How should you tip a waiter?

Should you leave cash on the table? Or add it to the credit card bill? If you're like me, you want to make sure the person who gave you good service gets all of it. Here's some insight into what happens to your gratuity.

Even when you tip well on a credit card, it's difficult to know whether your entire gratuity will end up in your server's bank account. That's mainly because policies can differ among various restaurants, hotels and other establishments where employees earn tip income. Those policies may reduce tip amounts or slow their payout. For example, servers' credit card gratuities may be reduced to offset the cost of interchange fees the restaurant pays to process credit transactions.
Even so, cash gratuities may not mean the server is going home with that money in their wallet. A waiter's tip may be divvied up among other restaurant workers -- such as busboys, food runners and sommeliers -- who make the waiter's job easier. At other establishments, all tips may be pooled for the entire staff before being divided among all the employees.

If the tip is on a credit card, the waiter may have to wait for a manager to pay them before heading home at the end of the night. Don't forget, however, that if you put it on a credit card, you have a record of it for use later, and especially if you made a mistake on the amount.

How much to tip?

Mint.com provides some suggestions for common situations.

 

At the Doorstep

Delivery is hardly limited to pizza at this point; everything from sushi to barbecue seems available as a to-go order. No matter what specific cuisine I’m craving, what’s the delivery person expecting in terms of tip? Luckily, there’s a whole Web site, TipthePizzaGuy.com, dedicated to these people’s livelihood to clarify matters. “You’re supposed to tip the pizza delivery driver like you tip the waiter,” says the site. “They rely on tips and use their own car.” Despite the fact that restaurants tack on a delivery charge, the person performing the actual delivery isn’t seeing any of this—meaning, tip like you’re sitting at a restaurant table: 15% to 20%. (C’mon, someone’s actually bringing food to your home, meaning all the work you’re doing is moving from the couch to the front door for a hot meal.)

The Coffee Counter

The tip jar—it sits right next to the register, staring at me as the barista rings up my order. Sometimes it’s full. Sometimes it’s empty. The last thing I need before my coffee is a moral dilemma. A dollar in there seems like way too much (over 25%!), but tossing in change feels cheap.
Tip jars, according to Post, carry no obligation. But when should we contribute to them? And how much? My sister, Amber Firestone, is a former barista who isn’t afraid to enlighten me on tipping expectations: “If all you’ve gotten is a plain coffee or tea, you’re probably not going to offend anyone by not tipping,” she says. “If you order something complicated or if you’re a regular, you need to toss something into the jar.”

And in general:

Instead of having to memorize a different percentage expected for each situation, we can all fall back on a few recurring rules in ambiguous, awkward moments. When in doubt, 15% is a safe bet. Tips jars? Spare change is quite all right. If you’re a regular, tossing in a fiver every once in a while will probably keep those smiles and prompt service coming. And in any situation, service that delights should definitely be honored in return with a monetary thank-you.