Tipping is a foreign concept for us Norwegians, so I decided to do a little research on behalf of the group so we won’t embarrass ourselves. Some of us don’t really like the concept of tipping, Martin often complains it should be included in the price. And frankly, that would’ve been the best option, but when we visit a foreign country, we should live by their customs to not offend anyone.
Why tip?
“Shouldn’t they live fine off their regular wage?” is a common question when it comes to tipping. The fact is that the servers earn less than the minimum wage, because they’re expected to earn tips. This means that the restaurants may pay them as little as $2.13, because they should make up the difference between the minimum wage in tips. If they do not meet the minimum wage, the restaurant has to cover the deficit. Now, in some states the waiters do get paid the minimum wage, but the minimum wage is not necessarily a living wage, so you still have to tip.
How much shall I tip?
If you search the web for how much you shall tip, you will find many different answers ranging from 10 to 25 %. 15 % pre-tax is the right number for normal service, but remember to adjust for poor and outstanding service. Never forget to leave a tip, even though the service is horrible. If you don’t leave a tip, they might just think you didn’t know about tipping, but a 5 % tip or less really stings.
Another point worth mentioning is that you shouldn’t punish the waitress if the food is not up to par. Make sure to give them notice, and then tip them according to how they try to remedy the situation.
The West Coast
On the west coast the servers earn the minimum wage, but you should still tip them the regular rate since the cost of living is higher. Now, you can be a bit more critical to the service quality, and don’t be too afraid to leave a 10 % tip.
Closing words
Since we are on a Road Trip, and probably won’t be in the same restaurant twice, we could have ditched the tipping altogether. But that would have been really lame, and attract a lot of angry comments if one of us wore the Road Trip ’09 t-shirt. We don’t want that do we?
Did I get it right? Feel free to correct me in the comments!
Tags: advice
Du liker å snakke om dette gjør du ikke?
Det er et viktig tema, og jeg er sikker på at andre også lurer på det samme, så da er det en god idé å dele kunnskapen med alle 😉
Hei eivind, jeg tror du “fikk det riktig”!!
Hilsen Simen
Offending people on a regular basis will produce more readable entries to this blog than living by the customs does. Man up!
That may be right, but I’m sure we’ll have plenty to blog about nevertheless 🙂
Jeg er enig med Sverre der..
You have the idea in general. Some additional info:
– Often restaurants will include a tip charge in the bill for a group (a “party”) of 6 or more. Check the bill to see if a tip has already been added in, to make sure you don’t double-tip.
– A baggage person (airport, hotel) is usually tipped, at a rate of $1 US per bag. If you don’t want to tip a bag carrier, then carry your own bags.
– If you order room service, check the bill to see if a tip (“service charge”) has been added. If not, it is good form to tip the delivery person. Oh, yeah, tip the pizza delivery guy too.
– A valet parking attendant gets tipped when you get the vehicle back – the amount varies based on how expensive the place is.
– Tour guides, and in general anyone working in the tourist industry providing direct service to customers, usually work on a low hourly rate and appreciate a little extra. I use a tip as a way to say thanks when they have done the job well.
– Hooters waitresses average 50%-100% of the bill in tips! But I stick to 15% anyway.