gratuity / Tipping

We are travelling to Boston and stopping in downtown hotel and moving on to smaller B%26amp;B%26#39;s.

When do we tip and to who We are from the UK and I find the expected tipping confusing.

What happens if we forget to tip as we do not want to offend. I know we should tip for good service but what if we dont get good service ?

Jen

UK

gratuity / Tipping

Hi Sashpsie,

If you type 鈥榯ipping鈥?into the search feature in the forum section this will bring up umpteen topics surrounding tipping in NY and the US (many heated discussions too). Tipping is customary in the US although not legal. For food the servers have a poor minimum wage and sometimes no wage at all and depend on their tips (they even get taxed on an assumed level that they may or may not get). At the end of the day how much is up to you if the service you receive is good.

gratuity / Tipping

Tipping is certainly legal - perhaps you meant to say it is not enforced.

Yep should have been more clear! Maybe by saying it%26#39;s not %26#39;ilegal not to tip%26#39; just bad form!

Tipping is customary, however not MANDATORY.

In a restaurant a tip 0f 18-20% of the bill is the norm - for a taxi ride depending on the fare a dollar or two - bellman/porter in a hotel for bringing bags to room 2-4 dollars - really not complicated, but do check the FAQ on tipping, everyone has their own opinion/scheme.

And if you do not tip, as far as I know, there are no %26#39;tipping police%26#39; - so no worries, it%26#39;s not anything major.

Poppa

In many countries a ';service'; charge is added which you pay no matter how good or bad the service is. Here you can decide how much to tip depending on how good or bad the service is. The customary amount at resturants is about 15-20% of the bill, many New Yorkers do the following. Look at the tax. double the amount and add it to the total and then round it up to the next dollar. That will make your tip about 17%. If service is very good add a few dollars, if it is poor take a few away. Not tipping at all would be taken to mean that you thought the service was not worth anything, IE, really, really, bad. I also tip at least $1 per person for really inexpensive meals. No need to tip for take-away food, but many of us put the coin part of the change in the tip jars that have sprung up. Taxi drivers, tip about the same amount, again more or less depending on the service. Hotels, a buck or two a day, you can leave it with a note daily (like thanks, or for the housekeeper) or at the end of your stay. If someone takes your luggage, a buck per item, same for coat check, especially if it is ';free'; at a resturant. Bars (pubs) a buck per drink, given when you pay. At really high end places you could tip a bit more.

Finally, don%26#39;t sweat it, if you forget to tip when it is customary. Most service people will just think you don%26#39;t know better and move on, especially if you have one of those gerat british accents.

Under Mayor Gulianni the Transit Police, Housing Police, Traffic Police and regualr NYPD were merged. At that time the Tipping Police Unit was disbanded. NBC had to change the name of one of their shows from ';Law and Order - TPU'; to ';Law and Order - SVU'; and change the whole format of the show.

LOL - that%26#39;s funny, Al!

Also, Sasphie, as Al says, don%26#39;t worry too much about it. I%26#39;ve read trip reports from other UKers and many have said it wasn%26#39;t an issue.

Al, no fair - you know, some of the %26#39;newbies%26#39; will be wanting to know when the reruns of L%26amp;O TPU will be running......LMAO

Poppa

Al - brilliant!

make sure you check your bill...sometimes a gratuity is added...in which case you do not need to tip more, unless the service was superior!!