According to an article at TripAdvisor, the average tip at a restaurant in the U.S. is still somewhere between 15% and 20% inclusive. We tend to follow the advice of the late, great New York restaurant critic Seymour Britchky, who advised tipping the standard unless the service was exceptional, in which case you go up a few percentage points, or the service is inferior, in which case you do the opposite. Britchky also advised tipping on the pre-tax total, which should go without saying.
But now a new trend is afoot where patrons are tipping 100% of the amount on the check, then documenting it on social media. The last part of that — posting a photo of the executed check on social media — strikes me as a little gauche. It’s almost as though the tipper is boasting about his largess or daring others to do the same.
Needless to say, the practice has led to the creation of a Twitter hashtag, #tipthebillchallenge, along with and endless stream of comments, mostly from waiters. Some examples:
ppl who r mad abt #tipthebillchallenge and giving all their reasons why server wage is bs and tipping shouldnt be the norm… are all ppl who do nothing to help servers make a real wage and just want to justify not tipping.
— mattie (@rosemilkmattea) August 10, 2018
#tipthebillchallenge Just so everyone knows, servers don't make an HOURLY wage! The "2.13" an hr that they do "get" is taxed in accordance with how much we make in tips. Last week I my paycheck was 0.30 cents ????????
— Patience ♡ (@PayPay_7) August 11, 2018
#TipTheBillChallenge I approve this message. pic.twitter.com/mK3SuckPdM
— Patrick (@ItsBuzby) August 10, 2018
Needless to say, some people are having fun with the initiative:
“So a group of accountants go to a bar…” #tipthebillchallenge pic.twitter.com/Lcdro2N5ZY
— Chris Messier (@Topharuns) August 10, 2018
So how about you? Are you ready to tip the entire amount on the check?
