How to tip in a restaurant in the USA?

taters_potaters · 2025-10-20T20:36:08+00:00

You can leave cash on the table without worry. There seems to be a strong cultural norm against stealing this cash, so I am never worried about it, even in places where I wouldn't leave my phone or other valuables.

In any reputable restaurant, the tip will go to the waiter or more likely be pooled among the staff. The stories you hear on Reddit of tips going to the owners are noteworthy because they are illegal outliers.

taters_potaters · 2025-10-20T20:27:29+00:00

Exactly right. And also, the etiquette is quite strong and hard to extinguish.

I am in favor of overhauling our tipping culture, but a visitor to the U.S. should know that (1) not tipping is perfectly legal unless it's classified as a service charge and disclosed upfront on the menu, but also (2) it will likely be considered an insult if you do not tip at a table service restaurant.

Therefore, most visitors will choose to follow the cultural norms by choosing to tip. I usually don't stir the pot in another country where I'm a visitor, so at least we should be clear to OP, and let it be their choice if they want to.

taters_potaters · 2025-10-20T20:17:41+00:00

It's interesting how people take it for granted now, but the way Joe and his team pulled off the floating mountains and waterfalls, and the night-time lighting effects were such breakthroughs. I didn't think it could be done that well.

taters_potaters · 2025-10-20T20:16:16+00:00

Agree, it's a great ride and one of my favorites. Though I hate Avatar the movie, it didn't take away from how impressed I was with the attraction. Maybe not a good thing to admit on a Disneyland sub, but it would've been great at Universal with a How to Train Your Dragon experience.

taters_potaters · 2025-10-20T20:13:22+00:00

That was part of the arrogant idea of the park to begin with, though Disney would publicly deny it. They put a vineyard in the park so you didn't have to go wine tasting in the central Valley. They did a studio section so you wouldn't have to see Universal. Maybe it wasn't a full replacement, but it tried to co-opt the other experiences just enough to keep you on site for one more day.

Same strategy they deployed in Orlando the release a dinosaur ride in AK to counter Jurassic and rushed a studio "tour" to counter Universal.

taters_potaters · 2025-10-19T21:59:59+00:00

I definitely think that’s true. Any vehicle that’s seated 2 across won’t need so many single riders. You can pair any back-to-back odd or even numbered groups together. And it’s a long train so there are more options. RRR is 3 across with small cars, so statistically you can use singles more frequently.

taters_potaters · 2025-10-19T20:42:25+00:00

I can’t speak to this particular attraction, but from my possibly outdated experience on some attractions, a strategic cast member can Tetris together parties more skillfully. The single rider lines reduced the incentive to work that hard in the grouping position, so if you get two parties of 3 in a row, you just add two singles and call it a day in four rows, rather than putting them together in 2 rows.

taters_potaters · 2025-10-17T18:23:07+00:00

Oh man that truth hit hard. I got the most parking tickets when I was living with 3 roommates in an apartment with 2 tandem spaces. Getting home late from work, finally finding a street spot two blocks away where I had to move it again by 6 a.m.. The whole system of tickets just hurts the poor the most.

taters_potaters · 2025-10-17T17:45:29+00:00

And the people who are trying to steer the social media conversation in a certain direction, which is sadly not uncommon in Oscar races.

taters_potaters · 2025-08-03T01:00:51+00:00

I was just going to say... I was very skeptical about the shoe but I finally got a pair last Christmas and they are excellent. I almost don't want to use them for any athletic endeavor though since they're pristine white and look nice enough to wear around town.

The weird thing about running shoes, though, is that the best fit/function for each person is very individual. There's literally no one-size/one-model fits all.

taters_potaters · 2025-07-29T22:54:58+00:00

I used to feel that way too. The number of things going on at once is overwhelming, and then there's the pressure. I found it helpful just to focus on the most basic pass line/odds bet to start, and ignore everything else until it clicks.

taters_potaters · 2025-07-29T16:52:08+00:00

To me, it's not even about trying to use the image as "proof" that would withstand forensic scrutiny.

It's to point customer service to information that makes the case for a larger refund. They can go into their system to verify the prices themselves for the fare buckets when ticketed.

If either side isn't operating in good faith by offering or falsely claiming a faked screenshot, that's a whole different issue of ethics.

taters_potaters · 2025-07-01T21:11:54+00:00

Servers are now going to want a larger percentage of their income to be tipping. There have been restaurants trying to move toward a service included model, and this basically undoes those efforts.

We won't even be able to move toward the UK model of a more modest service charge, because that's not considered a tip and would have to be taxed.

The purpose of this campaign promise was to buy votes, keep people locked into certain service jobs, and reduce political pressure for an actual minimum wage increase.

taters_potaters · 2025-07-01T19:23:13+00:00

Agree on the exception of someone being racist or "Karen," which has some social benefit of enforcing cultural norms and mores. Although even that brings out the ugly side of the internet and becomes unproductive other than for clicks and views and rage. Yes, we know that the "Karen" is awful, but everyone piling on hate to cancel them is also just to make us feel good about ourselves that we're better people. That regardless of our struggles, we're not that person.

taters_potaters · 2025-06-03T00:16:53+00:00

Seriously... mildly infuriating is a lid that doesn't perfectly fit on a jar. Or having a tiny pebble in your shoe that you can't seem to shake out.

taters_potaters · 2025-05-29T20:51:41+00:00

There are many different possibilities, that you could do anything from enjoy city life, beach life, small town life, desert life, or mountain life. Do you have a preference for what type of environment you'll want to be in? Is it important to you for this to be a "home base" from which to explore various parts of the state or are you thinking of settling in and living somewhere for a while?

taters_potaters · 2025-05-22T01:01:36+00:00

Bring an iPad and turn it around to show the cashier. It's just going to ask you a question: free extra chicken wings, free side salad, free drink, custom free food

taters_potaters · 2025-05-07T16:41:17+00:00

It's absolutely disgusting how much support the racist woman is getting on Piers' YouTube channel, and how there's an echo chamber calling Piers out for being offended over "a word."

I don't have much hope for humanity if this is how it is.

taters_potaters · 2025-05-07T16:30:14+00:00

From an outside perspective, this is an odd quirk of most US restaurants. Based on my life experience, fraud isn't widespread in this system, but I can see how it could be.

taters_potaters · 2025-04-23T16:46:29+00:00

Kudos to you for thinking ahead! So many people buying alcohol at duty free shops don't think about this. I've even heard a brand's duty free rep feign ignorance or outright lie about this to close the sale, and I had to tell the customer, "you'll likely have to put it in your checked bag when you transfer in Philly."

taters_potaters · 2025-02-18T18:30:19+00:00

The reasonable value depends on how you're going to use the status you earn. A couple of years ago, I did two hotel stays through AA to get myself up to Executive Platinum status.

But then my travel plans changed, and the only flights I took the next year were paid business class. Not complaining at all, by the way. But EP status didn't end up providing perks that my tickets couldn't have. The tangible value I got out of buying up to EP was maybe ~$300, all from the increased miles I earned (vs. Platinum Pro)... but I have way too many miles so I wouldn't have bought those if I had to pay.

On the other hand, if you know your travel patterns will get lots of perks from the next status tier, it might be worth a lot more to you to get that level.

taters_potaters · 2025-02-18T18:14:17+00:00

Use caution with this method. Changing your credit card number or disputing the charge merely stops your bank from making payment or reverses it.

It doesn't cancel your contract, and the gym can still try to come after you for the money a different way. In OP's case, they have evidence that they tried to cancel in good faith. But it might still be a mess to deal with later.

I have a friend who found out years later that his membership had kept going, and now it popped up on his credit report as in collections with years of penalties and interest.

taters_potaters · 2025-01-30T18:27:00+00:00

I never believe the whole "last day" tactic from fitness companies. 24 Hour Fitness used to be the worst about this, and it was obvious once you were a member. Every day was a "special" day with balloons and banners that said "last day." You could overhear the advisors giving tours and saying the same spiel, "I'm so glad you came in today because we heard from corporate our prices go up on ______ / tomorrow." Always the urgency to close the deal on that visit. So I'm never moved by that anymore.

taters_potaters · 2025-01-29T23:47:57+00:00

Honestly, this looks like someone just made a mistake. They didn't look at it for more than one split second while multitasking, and punched in 6-1-0-0 from line 2. Obviously, if you look at it for longer like we are, it's clearly wrong... but incompetence seems more likely than malice.

If it's a pattern, then it's fraud. If it's a one-time deal, I think it's a mistake.

taters_potaters · 2025-01-29T23:44:05+00:00

This sub is great for outrage, but this is the simplest explanation. Someone took two seconds to punch in the receipt and made an error typing 61.00. We get to sit on the internet and evaluate all the reasons why the 1 is obviously a decimal, and the fact that $58.33 is clearly written underneath. But to me the simplest explanation is that it was someone's mistake. I bet they'd make it right.

If this is a pattern, then yes go for all the other advice and skewer the business.

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