The Way We Tip

Here’s how I tip: I look at the bill’s total, including tax, and then I take whatever’s in front of the decimal point and double it. So a $15.25 meal will get a $3 tip. A $40 taxi ride will get an $8 tip. Everyone gets a roughly estimated 20 percent, except for the guy who cuts my hair, who gets a 100 percent tip because Great Clips only charges $15 for a haircut and I really like this stylist.

The Atlantic has new data out about how the rest of us tip, focusing on the way we tip restaurant servers. The data includes:

— Illinois has the highest percentage of people who tip; Delaware has the least.

— Tips represent up to 70 percent of servers’ incomes.

— “For bartenders, the worst place to be is New York, where the median amount earned from tips per hour is $7.10.”

— It’s estimated that there are around $11 million in unreported tips every year.

— Men receive fewer tips than women, but men also receive higher base pay than women. Both male and female servers still earn “below the national median for hourly wage for all occupations, which is $16.87.”

Take a look at The Atlantic’s data, and then let us know: How do you tip? Do you give a flat 20 percent, or do you give taxi drivers different tips than bartenders, who get different tips than servers? Do you tip based on service, or do you tip everybody the same? How much do you tip the person who cuts your hair?

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