In case you thought you were tipping your waiter for quality of service, you were wrong! Really, you’re just a good tipper when someone flirts with you. At least, that’s what a few studies indicate. [More]
tipping
Starbucks In Wrongful-Death Lawsuit After Tip Jar Dispute
By 3.9.11
The estate of a Starbucks customer who lost his life after attempting to chase down a tip jar thief has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the java giant, alleging that the company invited crime by having an unsecured tip jar on the counter. [More]
How Not To Show A Restaurant That You're Annoyed :(
By 2.22.11
What’s more obnoxious than leaving a few pennies on the restaurant table as a tip to make a point? Try writing in a tip of two cents on your credit-card slip, then leaving a passive-aggressive note with a smiley face. [More]
Hawaiian Restaurant Adds Surcharge For Customers Who Don't Speak English
By 2.4.11
Fed up with being stiffed on tips by foreigners, a restaurant in Hawaii has added on a mandatory 15% gratuity for customers who don’t speak English. [More]
Waiter: Parents Of Bratty Kids Should Tip More At Restaurants
By 1.11.11
Taking young children out to eat at a restaurant is an expensive — and sometimes messy — prospect for parents. One waiter also claims it’s actually a costly experience for the restaurant’s staff — and that the parents should be willing to dish out bigger tips to make up for it. [More]
NY Regulates Tipping For First Time
By 1.3.11
The New York Department of Labor has issued rules on what until now has walked a gray line between custom and law: the tip. [More]
Who Should I Tip During The Holidays And How Much?
By 12.20.10
I’ve left strict word upstairs that the cat-sitter must be tipped well. So far, it’s worked. The fancy food comes out, the litter box is kept extra clean, and I even get to sleep in the master bedroom. But not everyone is so generous with their cash. [More]
Is "I'm From Europe" A Good Excuse For Being A Crappy Tipper?
By 12.1.10
About a month ago, we brought you the story of overpriced NYC hotel bars that were adding automatic 18-20% gratuities to tabs, claiming that they had to do so because so many of their patrons were from Europe and other parts of the world where tipping isn’t part of the culture. Now we hear from a waiter who proves they might have a point. [More]
At Least One Overpriced NYC Bar Ditches Mandatory 20% Tip
By 11.2.10
Yesterday we brought you the story about several overpriced, overhyped NYC hotel bars that were adding mandatory 18-20% tips to drinks that already cost more than a good meal. Today, we’re happy to report that at least one of these spots has changed its policy. [More]
Overpriced Bars Now Adding Mandatory 18-20% Tips
By 11.1.10
Here in New York City, there are certain bars — most of them in hotels and most of them frequented by people who read in Us Weekly that celebrities party there — that are not only charging absolutely ridiculous amounts of cash for basic cocktails, but are automatically adding hefty tips onto the tab. [More]
Celeb Chef Mario Batali Sued Over Tips By Staff At Yet Another Restaurant
By 10.13.10
Back in July, pony-tailed celeb chef Mario Batali found himself the subject of a lawsuit filed by workers at five of his NYC area restaurants for allegedly withholding credit card tips from the staff. Absent from that litigation were employees at Batali’s flagship eatery Del Posto… until yesterday when 27 members of that restaurant’s staff sued, claiming they weren’t paid a legal wage. [More]
Tips On Tipping Everyone From Your Pizza Guy To Your Sherpa
By 8.24.10
We all that know that tipping your waiter 15-20% is the standard (though some of you will surely disagree) or that you usually throw the pizza guy at least a couple bucks, especially if he braves flood waters to deliver your order. But what about your tattoo artist, or your salmon fishing guide or your sherpa? [More]
Celeb Chef Mario Batali Sued By Staff For Alleged Tip Skimming
By 7.30.10
We know that tipping is a touchy subject here, but not as touchy as it is to the wait staff at the restaurants owned by celeb chef Mario Batali. The red-headed TV personality is the subject of a class action lawsuit that alleges he’s been screwing his employees over by skimming off the top of the tip pile. [More]
Florida Pizza Joint Adds A 15% Tip Automatically
By 7.27.10
A pizza place in Jacksonville, Florida has decided to pay its servers a higher wage and in order to pay for it, automatically add a 15% tip to each order. Signs are posted and you can ask the server to take the tip off the bill if you want. [More]
Bring A Cash Tip If You're Going To Supercuts
By 6.24.10
If you’re planning a haircut at Supercuts anytime soon, bring cash to tip your super cutter. Joe reports that his local branch of the chain, at least, has stopped letting customers add a tip for their stylist to their total bill. Tips are now cash only. [More]
If You Don't Tip Your Cabbie, You Might Get Held Hostage
By 6.16.10
We know that tipping is a touchy topic, but a cab driver in New Orleans appears to have gone a teensy-weensy bit too far in his attempt to wrest a 10% tip from his passenger and he’s now facing charges of extortion, simple assault and false imprisonment. [More]
Waitress Disses Customers On Facebook, Gets Fired
By 5.18.10
Brixx Pizza in North Carolina takes social media pretty seriously, because it fired a waitress after she complained on her Facebook page about a stingy couple who occupied a table for three hours and only left a $5 tip. [More]
POLL: Which Services Do You Tip For?
By 5.6.10
As many Consumerist readers have pointed out over the years, you’re generally under no obligation to leave a tip for someone who provides you a service. That being said, most of us still do — and for a seemingly increasing number of services. That’s why we want to know about those situations in which you almost always leave a little extra. [More]
