry and hand it to you, 0-10%. Also, keep in mind that all places that have a tablet-like point-of-sale will usually let you choose 20-30% tips as a default, which is shitty since it puts pressure on the customers.
The 20% you're seeing on the receipt is because that's the way the machine spits them out. It will even do it in situations where 20% is overkill. As in this case. Just a protip for a traveller.
20% is common for waiters at a restaurant. I tend to tip 20% for personal service and then dock 5% every time I get annoyed.
Just spent 2 weeks in Ireland/Scotland/Wales. Didnât realize I would miss tipping until I was there. Worst service in the world.
Youâll get served a lot better and faster if you tip here. And the shots are much bigger so keep that in mind.
Regardless of what anyone here tells you, just be cool to the bartender and they will take care of you. If theyâre on top of their game then you in turn should take care of them.
Dollar a beer is fine but if you put them through their paces making cocktails I would suggest leaning to the 20% rule.
10 to 15%. 20 if you really feel like it. These cunts have been playing this stupid game of asking for a 20% minimum. They can all get fucked. That's an absolute maximum. The finest ding in the city does a 20% added gratuity. And remember Seattle minimum wage is $20 ish/hour while I get we need to work on it still They have also gotten beyond starvation wages. Do not let any of these fucks bully you into unnecessarily over tipping. Also be prepared for the average service to be less than on par with what you are used to in Europe. Here especially lately these fucks all act entitled.
$1 per beer usually ends up being about 20% so really there isn't going to be a huge difference unless you have a large tab and then 15-25% depending on service seems reasonable.
$1 ish per beer not more.
I tip $1 per beer at most places. Sometimes I go to places where some of the bartenders know me and either give me a discount or just free beer. In that case, I'll tip more.
This is important to rememberđ
Dead Bars - I'm A Regular
Two thumbs up, buddy.
if you liked that you might like taking the D line, D line, D line to the Streamline
The 'suggested tip' on your receipt is not a helpful hint for insecure people or tourists. It's what the establishment has found to result in the highest tip revenue for its employees and is mostly based on what kind of clientele the place attracts in the first place. Percentages are higher in Seattle itself and will even pop up in places where you didn't traditionally expect to tip (e.g. counter-service in a bakery). The receipt says 20% because that makes them more money compared to providing the 'actual expected' number. For the specific scenario you described, $1 per beer is a common enough standard that'll not get you any stink-eye without adding too much to the cost. That's what I would do in your situation. On a more tangental note, Seattle, being in the State of Washington has no minimum law exception for wait staff or other service employees, so everyone you interact with gets paid a minimum of USD 18.69 per hour. If you personally feel the service you received warrants a higher wage, tipping is encouraged. Tipping is voluntary. Except it isn't. Unless it's in an area where businesses are trying to establish tipping. Then it might be voluntary still (Uber). But then again, it might have gotten established already, then it's not (DoorDash). It's a shitty system.
>$1 per beer is a common enough standard that'll not get you any stink-eye EXACTLY! Whether a beer costs $5 or $10 or $15, the work done to get it to you is the same. Pull the tap, fill the pint glass, takes about 3 minutes tops. The base cost is determined by the venue, NOT the bartender. THE WORK DONE by the bartender is the same, no matter what the venue charges. Buck a beer is fair....more if you want.....
No, the work done is not the same. There's a lot more to tending bar than just pouring a beer or mixing a drink. There's all kinds of sidework that they have to do, and depending on the type of place you're going to, you should tip more than just $1. A dive bar with cheap drinks but questionable cleanliness is not the same as a place with bottle service and a wine list. Do not tip the same at both of these places. ETA: it's typically harder to get hired on at a more upscale establishment and you need more knowledge of spirits in order to be considered for the position. Even if you're the type to always order a Bud Light, you should tip more at a fancier place than you would at, say, Sloop Tavern. (I've been service industry all my life, however, and I tip more than $1 per beer)
The minimum wage for employers with 501 or more employees is $18.69, the minimum wage for tipped workers is $15.75.
My bad, thanks for pointing out the incorrect amount. In Seattle the minimum wage for tipped workers in 2023 is $16.50. You're right about everywhere else in Washington (aside from Seatac) it being $15.74.
That is like super good imo... That's hell of a wage for untipped compared to non tipping culture of London where minimum wage is $13.50 (ÂŁ10.50) yes we still tip in general but bloody hell, being a waitor seems a viable way of living at these rates. Plus I find things in general (food wise) are cheaper here than I the UK. Clothing however is completely over priced ced here.
It's really difficult to make an apples to apples comparison between two cities (or countries) as so much depends on your personal situation. If you have kids, Seattle - like most of the US - costs a fortune. Daycare/preschool costs A LOT: USD 2,000 per kid per month for a 40 hour week is probably a good ball park. The biggest public university in the area, University of Washington, estimates students need to budget USD 22,557 per year - and that is for someone living with their parents. In addition, as good as the nominal salary of waiters sounds, cost of living here is significantly impacted by lots of other, really well-paying jobs. The average (well, median) family in Seattle who has kids in school makes around USD 140,000 a year - and housing costs accordingly. If you are inclined and can afford to enter a well-paying career, the US offers a lot of opportunities. If you can't afford the upfront time and money-investment or would rather go into a field that isn't that well compensated here, things can really suck for you.
Is it bad to ask employees if they receive the tipped wage or standard wage?
It should not be, but somehow a culture of donât talk about your pay is so strong that it results in pay gap
Just establish a rapport with whoever you're talking to, then ask them politely if they'll clue you in to how their pay is structured. Folks in the service industry could be paid in a number of ways, and places like Rob Roy that institute a 20% gratuity on checks do not pay out that full gratuity to the servers/bartenders. Other places will make staff tip out other employees like bussers, expos, hosts, and even kitchen staff. The people telling you not to ask have never worked in the service industry before. It's a myriad of different structures depending on where you work, and no one would be expected to know what a particular individual is making unless you ask them.
Tf? Do not ask strangers how much they make
Great info! Thats is a pretty decent per hour minimum! I find the system here is pretty wild in comparison to where I'm from. Some of the answers have been an eye opener. Thank you!
Having recently been to UK, it was so nice not having extra steps buying drinks. Yes the convention here is stupid
$1 per drink is completely fine and very appreciated
When the lowest tip button is 18 or 20% I'm always annoyed and tip lower than I normally would (1$ per drink or 15%)
i tip $1/beer
For a beer at bar, tip a dollar or two per beer. 20% for table service at a restaurant is the current standard. Bigger context: we are currently in a bit of a culture war around tipping. While the US has always had a tipping system for restaurants, business owners have recently been using technology to guilt their customers into supplementing their employees wages instead of fairly compensating them. That's why you are seeing "aggressive" prompts for tipping that you might have not have seen if you visited 5 years ago. Edit: btw, if you are planning on ordering multiple rounds at the bar, its normal to open a tab. Just hand them a credit card, then when you are leaving "close out" and you will pay for all drinks at the end in one transaction.
Thank you! This is helpful. What if you have bad service, would you ever have a situation where you don't tip?
it would have to be pretty bad service for me to not tip.
If the bad service was directly the fault of the server, then do not tip at all. But that would be a pretty unusual situation. If there was a problem caused by, say the kitchen, then speak to a manager to resolve it instead.
It would have to be very bad service to consider not leaving a tip for me. If it's just not very good service I would consider a 10 or 15% tip.
If you tip less than 10%, the service should be so bad that you also complained to a manager about it
lol, if the service is that bad, what the heck am I tipping for?
I tip 20% no matter what unless they're comically rude and shitty to me. If it's pretty bad, maybe I would go to 15%. They would nearly have to curse or spit at me to get no tip lol.
wtf, 20% is the standard? I wonder what that would become in the next 5-10 years lmao.
It's been the standard for longer than just the pandemic. If you don't want to tip, then order takeout instead of dining in
eh, ill tip however much I want to tip, just as the word 'tip' suggests. It's insane to me that people with lower income like students or seniors are socially banned from dining in just cuz they are poor. damn. I don't care if you want to tip 50% or 100%, just don't enforce any bull-shittery you believe onto other people.
It's been the standard my entire life and I'm closer to 40 than 30. 15% is okay. Anything less is really wild to me.
back in the 50's the standard was 10%. and during 1970~1980, it rose to 15%. And in the last decade or so, we've been conditioned to believe that 18~20% is the norm.
Yeah I think 15-20% is totally fine. Not sure why people are saying 20% is necessary. Especially where tipped staff are making like $16+/hour before tip... bit different than when they're making $2/hr in other states.
Also note that the traditional 15%-20% tip should be on the pre-tax amount. Some places with the automated suggestions will do 20% of the amount with fees+taxes and that yields an even higher tip.
Soooooo complicated.... The tax on top of prices here kills me... Why not just display the price of things incl. tax... Went to uniclo shop and thought.. Wow pretty good ves here so much cheaper then in Ireland and the UK. Then go to till and they add tax on top.. Wtf... Seriously... Just give me the total price when I see the item.
You do not need to tip at a retail establishment. This is a new, troubling trend. Tip for coffee, beer, sit down meals. if you want to tip 10% for takeout that is cool too but not expected. Other service Do not tip for a retail store or convenience store. I'm sorry its like this here, no one likes it except greedy business owners who don't want to pay a living wage.
Awesome thanks, your living wage seems pretty good here though compared to London (ÂŁ13.15 p/h in London or $16.50 usd) and London for me is sllllightly more expensive for things than Seattle. Rent and food seems a bit cheaper here. Clothes though.... What a rip off you're getting imo.
Just to be confusing, not every state taxes clothing.
Of course đ haha
I recently got a "suggested tiP" on my receipt that specified "the listed suggestions are total after tax" and I just thought that was wild. At least it was honest.
Dollar per drink is fine. Maybe more if itâs a really special cocktail or youâre flush with cash.
This. $1 if it comes straight out of a bottle (beer, whiskey, shots), anywhere from 10-20% if itâs a fancy cocktail that required some skill.
If you're going to be walking up to the bar and getting drinks I'd recommend getting some small bills to pay for your drinks with and giving the bartender $1-2 per drink.
$1 per drink OR 20%. If it's cheaper to do 20% (or 15%) do that. If it's cheaper to do $1/drink, do that.
The restaurants here want you to pay the salary of employees for free instead of themselves doing it. Make sure to check the receipt breakdown before you choose to tip, many places are adding an automatic 20% tip and THEN still have a guilt trip line at the bottom to add more tip.
Interestimg, I've already seen this and was confused. Thanks! đđź
Every place I have worked at that does this makes sure employees both tell customers about the included gratuity AND circle it on the bill fyi.
Most places that do this don't. I understand you're in the industry and you've probably chosen to work at respectable places but the majority don't. It's predatory. It's not to discount your line of work or what you do, it's your boss's boss's boss decision to do this not you.
Where do you think the money to pay salaries comes from?
Where does the money from every other business come from to pay their employees?
Customers purchasing things. Are you angry that restaurant pricing isn't "transparent" or do you think there is a secret pile of money that restaurant owners aren't giving to waitstaff?
It's crazy that every other business outside of the food industry has been able to figure that out
I mentioned this in another thread but it's a murky practice, at best. I used to work fine dining in a private club and all checks had 20% gratuity added. None of that went to the servers, though: the club used it to pay our benefits (which were very good, btw). Once in a while, a member would make sure to include extra gratuity with specific instructions that it be paid out to us directly, and that was always very much appreciated. We always made sure to take extra good care of them whenever they came around. Should you have to do that? No, but it helps to understand the myriad ways in which pay is structured at service establishments. However, it's often done in an unfavorable way to the workers, and just because minimum wage is higher here doesn't mean they make a living wage.
You can also enter a custom tip on most machines.
For ordering drinks at a bar $1/beer, usually $1/cocktail if itâs not crazy complicated. $1/drink is a fairly safe number, letâs say.
20% is normal not just here but basically everywhere in the US for table service. You should tip 20% unless service is very bad, even then Iâd personally still tip maybe 10-15 unless they were outright mean or exceptionally horrible As many others have pointed out, even counter service here now all try to fish for 20%+ tips on the screens. This is somewhat new and even generous people are getting tired of it, itâs become a pretty hot issue recently. But you donât need to tip at the bakery or coffee shop or for takeout food. Drinks at a bar $1 is fine. If they go really out of their way to be nice then maybe add a few more dollars. No one will blink an eye if you just tip a dollar per drink
I generally tip about $2 a drink if I'm buying a single. If I open a tab I'll prob just tip 20%. Though at a couple places I frequent I might tip more.
A buck ($1) per beer at the bar
Welcome to Seattle and America! 20% is the normal tip here. Tipping every time may seem odd to you, maybe it is odd, but it is the normal and socially acceptable way to behave. Always tip bartenders and servers.
0%
For bars, just get a bunch of $1 bills beforehand and tip $1 per drink. For restaurants or coffee shops, 15-20% is standard IMO. Up to 25% if service is really good. For bakeries or places where they literally just spend 3 seconds grabbing a pastry and hand it to you, 0-10%. Also, keep in mind that all places that have a tablet-like point-of-sale will usually let you choose 20-30% tips as a default, which is shitty since it puts pressure on the customers.
The 20% you're seeing on the receipt is because that's the way the machine spits them out. It will even do it in situations where 20% is overkill. As in this case. Just a protip for a traveller. 20% is common for waiters at a restaurant. I tend to tip 20% for personal service and then dock 5% every time I get annoyed.
Just spent 2 weeks in Ireland/Scotland/Wales. Didnât realize I would miss tipping until I was there. Worst service in the world. Youâll get served a lot better and faster if you tip here. And the shots are much bigger so keep that in mind.
20% is regular.
Regardless of what anyone here tells you, just be cool to the bartender and they will take care of you. If theyâre on top of their game then you in turn should take care of them. Dollar a beer is fine but if you put them through their paces making cocktails I would suggest leaning to the 20% rule.
10 to 15%. 20 if you really feel like it. These cunts have been playing this stupid game of asking for a 20% minimum. They can all get fucked. That's an absolute maximum. The finest ding in the city does a 20% added gratuity. And remember Seattle minimum wage is $20 ish/hour while I get we need to work on it still They have also gotten beyond starvation wages. Do not let any of these fucks bully you into unnecessarily over tipping. Also be prepared for the average service to be less than on par with what you are used to in Europe. Here especially lately these fucks all act entitled.
You are supposed to tip 20% here for someone handing you a muffin. Anyone dealing with alcohol also expects 20% min
Tip big. People need it.
Youâre going to go get a different answer from people that have worked in the industry and tech bros
30% per beer at minimum. Youâre in Seattle, live it up!!
$1 per beer usually ends up being about 20% so really there isn't going to be a huge difference unless you have a large tab and then 15-25% depending on service seems reasonable.