Friday afternoon facial, brunch with my sweetie... the weekend is full of tipping opportunities. I figure it never hurts to brush up on tip-related etiquette. Here is a list of some common tipping situations.
- Sit-down restaurant: Generally 10–20%, depending on service, but I recommend tipping 15–20% unless the experience was horrible. And on behalf of wait staff everywhere, keep in mind that it's fine to tip higher if your experience was exceptional.
- Coffee shop: Tip jars are optional, but I think it's good karma to help out the friendly barista who's getting your morning started on the right foot. You usually don't need to tip more than 5–10%.
- Hair salon: You should be fine tipping 15–20%. You can always tip higher if you had a great experience or the stylist took extra time on a more complicated style or color.
- Facial/massage/body treatment: Tip 15–20% (or higher based on your experience).