is 20% where we should start now

I went to www.86BadTips.com today and they have a "Top ten rules for customers". They stated that I should always tip 20%+ regardles of service. What gives?

I think 15% is sufficient. Sometimes I give a little more/less if the service is much better/much worse than average. I really don't want to give a whole lot as to start making servers believe that they should be a server for the rest of their life, as some do quite very well with tips on top of $12 an hour (my friend makes that). However, I still have to understand that some servers struggle to break over minimum wage. Well, if that's true, they need to quit and find another job anyway. On the other hand, I don't want to be so low as to cause negative feelings toward me.

Most servers depending from where you are from make way less than minimum wage per hour because they receive tips. 20% is the right amount to tip your server. You have to understand that they are trying to live off of this... they have bills like everyone else does. Most pay checks for servers are about $50 to $100 every two weeks (depending on how many hours they work a week)... the rest is suppose to be made up by the tips they receive. It takes a lot to be a good server... some people are really good at it, almost as if they were meant to do it for a living. Giving them less then 20% is not only rude but it makes life hard for them. Tips pay their bills and support them. And when saying "I really don't want to give a whole lot as to start making servers believe that they should be a server for the rest of their life," is like saying "I won't take a family member to the doctors anymore because I don't want the doctor to feel like they should help people for the rest of their lives." (okay so that is a little extreme... but really think about what you are saying) that is no reason not to tip your server the correct amount. As the cost of living goes up, so does the percentage of what you should tip. Tips are pretty much a servers pay check.

In closing... I would like to say think about it when you tip... you could have the best service one time going out and the next time, that server that you didn't tip right won't give you the same great service because that server won't try as hard remembering you didn't tip correctly. Like I said great servers are hard to come by... so take care of them and they will take care of you! Don't be known as the bad tipper...

PS: If you don't have enough money to tip your servers at the end of your meal or a night out then please don't go out at all....

and if you don't know what 20% is... your cell phone does :)

20% is standard.

15% is the bare minumum, anything less usually means that the service was not satisfactory in some way.

10% means you want to be completely ignored next time you come in.

Tip means: Tender if proper. I believe that tipping at 20% is done when the server has been exceptional. 15% tip is proper when they have just performed average and anything below that means the server has done a bad job. Interestingly enough, most companies I have worked for ( I am a consultant and I have an expense account) only allow me to tip a max of 15%.
As for the "don't go out if you don't have 20% tip to give" comment: I don't fee it is my job to support the servers. They chose this profession.
Also, something to note and I was not aware of this until recently. This is one of the few countries where tipping is even practiced. In many parts of the world, tipping is not practiced, like Europe. It should be the responsibility of the owners to pay their staff, not the clients.

cheriewell in Winchester, Virginia said: As the cost of living goes up, so does the percentage of what you should tip.

This is not true. By your logic, we should all be tipping 100% in the future. As inflation increases, the price of food increases. The base goes up, not the percentage.

2000 - dinner - $12 = $2.40 tip
2010 - dinner - $15 = $3.00 tip

gabriella, you are one of those idiots that use the "i dont have to support the servers" excuse to be cheap. if you dont want to support servers, than go to mcdonalds bc they dont rely on tips.

Tipping is absolutely practiced in Europe. It's included as part of the bill rather than an optional thing. Very similar to included gratuity here when a party is a certain size.
But I agree, 15% is standard and you give more or less depending on the service. Less than 10% is unacceptable unless the service was unacceptable.