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Comment by sillysaurus3 | Hacker News Reader

"Shouldn't" and "doesn't" are worlds apart.

I think most people hate tipping because they hate when people ask for tips. But a formal tipping system might reduce the number of Uber drivers who already ask for tips.

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I hate tipping because the rules are arbitrary, random, and unspoken. I have a few friends who work as servers in restaurants: anecdote, but they view anything under 20% of the bill total (including tax) as a "bad tip". This is partially because credit card receipts only include the total, not the tax separated out. So really, anything under around 22% is a bad tip.

I tip 22% for full service, 10% for partial. If I go to the bar, I tip 10%, or a dollar/drink if I'm paying cash. If I'm ordering takeaway somewhere, I tip around 5%. I have no idea which of these are reasonable or not, because there is no "tipping class". I have no idea if places I regularly go like to spit in my food because I tip like shit.

> This is partially because credit card receipts only include the total, not the tax separated out. So really, anything under around 22% is a bad tip.

Can you explain the math? Why is this amount higher than 20% rather than lower than 20%?

The credit card receipt shows 1 total: food+tax. So the amount the server is basing the tip off is higher than what I am. So for me to tip what they think is 20%, I have to tip what I think is 22%.

Ah, got it. I tip base off of the pre-tax amount just out of principle.

People almost never ask for tips. I think people hate tipling because it severely complicates what should be a simple situation, and makes honest people feel like they're being taken advantage of since assholes can tip less or not at all with no repercussions.

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