- A growing number of businesses are requesting tips from customers.
- Yet, the rules of tipping depend on all kinds of different factors, etiquette experts say.
It's not a big question about whether you should tip a server in a sit-down restaurant: That's pretty well-established.
But what about all the other places where tip jars — virtual or otherwise — are popping up, especially since the pandemic upended tipping norms?
"Some people are feeling unwanted social pressure to tip in circumstances and amounts that they don't really want to, and that's making them unhappy," said tipping expert Michael Lynn, who is a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
While there are some scenarios where it's perfectly okay not to tip, it's clear that the expectations of tipping culture are a bit higher these days.
For anyone who's a little lost on how much you should be leaving at places like restaurants, bars, and salons, we polled experts to find out. Here's what they said.
Sit-down restaurants: Around 20%
Thomas Farley, a New York-based etiquette expert known as Mister Manners, said you should tip at least 20% at sit-down restaurants.
"For us as patrons, the expectation is you are always tipping those employees because that is truly how they make their income," he said.
Wait staff who earn the bulk of their wages through tips are often paid less than minimum wage by their employer. While the amount varies across the states that allow sub-minimum wages, it's lower than the actual minimum wage.
In New York, for example, the minimum wage for food service workers falls between $14.20 and $15 an hour. But depending on where they work in the state food service workers earn between $9.45 and $10 an hour in cash wages paid by their employers — and rely on tips to make up the difference, according to the New York State Department of Labor.
The amounts are different, but the concept is the same in many other states, too. That's why tips, according to Farley, are "part of the compact you enter when you sit down at a restaurant and you are getting service."
And if you're one notch higher, at a fine-dining establishment, expect to leave 20% to 25%, said etiquette expert Avery Johnson of The Southern Academy of Etiquette.
Bars: $1 to $3 per drink
Tip your bartender 15 to 20% of your tab, which could be somewhere between $1 to $3 per drink, according to Johnson, and Nick Leighton, an etiquette expert and co-host of the podcast "Were You Raised By Wolves?"
Delivery: At least 15%, but consider distance, too
After a DoorDash driver cursed at a woman who tipped $5 on a $20 order, which is 25%, Insider asked food delivery drivers in New York how much they expect to receive in tips.
Most of them said 15% to 20% would constitute a good tip. But in New York, of course, distances are nominal in such a compact city.
In other cities, when a driver has to make a long trip, customers should take the distance they drove into consideration for their final tip, drivers and etiquette experts said.
Navi Vong, a delivery driver who works for both DoorDash and Uber Eats, previously told Insider by email that "we select orders based on distance to the customer and how much the total offer is."
She added that "couriers use their own vehicles, complete with insurance, gas, and other maintenance costs," so earning less than $20 and hour in the Phoenix area where she works "is not enough for the cost it takes to maintain the vehicle to deliver in the first place."
Hotel staff: It varies
When you're traveling, budget an extra $2 to $5 per night to tip your housekeeper at a hotel, Johnson said. Be sure to leave a tip daily as opposed to one lump sum at the end, as staffing may change day to day. The American Hotel & Lodging Association similarly recommends leaving $1 to $5 per night for housekeeping.
The association also suggests tipping a valet or parking attendant $1 to $5 when your car is delivered, and any bell staff or porters $1 to $5 per bag they help you bring to your room.
If you ask for an extra blanket, say, tip $2 per item and $1 for anything additional beyond that, according to the AHLA.
Room service often comes with a service charge built in, but if it doesn't, aim for 15 to 20%, the association said.
Beauty services: Around 20%
Tipping for beauty services at places like nail and hair salons should fall in the range of 15% to 20%, Johnson said.
Leighton agreed, adding that if there are multiple people that performed services for you, then you can ask for the tip to be divided among them.
"In a salon, you can ask that they split your tip among everyone who touched your hair (such as the shampoo person and colorist)," he said.
Taxis and ride-hailing services: 15% to 20%
If you're taking a taxi or using a ride-hailing service like Uber or Lyft, you'll want to go for a 15 to 20% tip, Leighton said. If you have bags, kick in a dollar or two extra per bag that they help you load, Johnson said.