Just the Tips: How Much to Tip Everyone From Pizza Delivery to Movers

When did tipping become such a minefield? Who do you tip, how much, how often? We are going to sort it all out for you. We are giving you just the tips and will tell you how much to tip pizza delivery and everyone else.

It seems that everywhere you go, no matter what you do, there is someone you need to tip. And tip well.

A decade ago for instance, 10 percent was an acceptable tip — 15 percent if the service was impeccable. Now, anything less than 15 percent is considered inappropriate. For good service, 20 percent is the norm. In more expensive restaurants, patrons are sometimes expected to tip up to 25 percent on the total amount of their bill (taxes included).

Sometimes you expect it. If you are out to dinner, you know you are expected to tip the server. But there are a lot of other situations where you might not be so sure.

We will explain what you should tip in both kinds of situations.

Food

Tipping around food probably causes the most consternation for people simply because there are so many scenarios. Unless you shop for your own groceries and cook all of your meals at home, these are some of the situations you will run into that require a tip.

Restaurants

Standard practice is to tip 15-20% on your restaurant check, and yes, that includes drinks. Sometimes there is a workaround for this. If the restaurant allows BYOB, do that.

Sometimes BYOB places require a corking fee, a charge incurred for the server opening and pouring the wine. See if the corking fee is less than it would cost to buy wine in the restaurant.

If you have a wait for a table, grab a drink at the bar and drink it slooooow then cash out before moving to your table. It’s customary to tip the bartender a dollar or two for drinks purchased at the bar so doing this may save you some money on the tip.

Even if you do order more drinks with dinner, at least you won’t have to factor that first one into the tip when you get the bill.

If you want to earn a little money when you go out to eat, book your reservation through Seated. You’ll get a $10-50 credit for Lyft, Starbucks, or Amazon. It will basically cover your tip!

What if you had poor service? Unless the service was really egregious, it’s not cool to leave no tip at all. Servers generally tip out support members of staff so when you stiff a server, you stiff people like runners and bussers too who did nothing to deserve it.

If you had poor service, consider who exactly is at fault. Was the food cold? That’s likely the server’s fault. They didn’t get the meal out to you in a timely way, so it sat in the window getting cold.

Was the food of poor quality? That’s the restaurant’s fault, not the server’s. Tip them the standard 15-20% and just don’t return.

Pizza and Food Delivery

Well, you could have taken your lazy ass to the restaurant and eat in or brought the food home, but you couldn’t be bothered for whatever reason. So the person carrying food right to your door deserves something for doing so.

But they aren’t refilling your drinks or checking to make sure everything was to your liking once you began eating. A fair tip for delivery is 10%.

However, if the weather is terrible, tip at least 20% and preferably in cash. Delivery workers have a hard, dangerous job on a nice day; it’s ten times worse in searing heat, pouring rain, or driving snow.

Pickup Orders

You were too lazy to cook but not too lazy to go out and pick up your food. Do you have to tip on a pickup order? If it’s a small, simple order and there is a tip jar on the counter, throw a dollar or two in there. You don’t have to, but it’s a nice gesture.

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