Tipping in USA: do you have to fill in the tip amount or just the post-tip total?
Let's say the bill came to $34.56 and you're paying with a credit card. A 15% tip takes that to a little over $39.74. Can you simply write $40 for the total, circle it, sign, and leave the tip blank? Or must you do the math and write the correct number for the tip?
If you have to do the math, why? If you left $40 in cash they'd have to do the math anyway...
Is the answer different for other cultures where tipping is customarily done?
Does it offend the staff when you leave the math to them, akin to leaving a low tip?
Best Answer
If the tip is not included in the bill, I will do what you indicated...
- make a rough guess
- add the rough guess to the bill
- top up the new total to the next highest integer
- put that figure in the total and sign the receipt (or credit card)
This same technique works for me in the USA, the UK, France, Italy, Germany... basically all of the EEA, and Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia. Northern Africa, Central and South America... I think it's a generic approach that can safely be used in the Western Hemisphere.
If I'm required to pay cash, I'll do pretty much the same thing, but tell the waiter something like "...you can bring me back a fiver out of that..." They bring you back a fiver and account for the difference as a tip.
That's if the tip was not included. If it is included, then I'll go ahead and pay the exact amount.
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Do you have to write the tip amount in or just total?
If you can't get the math right just leave a final total, because any kind of question about the tip means that your server gets the smallest possible tip. Say you have a $40 order and you write $6 on the tip line, then write $47 on the total line.Do you include the tip in the total?
RULE NO.Tip based on the subtotal. And if you're calculating your tip simply by doubling the tax, stop it\u2014you're being cheap.Do you tip on pre or post tax amount?
Some will suggest tip amounts based on the total bill, but most suggest tips based on the pre-tax total. That's the correct answer: you don't tip on the tax, because tax is not a service the restaurant provided.Do you tip if tip is included?
If an amount is included as a "Gratuity" or "Service Charge," tipping is not required. Unlike in most of the rest of the world, the total cost of table service almost always is NOT included in the bill, necessitating the need for tips.How to tip in the USA: Tipping for dummies
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