Payment methods in the US

[Fall_Child42]

What the hell, 10% is perfectly acceptable. Sure it is a bit low, but if the service is not all that great why would I drop %20 on it?

Usually I tip somewhere around %15 (it was easier when I could just at the PST and GST)

Despite the Ludicrously stupid idea that waitresses should make less than everyone else and therefore society should be obligated to tip them, a tip is still supposed to be a gratuity. A gift from the customer for a job well done. And if the job was only hovering at satisfactory I'm not paying an extra chunk of money for it.

How about if I say 10% - 20%? Does that make it better?

P.S. If the service is really bad tip a very small amount or else they won't know that they did something wrong. If you leave nothing you are the one that looks like a douche.

[808-buma]

Okay, here's another question - somewhat related: I heard that in the US, prizes in stores are never the final price. There's always 8% tax (or something like that, depends on which state you live in) that is thrown above it. And for restaurants there's the tip, which is something between 10-20%, right? Do you still have to add tax in restaurants also, or is it included? And are tips to be given in restaurants only, or also other places where you can get food, like the McDonalds or your local hot dog stand?

Also, when using certain payment methods, like credit cards, do they add extra fee?

I know they're a lot of questions, but hey, it's useful to know the answer to those!

Hmmm... maybe I should just turn this thread into "what you should know as a tourist going to the US"!

Thanks people!

mmm, lets see...
more than the stated price on price tags - yes, for most states you visit in the US, there is a tax on most goods which varies by state. In Hawaii it's some fraction above 4% so if an item costs $1 on the price tag, when you take it up to the register, it will ring up at a final price of $1.04 (or something). Also, some states (Hawaii included) may charge additional fees for certain items - like for instance: in Hawaii, we have a $.06 recycling fee on plastic bottles / aluminum cans ($.05 of which you can get back when you recycle them). So in the above example, if you bought a $1.00 can of soda, when you went to the register, it would be $1.10 (0.04 tax + 0.06 in other fees). Probably more than you needed to know, but just came to mind when I was writing this.

Tips - yes, for sit-down places, tipping is generally recommended at an average of 15-20% of your total bill. For fast food places, you normally do not tip. However, on some food stands (such as a coffee cart, or hot dog stand or similar) you might see a tip jar displayed - then if you liked their service, feel free to drop a $1 or something in there.

credit cards and extra fees - normally, most merchants do not add any extra fees for using a CC in transactions. However, your bank might. When I went to Japan, I got charged 2 additional fees by my bank - a transaction fee and a currency conversion fee. The benefit for the convenience was that I didn't have to use cash on hand (and save it for other shops that didn't take CC's in Japan, which there are a few) and the rate of exchange usually better thru the CC even with the added fees, so still made out.

hope that helps?

[Orwell]

In the states, most of their pay comes from tips.

Do you mean in addition to minimum wage/going wage, or as part the wage itself? I'm not sure about federal laws, but I know here in Washington it's illegal if the company uses any part of the tip money to pay your wage. I believe there was a class action law suit against starbucks for this just a month or two ago - though I believe that was in California, not on a national level.

[NS]

I no, it's just that they'll be paid minimum wage or so, but then get possibly 100+ dollars a day depending on how busy the restraunt is/where it's located.

[guy07]

In the states, most of their pay comes from tips.

Do you mean in addition to minimum wage/going wage, or as part the wage itself? I'm not sure about federal laws, but I know here in Washington it's illegal if the company uses any part of the tip money to pay your wage. I believe there was a class action law suit against starbucks for this just a month or two ago - though I believe that was in California, not on a national level.

WOAH! WOOAAHH! Are you fucking kidding me? What a bunch of cheap fucks! I've heard of tip sharing where the company takes the money, then gives equal amounts to each employee and adds it to their pay but that's ... how can that be legal? Its like they are taking the money from you!
@koop: Haha, trust me I've been there. I've worked about every type of job there is. At the restaurant i worked at when i was a cook the waitress made the same as me, 10/hr ,plus tips. So they were making more then me. Be sure to actually READ my post before saying stuff like that, lol. I'm usually pretty broke, so I try to avoid paying more then I have to. I'm not as much of an ass as people think i am ^_~

[Koopiskeva]

@koop: Haha, trust me I've been there. I've worked about every type of job there is. At the restaurant i worked at when i was a cook the waitress made the same as me, 10/hr ,plus tips. So they were making more then me. Be sure to actually READ my post before saying stuff like that, lol. I'm usually pretty broke, so I try to avoid paying more then I have to. I'm not as much of an ass as people think i am ^_~

I did READ your post, but not being Canadian, I don't know how much they make there hourly. When I was a Server, I got paid practically nothing per hour and had to make money on tips.

[Kariudo]

min wage differs from state to state, but it's usually around $5.15/hr

The general rule for tipping that I was taught was ~15% if the service was decent, the amount you tip can be higher or lower depending on how you feel the service was.

[NS]

minimum wage here in Minnesota is like $6.15 or so.

[Pwolf]

min wage differs from state to state, but it's usually around $5.15/hr

The general rule for tipping that I was taught was ~15% if the service was decent, the amount you tip can be higher or lower depending on how you feel the service was.

Federal minimum wage is $6.55 so It shouldn't be lower then that in any state...


Pwolf

[Kariudo]

huh, looks like min wage has gone up a bit since I was last making it around 3 years ago