I just watched an old Friends episode...

Is that the one where her dad tipped too cheaply and he was adding on to his tip?
Or a different one entirely where Ross was the one paying?

Yeah, I don't think that was generous even back then, was it?

I also thought he was supplementing The dad's tip.

So really 14% together, or am I misunderstanding? My husband still struggles with 15% no longer being standard - and we're not that old!

Not sure where you live, but I've heard that the east coast has been 20% longer than the west. I grew up with the double the tax where SF sales tax was 8%

There are old ranchers around here that leave a buck tip, no matter what. 😵‍💫

I was taught that 15% was the minimum except in cases of bad service in which 10% was acceptable. Our minimum these days is 18% but often leave 20%.

I waited tables all through college, from diners to fine dining. A 10% tip always sucked. The minimum was 15%. I reserve that for bad service now. I always tip at least 20%. If the service is from a friend (like my hairdresser…we’ve been friends since our sons were in kindergarten together), I leave 30%.

Same. It was always 15% standard, 18% for excellent service.

(Double the tax also worked well enough since tax was 7%)

I was a waitress in undergrad, grad school, and then to support my teaching habit - 15% was standard and 20% was not at all uncommon. 

Years: late 1970s to late 1980s. 

I must be old… when I was a waitress (five years) at a family type place (Shoneys) standard was always 10%.

I will always remember the iced tea man. He would come in everyday, have a glass or two of tea and always leave a dollar tip. I think he was a mailman.

I’m funny when I start to calculate tip in my head I start at 10% and work my way up. I have no idea why I do it that way.

I tip 20%+, if I get actual bad service (not related to food quality or something beyond a servers control) it’s 15%. I started tipping when I moved here in early 2000.

I am a frugal tipper I guess. I tip a standard 15% usually, for an OK server.
10% or less if the server was awful (and it was not something out of their control)
20% if service was better than OK. And by OK I mean if my drink has been attended to, they are genuinely friendly and not giving a big sigh or an eye roll as they leave the table.

I also take into account how the whole place is being ran. I know some situations are out of the servers control. If they are making my experience better, in spite of how things are going in the restaurant, or at least trying to, I recognize that.

We don't have a lot of upscale places around here. It is more of a diner or bar type place. Some of the places you put in your order at the counter and then go sit down. I am not tipping 20% for that. You even pick up your plates/trays and put them on a cabinet as you leave and dump your trash. They are local places, not fast food franchise. I might leave a few dollars, but not 20% for that.

Do you all tip cash or add it to the CC bill? I mostly tip cash.

I thought about this too. California servers make at least minimum wage, so maybe that is why we used to tip only about 10-15%. Now, I think 15-20% is the norm.

And someone asked the question about tipping in cash or credit. I like to tip in cash. Even if I pay by card, I try to leave a cash tip, for everything, even Uber/taxi drivers.