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Episode Twenty-Seven:
How Much to Tip When Visiting the United States
The Travel Lessons Continue!
In this series of episodes, I’ve been working though the vocabulary words you need when traveling in an English speaking country. We have covered English vocabulary for air travel, English vocabulary for ground transportation, and travel accommodation vocabulary. Today, you will learn…
How much to tip in the United States?
Do you know how much to tip in a restaurant? Do you know how much to tip the housekeeper? What about an Uber driver? All of these situations have different tipping structures, depending on what services are being provided, and what country you are in. Today, we are going to talk all about tipping in the United States. At the end of this lesson, you will know exactly how much you should be tipping.
So what is a tip? A tip is an additional amount of money that you give to someone who provides a service for you. The tip is not set by the owner of the restaurant, hotel, or taxi. The tip is decided by the customer. However, there are some strong expectations culturally about how much you should tip when you go somewhere.
We will talk about 5 categories of tipping
- Tipping at restaurants
- Tipping for food delivery
- Tipping at hotels
- Tipping at hair salons and barbershops
- Tipping your driver
Tipping at Restaurants
First, let’s talk all about tipping in restaurants.
When eating at a restaurant, you want to think about whether you are being served at your table or whether you are serving your self at the counter. When you are being served at a table, like when a waitress or waiter comes to take care of all of your needs during the meal, you definitely need to tip between 15 and 20%. Some people tip more than that, but it is very uncommon to tip less than 15%.
Right after college, I spent a year waiting tables, and earned all of my income from tips. Are usually made between 20% and 25%, so since then, I always tip at least 20%. In most of the United States, servers do not earn more than three dollars an hour from the restaurant. They make all of their money from tips. That’s why it’s so important to tip properly. If they don’t earn tips, they don’t earn any money.
If you order from the counter, you do not have to tip anything. The same is true for calling ahead and carrying out food, although some people do leave a small tip (up to 10%).
Tipping at coffee shops has become more popular. Even though you order at the counter at a coffee shop, it’s common now to tip 10 to 20% at a coffee shop, because the barista specially makes your drinks.
Tipping for food delivery
Food delivery is wildly popular today. It’s not just pizza places that deliver anymore. It’s anywhere! If you live in a city or suburb, you can have any food delivered to your house, either through the restaurant, or through services like Postmates, Ubereats, or Grubhub.
GrubHub founder Matt Malone recommend that you tip either 20% or five dollars, whichever is more. In my experience, I’ve noticed that most people tip around 20% for people who deliver food.
Tipping at Hotels
Staying at a hotel means that many people will be helping you throughout your stay. In general there are three types of people that you should tip at a hotel. First, if you stay at a 3 or 4-star hotel, there will likely be bellhops, which are people who help carry your luggage to your room. In general, you should tip that person $1-$2 per bag, depending on how nice the hotel is.
Second, you should tip anyone who delivers room service. Room service is food that is delivered to your room. You should tip the person who delivers it like you would tip a waiter or waitress, 15% to 20%.
Thirdly, you should leave a tip for the housekeepers. Usually, you should tip $2-$5 Per person who stayed there. The nicer the hotel, the more you should tip.
Tipping at Hair Salons, Barbershops, Nail Salons, Massage Studios, and Tattoo Parlors
All of these services provide a service to some aspect of your beauty or well-being. For all of the services, in the United States and many other countries, it is common to tip these individuals at least 15% to 20%.
Tipping your Driver
A couple weeks ago, I talked all about transportation on the podcast. Make sure you check it out if you haven’t listened to it yet. I talked about all kinds of transportation, but didn’t talk about how much to tip your drivers.
For taxi drivers, Uber and Lyft drivers, The amount of your tip is going to depend on the quality of your ride. In general, it’s common to tip between 10% and 15%.
When tipping in the United States, the most important thing is to meet the minimum tip. When in doubt, be generous. Don’t be stingy! These tips are helpful to keep the economy going, and it would be culturally offensive if you did not meet these tipping minimums.
Happy learning!
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The following is a TOEFL Reading practice test to help you prepare for the Reading section of the TOEFL test.
Instructions: Read the sample passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
TOEFL Reading Practice Passage
Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forest of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered), and either four or five subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.
(#1) Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. (#2) A 2018 study investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). (#3) Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for the general population. (#4)
The eastern gorilla is more darkly colored than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints. Their eye color is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.
A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January 2017.
Questions
1. According to the passage, gorillas can live in
a. a variety of altitudes.
b. several different countries in Africa.
c. thick forests.
d. lowland forests only.
2. All of the following is true about gorillas EXCEPT
a. they primarily eat smaller animals.
b. they live in a forest habitat.
c. their genetics are similar to humans.
d. their diet consists of vegetation.
3. Look at the word predominantly in paragraph 1. The word predominantly in this passage refers to
a. impulsively
b. unfortunately
c. mainly
d. lastly
4. Look at the word inhabits in paragraph 2. The word inhabits in this passage refers to
a. lives in
b. protects
c. goes
d. works
5. The author implies that
a. most gorillas prefer using their left hand over their right.
b. gorillas rarely walk on their knuckles.
c. gorillas regularly walk upright for long distances.
d. studies haven't solidly proven which hand gorillas prefer using.
6. Why does the writer mention that the eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla?
a. To validate the importance a broad chest in western gorillas
b. To define the meaning of "broad"
c. To highlight a physical difference between types of gorillas
d. To demonstrate that most gorillas are identical in physical build
7. Which of the following statements is true for BOTH eastern and western gorillas.
a. Both eastern and western gorrilas are brown with red foreheads.
b. Both eastern and western gorrilas have unique fingerprints.
c. Both eastern and western gorrilas have thin hair.
d. Both eastern and western gorrilas have light brown eyes.
8. In Paragraph 3, look at the four numbers (#1, #2, #3, #4) that indicate where the following sentence would be added to the passage.
Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans.
Where would the sentence best fit?
(View all the correct answers below.)
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Answers: 1. d 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. d 6. c 7. b 8. #3
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About Andrea
Andrea Giordano is the founder of StudyWithAndrea.com and has taught more than 1,000,000 students from 180 countries. Andrea holds a Master of Education (TESOL) from Shenandoah University, and is the former Executive Director of TESOL and ESL programs at Campbellsville University. Andrea is a proven leader in online English teaching and is driven by her passion to help you speak English clearly.
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