A Guide to Tipping in Florida

Tipping is a bit of an etiquette minefield – even in the UK there is always a little confusion when working out a bill of how much we need to tip for a meal, especially when everyone is paying their own share! Although a tip is always welcome in the UK, as a sign of your gratitude for service well-provided, they aren’t something that service industry workers rely on as a part of their income in the way that it is in the US.

In Florida, tipped workers earn $5.44 an hour, excluding tips. As such when you are visiting restaurants or using service providers, bear this in mind. In the UK and other countries, staff costs are already built into the total menu bill, regardless of the extra tips that you might choose to leave.

In general, you should ignore sales tax when you are working out how much of a tip you need to leave.

Full-service Restaurants

For a sit-down meal in a restaurant, 15%–20% is a generally accepted amount to leave as a tip. If you have more than one person serving you, don’t worry – the tip will be shared out by one of the servers – you needn’t tip them all individually! If you received service that you considered sub-standard or bad it is customary to still tip 10%. This would probably warrant a word with the manager too!

If a ‘gratuity’ or ‘service charge’ is included on the bottom of your bill, you needn’t pay any more of a tip unless you wish to. These charges are not uncommon in tourist hot-spots, as there are a large number of international visitors who are not aware of tipping customs in the US. If you are worried about being caught out by a ‘mandatory gratuity’ (surely an oxymoron!) ask your server about the tipping practice at the venue before ordering.

Do you have to pay the full amount though, if you were unsatisfied with the level of service or the quality of the food? The first thing to do in this instance is talk to a manager and have your bill total, or just the gratuity adjusted downwards accordingly before you pay your bill. Even if an item is deducted from your bill, remember that you still have to tip the server according to the original total – they have still done the work even if you were unsatisfied with the quality of the meal!

Buffet Restaurants

When you are at a buffet restaurant you needn’t tip your server as much as at a sit-down meal, though that isn’t to say that their help with clearing plates and tables, restocking the buffet area and brewing hot drinks should go unrewarded. At a minimum you should tip a buffet server $1–$2 per diner, even if your buffet only cost a few dollars! If you were happy with the service provided a 5%-10% tip on the pre-tax total bill is not unusual, especially if staff are refilling drinks and providing other assistance.

Fast Food Restaurants/Counter Service

When you are picking up a food order you might see a tip jar on the counter. These are a relatively new concept, and you are not generally expected to tip unless you feel that you have had exceptionally good service, or the staff have gone out of their way to help with your order. If you do want to contribute to a tip jar, many American customers give their loose change dependant on the order size, especially if they are regular patrons.

Pizza or Takeaway Delivery

Collecting your own fast food might not warrant a tip, but getting it delivered is a different case. When your takeaway driver arrives you should tip them at least $2 regardless of the order cost, though for orders of $50 or more at least 10% is expected, though 15% is considered a standard tip.

Bartenders

Whether you are at a bar with friends enjoying a few beers, or in a restaurant, you should expect to tip the bartender for every drink you buy. At a restaurant bar this should be from $1-$2 each, while at a regular bar you are looking at $1 per drink, or 15%-20% of the bill’s total.

Valet Parking

If you don’t want to leave your vehicle at a local garage, or can’t see a parking space near to your destination, then you might want to take advantage of the valet parking options that are abundant at the major tourist hotspots in Orlando. Whether you are paying for a valet parking service, or if it is complimentary, you are still expected to tip! Generally you should give the valet who collects your car for you when leaving a tip of $2–$5. You might also want to give the valet who parks your car an equivalent tip, as there is no guarantee you will have the same valet twice. With a bit of luck, tipping the valet who is parking your car might just get you preferential parking – out of the sunshine on a hot day for example!

Taxi Drivers

Whether you are using a traditional taxi firm, or a ridesharing service such as Uber or Lyft you should tip your driver. Traditionally for taxi drivers this is 10%–15% of your total fare, dependent on the service that you feel you have received. Consider how quickly they arrived and got you to your destination, did they avoid getting stuck in traffic by knowing the shortcuts?

As you pay for services like Uber or Lyft directly on your phone there is no requirement to tip the driver in cash. You are however expected to tip the driver through the app, at an equivalent rate as that given to regular taxi drivers – so around 10%–15% of the ride total. You have 30 days to pay the tip after the ride, and all of the money goes to the driver as Uber takes no service fees on tips. If you want to give your driver an extra cash tip, you can also do this – though you should still pay a tip through the app.

If you have an Uber account back home and want to log in to use your account in the US don’t worry about your Uber rating being affected by the amount that you do – or don’t – tip the driver! Uber have confirmed that drivers cannot leave negative reviews based on tips!

If all of these numbers are confusing, a 15% tip is usually a safe amount for any service! At the end of the day though, as many service providers are reliant on tips to supplement their income, they are grateful for any amount you give them, even if that is a few coins in a counter-top tip jar. Tips are a way to reward good service and show you appreciation for their efforts, so if someone has gone out of their way to provide you exceptional service, it is worth considering tipping them more generously.