Check, please! We all enjoy dining with family and friends at restaurants or meeting for the occasional after work drink with co-workers. These gathering places come a  dime-a-dozen, so it sometimes can be difficult to know how much to tip in any given situation; it doesn’t have to be, though.

Tipping ‘To a T’

Why we tip. A tip or gratuity is an amount of money given to a worker such as a waiter or waitress who performs a service for you or your party. Generally speaking, a tip is determined based on the total bill, which includes the cost of the meal and sales tax. A common tip amount is 15 percent of the cost of the meal or other service.

Many tip on how good they feel the service was or according to how generous they feel at the time. But, did you know there actually is a tipping formula for specific services provided?

Below is a breakdown of tipping, so you can get a better sense of how your extra dollars work.

Restaurants/Bars:

– Maitre d’/headwaiter/captain: often gets a portion of the table server’s tip; you can tip your server extra to reward the captain or tip the captain separately; between $5-$25 for special efforts;

– Waiter/waitress: 15 percent of bill (excluding tax) for adequate service; 20 percent for very good service; no less than 10 percent for poor service;

– Takeout order: no tip is expected unless a special order is filled;

– Sommelier or wine steward: 15 percent of cost of each bottle;

– Bartender: 15 percent to 20 percent of the tab, with a minimum of $.50 cents per soft drink, $1 per alcoholic drink;

– Coatroom attendant: $1 per coat;

– Parking valet or garage attendant: $2 to bring your car to you;

– Washroom attendant: $.50 cents to $1.

Service with a Smile

The aforementioned is suggested tipping according to national averages. Of course, you can feel free to go above and beyond the norm, if you feel you received exceptional service.

Web Links:

–http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/tipping/;

–http://www.aaamath.com/pct68_x1.htm;

–http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-how-much-you-should-tip-for-every-service-2012-8

-Kimberly Williams