Member-only story
A Better Way to Figure the Tip?
It’s still 20%, but not necessarily of your bill
Technically, I overtip. I mean, if you’re going by the “20% of your pre-tax check” rule, anyway.
But that’s because I dine solo a lot. Writing’s solitary work and when the room starts closing in I like to scoot down to this place up the road where I can crack the laptop and enjoy a sandwich and a tall glass of cold tea while I type or read or ponder.
When you’re a one-top, especially if you’re also a regular, you don’t want to be a burden. You don’t want any opportunity-costs for whoever’s station you’re sat in.
So what I’ll do is look around at the other tables, the two-tops and four-tops. Maybe it’s a Sunday afternoon on the patio with all the light lunches and soft drinks. Or else maybe it’s an evening with a sweet game schedule and everybody’s loaded up with beers and appetizers and the whole nine yards.
Then I just ballpark: About how much is a table this size spending during the time I’m here? And I look at 20% of that.
In other words, what’s the value of my table-time? I might end up tipping 80% on a veggie plate and that’s OK. The veggie plate’s still a good deal.
And I’m not all that picky about the service, because tipping’s rarely beatific or…
