- By Henry Stark
- Around Town
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It’s typical for the topic of tipping (try saying that ten times fast!) to come up in discussions I have with my food and wine students and friends. The most controversial question concerns wine service.At issue: How much should we tip for a bottle of wine we order in a restaurant? Here’s an example to illustrate the conundrum. A diner orders a bottle of wine from a server. Server brings the wine and goes through the accepted routine – shows the selector the label, opens the bottle, lets the selector taste it, and then pours it for all the diners at the table. That’s basically the effort the server makes for every bottle of wine except it’s easier, these days, if the wine is capped with a screw top instead of a cork.
This leads to the key question: If the person paying the check decides on leaving a 20% tip, should he tip $4 for a $20 bottle and $40 for a bottle that costs $200? It seems clear that the server didn’t do anything special to earn the extra $36. It can be even more complex if the $200 bottle has a screw top (some of them do now) and the $20 bottle is capped with a cork.
Some of my friends have a set tip they will give for any bottle of wine no matter what the cost. If they give a $4 tip for a $20 bottle, they’ll tip $4 for any priced bottle. I know a few people who feel that if you’re inclined to choose an exclusive-type restaurant that serves expensive wine, you should be willing to leave a 20% tip no matter how much the bottle costs.
Frankly, I’m confused over the issue and don’t have any particular policy. I am definitely sympathetic to the point of view that the server doesn’t do anything different to open a $200 bottle than a $20 bottle and shouldn’t be paid more for it. However, if I spend time asking the server for advice on what wine pairs well with the food I’m ordering, I am inclined to reward him/her for that extra expertise and time. I recently ordered a dozen raw oysters at Simeon’s in Ithaca, and the young and inexperienced server made the mistake of offering to help me choose a wine. I asked him what he would recommend. He hesitated and then replied, “It doesn’t matter too much what you order with raw oysters as long as you order a red.” I politely responded that before he volunteers any more information to other wine customers, he should study the subject a bit more. Should I have tipped him less because his advice wasn’t helpful?
I’m very interested: What do you think is fair and what do you usually do when tipping for a bottle of wine?
Another tipping question concerns the tax. Do you tip on the total bill including the tax? I don’t. I note what the total is before the tax is added and I tip on that amount. I’m thinking: Why should I tip my server for money that goes into government funds in Albany. Some people note the amount of the tax, double it, and use that as a guide for the tip they leave.
Do you tip the same percentage at every restaurant at every meal? I don’t do that either. I’ve adopted an unofficial policy of thinking my average tip should be about 18%. If I receive average service, then I tip that percentage. If the service is better, I raise the number and if the service is inferior, I lower it. That way, I feel that over the long haul, I tip an average of 18% but I’ve rewarded good, and penalized poor, service. I remember twice in my life where I’ve chosen to “stiff” my server, i.e., tip nothing at all because of rudeness and extremely inattentive service. On those occasions I’ve written $00.00 in the tipping box so the waiter knows that I didn’t simply forget to leave a tip.
I’m sure you can think of other tipping topics but I think these are the most problematic. It’s a subject of interest to most people who dine out so I invite you to tell me your stories and opinions and I’ll print them in my next column.
Click here to send comments to me. I will answer each one personally and will print those that are of general interest. v8i21