I’m one of those people who believes that the large majority of Black people do not tip, but only because they do not know how to properly tip.  This isn’t a pass, most of your etiquette questions can be solved by a simple Google search.  However, I asked eleven questions about tipping to seven Black folks, here are their answers:

The Black Folks:

Lashawn, Female, age 28, living in NJ and working in Marketing.

Ness, Male, age 25, living in NYC and working in Advertising.

Chris, Male, age 27, living in Philadelphia and working as a Bartender.

Cara, Female, age 27, living in Tampa and working in Public Health.

Morris, Male, age 29, living in NYC and working in Advertising.

 Lia, Female, age 25, living in VA and working in Event Planning.

 Jeff, Male, age 30, living in NYC working in IT Consulting.

1.  What is the appropriate amount to tip for a meal?

Lashawn, 20%

Ness, 10-15% depending on the price of the meal

Chris, 20%

Cara, 20%

Morris, 20%

Lia, 20%

Jeff, Double the tax of the meal. If no tax in your state, 15%

2.  What is the appropriate amount to tip for alcoholic beverages?

Lashawn, 18%

Ness, I really don’t agree with tipping more than $2 a drink for someone who pours beer in cups. I know how to pour beer in a cup without spilling it. A waiter has to balance trays and get yelled at for the cheese not being melted. A bartender normally is a good looking chick that just has to wear a low cut shirt and pour without spilling. No homo but I know a male bartender works harder for tips so I’ll tip them better maybe if i got it.

Chris, $2 per drink, 20% for a tab over 5 drinks

Cara, 10-15%

Morris, 20%

Lia, 50%

Jeff, $2-$3, $5 if the bartender made MAD drinks.

Dr. J – The proper way to tip according to Gentleman’s etiquette is $5 for the first drink and $1 for each subsequent.

3.  Do you tip the bathroom attendant?

Ness, Hell no, but that job sucks. You gotta smell people piss and $#!* all night.

Chris, $2 for the night

Cara, Only when I have cash, which is never. One time at mansion in Miami I was so schmaammerd I gave the bathroom attendant a $100 bill. I’m pretty much paid up for life.

Lia, If they are helpful, not if they just stand and greet me.

Jeff, RARELY.

Dr. J – In order for me to tip a bathroom attendant, he’s got to know his role.  Don’t take the paper towels and put some Softsoap on my hand.  You’ve got to make my bathroom experience better, that includes being cordial.

4.  Do you tip your hairdresser or barber?  If so, how much.

Lashawn, Yes, my hair usually costs $25 at max, so I tip $5

Cara, Depends if they own their own salon or if they’re at a commercial salon. If they own they’re own salon I’ll tip between 5-10 dollars. If they are part of a commercial salon I’ll try to tip 10% of the cost of the service.

Morris, Yes. Lineup costs $7 so i pay him $10. cut cost $13 so I pay him $20.  Pay him double for Christmas.

Lia, Depends on how much I like their work. Usually 20-50% range.

Jeff, I tip $5-$8, make it an even $20 for a $12-$15 haircut. He’s cut my hair since 9th grade!

5.  Have you ever avoided a gratuity by splitting the group up into smaller groups?

Lashawn, No, most places I visit won’t allow you to do so.

Ness, Yeah but that’s more so I don’t have to partially pay for someone’s meal not avoid a tip.

Chris, Preposterous.

Cara, No, that is the cheapest sh*t in the universe. Adults with jobs just split the bill.

Dr. J – The only time it’s appropriate to split a group is in the interest of time.  Smaller groups are usually sat quicker than larger groups, especially larger than six patrons.

6.  How do you feel when someone in your party decides to skim or not tip at all?

Lashawn, Livid because we then have to pick up the slack.

Ness, It makes me tip because I don’t want to look bad. Even though I’m not the BEST tipper I will tip.

Chris, Unless the service is horrible, they are horrible human beings.

Cara, That they are an embarrassment, and maybe they should’ve went to Subway.

Morris, I don’t ever go out with them again or I specify exact cost including tip & gratuity beforehand.

Lia, Infuriated.

Jeff, I look down on them for having no class, unless the service was horrible.

Dr. J – As a person who overtips, if we have this problem, I’ll speak up.

7.  When is it appropriate to not tip?

Lashawn, When service is absolutely unacceptable.

Ness, When they ignore your table for mad long and take forever.

Chris, Never.

Cara, When you get bad service or there’s something in your food. If the service is good, I’ll tip even if things are free sometimes.

Morris, Terrible service.

Lia, Bad, Bad, Horrible service, or lack thereof.

Jeff, Bad service or counter service at a diner.

Dr. J – Never.  If you feel that your service has been horrible to the point of not tipping, ask to speak to the manager and have the meal price adjusted for the price of “on the house.”

8.  What are some places that you think people tend to forget to tip?

Ness, You can’t forget, some people just don’t got it. Sometimes people say “don’t go out if you don’t got it” but I think that’s unfair to say I can’t get a good steak to eat just because I don’t got extra money. That’s like saying the lower class should just stick to Wendy’s.

Cara, The bathroom, and my nail salon only accepts cash tips. I never have cash.

Morris, Mailman.

Lia, Spa, Nail Salons, Bowling lanes, Coat checks…

Jeff, Valets at Hotels and curb side check in at airports, hotel attendants.

9.  Do you tip at an open bar?  If so, how much?

Ness, Yea same rule applies, not more than $2 a drink they still pour beer in cups.

Chris, If you want stellar service and your drinks on time, tip $20 at the beginning of the night.

Morris, $1/drink, more if i like the bartender. when i was younger, id give the bartender $20 at an open bar & tell him to make sure my glass never empty

Lia, 20-50% of the price the drink would’ve been.

10.  Worst horror story about tipping.

Lashawn,  I was at a restaurant and no one gave a tip, so I decided to put the tip on my card, It was only 15% but the waiter came back and looked at the bill and pointed to the tip line. He was probably not too enthused by the amount of his tip, but he definitely wanted to discuss.

Ness, Last weekend the owner of this bar I’m a regular at lectured me about tipping his bartender who according to him “doesn’t make shit.” I didn’t dispute because I planned to tip but I didn’t tip him because he was the owner. He makes all the real money.

Chris, Five difficult drinks mixed and served, no tip.

Lia, My cousin tried to tip a waitress 50 cents… after 20 minutes of arguing she decided to tip a WHOLE dollar. Very embarrassing.

Jeff, Big group of people, bill arrives, everyone ONLY paying their exact amount, leaving tip nil. It took like 25 minutes to finally squeeze the money out of people. Never again.

Dr. J – While celebrating a friend’s birthday, I decided to buy several shots from the bar.  Upon receiving the tab, I hurriedly added a 20% tip and signed my life away.  Later I would find out that tip & gratuity were included in tabs over $100.

11.  Personal success stories about tipping, or general words of advice.

Lashawn, You should always tip anywhere you go as you don’t know how your tip can help someone. Many places don’t pay well, and tips comprise the bulk of an employees pay, so please keep that in mind when you are out and about.

Ness, I tipped this bartender to the point she gave me a free drink, me being naive thought she was trying to get at me. I ended up striking out. So don’t get gassed fellas.

Chris, Always tip black people, especially because you are not expected to. Your poor service maybe the result of someone before you not tipping, it’s a vicious cycle.

Cara, Don’t be an asshole.

Morris, Tip or stay home.

Lia, Always leave a tip when another person provides any type of personal service for you.  Good service = Good Tip — Bad service = Bad Tip — No Service = No Tip… Simple

Jeff, Remember that the same people you meet on the way up are the same people you’ll see on the way down. We’ve all done tip based work before. Remember how you felt, and tip accordingly!

Dr. J –  When on vacation, tip everyone.  You never know who might have some words of advice for you, or be able to help you out.

I hope everyone enjoyed the article and the insights.  Don’t be those people who don’t tip, and don’t embarrass your associates or friends by not tipping.