Updated on: Feb 16, 2024
A good thing to know when casually going out or going to your event venue is how to tip. This skill will help ensure good service and more importantly, encourage the continuation of that service once you return. It also shows that you have good character. Always make sure to budget the gratuity into the anticipated final bill at brewpubs, bars, microbrewery restaurants, nightclubs, jazz nightclubs, dance clubs, or any other hot spots that you go out in the city. It’s important for any event, from a bachelor party to a baby shower. Keep these ten important tips on tipping in mind when you go out!
Tips on Tipping by Situation
1. Meals
After a meal dining-in at a restaurant, it is customary to leave a tip between 15 percent to 20 percent of the tab. The tip amount should stay between these percentages, no matter the level of service. The amount that you leave is only for the server to take home, no one else in the restaurant. Keep this in mind when your meal took a long time to come out due to the kitchen staff running slow.
However, if you go out to have a meal with your friends or family and someone pays for your meal, or your food and drinks are covered, leave a tip equal to what you would have paid. You may save yourself money in the long run if you are a good tipper. Some restaurants have a guide at the end of the bill that tells you approximately how much you are expected to tip based on how much you spent.
2. Drinks
If you find yourself taking a drink or two at a restaurant during a bridal shower party, make sure that whenever a beer bottle is opened or a simple drink is poured and given to you, start with $1. As you order more complicated and expensive options, up the amount to $2 or more if you feel it is necessary. Be ready to pay as soon as you order so that you don’t waste the server’s time to make more money.
If you go out with your friends whether to a bar or an Irish pub, it is common for one or a couple of people to give the bartender a large tip, about $100, at the beginning of the night. This should cover the cost of drinks and tips for about 3 to 4 people. The other members of the group are then responsible for tipping for additional drinks after that. This will prompt a pleasurable experience with your server throughout the whole night!
If you’re at dance nightclubs and order from the bar, then, of course, leave a tip for that drink. It might be a little bit of a fluster to tip in a crowded bar but when you return, the server will remember you and give you a refill without you even having to ask.
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3. Rideshare or Taxi's
When taking a taxi or rideshare such as Uber or Lyft, it is important to tip the driver at the end of your trip. A common rule for tipping cab drivers is to stay between 15 and 20 percent. This amount will usually equal a dollar or two. For rideshares like Uber or Lyft, the app will prompt you to tip after your trip. Tip options will appear on your screen, it is courteous to stick to a $2 minimum.
4. Hotels
It can be stressful trying to figure out how much to leave at the end of a long stay at a hotel. If you are staying at a hotel for multiple days, leave a few dollars every day for housekeeping. It is common also for most hotels do not to have the same housekeeper every day for your room. Tipping every day ensures that each housekeeper gets their fair share of tips. If you are only staying one night at a hotel, leaving the tip on your way out of the room in the morning would be perfect.
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5. Coffee Shops
While at your local coffee shop, it can be confusing if you should tip. If you order something simple like tea or water, no tip is necessary. However, if you order a handcrafted drink such as a cappuccino or a latte, a dollar or two would be appreciated. If you are ordering something like coffee grounds it would also be kind to tip a few extra dollars.
6. Hair or Nails Salons
After getting your hair and nails done, perhaps for a wedding, it is important to tip your technician for their time and work spent. Tipping at 15 percent is standard for salons. However, consider tipping more depending on what you were having done. If you had your whole head bleached and dyed, a greater tip would be deserved compared to hair trim.
General Tips on Tipping
7. Prices
Another important tip is to not complain about the prices. It’s embarrassing when you go to a restaurant and someone complains to the waiter or waitress about the menu prices. The server has no control over the expense of the food or drinks, so leave them alone! After all, it was your choice to go to that restaurant. After the bill is given at the end of the meal, leave a proper gratuity, and say thank you.
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8. Pub vs. Bar
Are you planning a night out in a city full of dance clubs, brewpubs, nightclubs, and more? If you’re planning on some drinking, then knowing the difference between bars and pubs could be quite helpful. Yes, they do both serve alcohol, but the accompanying food, service, and ambiance are all different in places like Irish pubs. Before deciding on hot spots to hit and nightlife to enjoy, consider what elements are important to you when you grab a drink.
Depending on just how (or who with) you want to drink, this determination could be quite important for you. Bars are typically designed to bring in younger crowds, so they are loud and bold with music blaring out of speakers and strobes and other lights creating a crazy atmosphere. There are, however, also many specialties including but not limited to gay bars, karaoke places, dance nightclubs, salsa saloons, and jazz nightclubs. The precise ambiance and entertainment can vary greatly between each, but they are all usually geared toward younger people who just want to go out, drink, and have fun.
Pubs, on the other hand, have local energy about them that appeals to a broader audience. They are also more likely to be open during the day, so they are more like local watering holes. They usually have a calmer atmosphere with either no music or more soothing music quietly played. It is a much more quiet and casual ambiance that is not designed so much for entertainment (though they may have darts and billiard or snooker tables) as just having a place to catch up with friends or enjoy a lunch break.
Perhaps the largest difference between the two comes down to the food element. Taverns are geared around entertainment and drinks, so they only offer small appetizers if they offer food at all. Pubs, however, are very much like restaurants. They have a full menu of filling meals that may even come in courses. Because of this, they can be called microbrewery restaurants and actually allow some minors in as long as they have an adult with them. This is important to keep in mind if you are accompanied by underage people.
While taverns are all about the variety and complexity of their distilled spirits and cocktails, pubs (including Irish ones) are more about beers and wines. Due to their specialty in these aged beverages, their drinks are often of higher quality.
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9. Safety at Bars
Whether you’re at restaurants or brewpubs, be sure to keep an eye on your glass. One of the biggest concerns in these public settings is getting drugged. Avoid spiked drinks in nightclubs by carrying your beverage. If you set it down and step away, leave it there. Do not take drinks from strangers that were “generous” enough to buy you something. Be sure you see the bartender make the concoction.
Another safety tip is never going to a bar alone. Traveling in numbers at any jazz nightclub or bar is a good idea. Bathroom partners, car-ride-home partners, and dance partners are a must. It won’t only be more enjoyable but it will also keep you safe! If by any means you are headed to microbrewery restaurants, Irish pubs, or gay bars, tell someone. Provide them with the address, too. This is especially relevant if you are going out with someone new or by yourself. Let your sibling, best friend, or roommate know where you’ll be. This is a smart precaution.
If you drank more than anticipated at the dance nightclubs, the night may start to blur. It’s the end of the evening and you need to get home. Save a couple of taxi cab numbers on your cell phone. This way, you will always have a service on hand. Then, keep spare cash on you. This can be placed in your pocket, shoe, phone case, etc. Cab fare won’t be an issue, and you’ll have an ensured ride home from the Irish party.
Hot spots are never liable for your possessions. Whether it’s a jacket that you set down or your phone, it is your job to keep a lookout. Consider only bringing the necessities. For the ladies, bringing a clutch might be easier to keep track of than a purse. Even this, however, is a risk. If you can fit your ID, money, etc. in the pockets of your outfit, try that. Just be sure that if you set something down and leave, isn’t that valuable or have a friend watch it.
10. Not Satisfactory Service
Sometimes bad service happens in places such as restaurants and salons. While it may be tempting to not tip your server at a restaurant for taking a long time to take your order and bringing the wrong food, it is still unacceptable to stiff them. It will also be tempting to not tip your hair or nail technician if they did the opposite of what you had in mind. However, the people serving you and working at the salon still spent their time on you. It is appropriate to leave a 10 percent minimum tip.
Restaurants with Party Rooms: Conclusion
These ten tips on tipping are important, but the most important tip of all is to always remember that you are there to have a good time and get back home safely. Once you choose the appropriate venue for your kid’s birthday or the dream wedding you’ve been planning for years, remember that tipping is always necessary to ensure a pleasurable night out, as well as having good company to make you feel more comfortable.
Written by Brittney Casad, Kimberly Vona, Sarah Guidas and Matvei Mozhaev; Contributors: Jack Leduc, Artem Khaybullin and Marianne Vanderbeke