To all of our former customers, managers, and coworkers at the Pier Market, who, through the good, the bad, and the ugly inspired this book. To all those in the industry who allowed us to ask questions, do interviews, and call back just one more timethank you for your contributions. A special thanks to Craddock, Jen Summers, Yifat Oren, Angelina Umansky, Nickie, and Denny. Grateful thanks to our legal leader and dear friend Nikki Harvat, for her insight and tenacity, for guiding us on this maiden voyage, and for her continued support of our creative ventures. To Anne Bunn for trusting her instinct that tipping was a great ideaand for giving us a clear, detailed introduction to the publishing world. To our guiding light and creative spearhead at Chronicle Books, our editor extraordinaire Mikyla Bruder, who truly taught us what making a book was all about, and helped keep our vision alive every step of the way. Thank you for believing in the Itty Bitty series. Thanks to Leslie Davisson, our sassy behind-the-scenes copilot at Chronicle who took on and walked us through so many details, thank you for keeping us on track and getting us to the station! To our wonderful friends and families who continuously support us in so many ways, from listening to us talk endlessly about tipping to understanding when we couldnt make a function because we were on deadline. Thank you for being there for us and inspiring us always, especially Clarene, Alex, Sue, Nana, Papa, Richard, Carol, Nickie, Denny, Phin, Pam, Andres, Maxwell, Princess, Andy, and our family at Extra. Last but definitely not least, to the service industry folks, who endure day after day of getting stiffed, hearing complaints, repeating the list of salad dressings and beers available, serving water with lemon, dealing with substitutions and separate checks, being called sweetie and honey, and being asked what their real job isthis is no itty bitty taskand we know that you are the true heroes. THANK YOU!
Tipping dedication:
To the original chowder slingin crew: Joao, Guyo, Jack, Tony, and DJ our biggest tip then, now and always.
Text copyright 2004 by Stacie Krajchir and Carrie Rosten.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN: 978-0-8118-4038-5 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5302-5 (epub, mobi)
Designed by Ayako Akazawa
Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com
contents
introduction
Lets face it: tipping can be confusing, embarrassing, and awkward. Whether you want to convey your satisfaction or disappointment, tipping can often seem like a mysterious ritual with no written rules.
Now more than ever our lives seem busier and as a result we want faster and better service. As we demand more services, there are, in turn, more people to tip. Suddenly a short list of tipping recipients that was once limited to hairdressers, cabbies, waiters, and hotel doormen has expanded to include everyone from dog groomers to the cashiers at your local coffeehouse. Deciding whether to tip for these basic services has become a bewildering process.
We all want to be courteous and do the right thing when it comes to thanking someone for good service, but you have the right to know what you are paying for, what the appropriate tip is, and how not to waste your hard-earned cash. The Itty Bitty Guide to Tipping pulls the curtain back on the mystery of tipping, clarifies how to tip for any service, and informs you regarding when its not necessary to tip at all. Never again do you have to be in that uncomfortable situation of wondering when, whom, and how much to tip. This guide also offers examples of a few scenarios when undertipping is justified. Whether you are paying your waiter or baby-sitter, never again do you have to be an unprepared or uninformed tipper.
Here are tips and advice direct from working people in the service industry. Fun trivia, witty quotes, and job profiles give you a better understanding of exactly what service that person in the uniform actually performs.
How you express your appreciation (or lack thereof) will be remembered by the people who provide you with their services. The greater your show of appreciation, the greater the likelihood that youll receive excellent service from them in the future. The Itty Bitty Guide to Tipping gives you that critical edge to help you become an effective, skillful, and self-assured tipper.
A fair tip, or one on the generous side, will leave a pleasant feeling and respect for you in the one who receives it. A lavish one will create a secret disrespect and add to the reputation Americans have for trying to buy their way into everything. Eleanor Roosevelt
ITTY BITTY
history of tipping
The origin of the practice of tipping is unclear, but it may have begun in the late Middle Ages with the idea that a sum of money might be given in exchange for something extra, whether it be services or effort. Some books state that in sixteenth-century England, bar tavern patrons would toss coins off the table to get better service. Another story claims that European feudal lords threw money to peasants in the streets to ensure safe passage for themselves. Other theories hold that the word tip comes from the Dutch word tippen, which may originate from the sound of a coin being tapped against a glass to get a waiters attention. A few theories hold that the word derives from the Latin word stips, meaning gift. It is also said that the word tip made its way into the English language around 1756 in a London pub, where a table held a bowl marked with the words To Insure Promptitude. From the first letter of each word, the phrase was abbreviated to tip.
In many languages, the word for tip is associated with drinking, since in many cultures the practice of tipping began as an offer to enable the tippee to buy himself a drink. In French the word pourboire means for drink; the German word trinkgeld translates literally to drink money. We may reasonably guess that the word tip is a short form of tipple, meaning to drink.
dining out
Whether youre dining in style at a five-star restaurant or grabbing a burger and beer at your local bar, tipping will be part of your dining experience. For the restaurant staff, your tip is a direct and vital report card for their overall level of service. But how much should you tip, when, and to whom? Read on for a list of the people you will encounter and profiles of the services they provide, together with the lowdown on exactly how much to tip. The tipping chart on provides a quick reference.
the players
When dining out, you have a team working directly to serve you. The fancier the restaurant, the more people there are who will expect a tip. The primary tip (often the only tip) goes to the server, who in turn, at the end of each shift, tips out the bus person, the bartender, and in some places the host. The server is required to pay taxes on the tips that are left over after he or she has tipped out.
The restaurants tipping-out policies aside, some establishments require servers to declare 15 percent of their total gross sales whether they are tipped 15 percent or not. Restaurants often adhere to this practice to protect themselves in the event of an audit. When restaurants employ a large number of people, servers must often tip out more than 25 percent of their gross tips to the members of their team. The following is a list of everyone on the team, the services you can expect from them, and a few guidelines to observe.
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