This article is about tipping. When to tip. When not to tip. And how much.
It’s also about tipping protocol in what one might call “extenuating circumstances.”
The last few times I dined out at fancy restaurants, this very subject came up.
There’s actually some debate as to how much of a tip to leave when a wine is served, particularly when the bottle ordered is very expensive.
Before going into considerable detail, let’s agree on a few facts. The customary tip for service in any restaurant is somewhere between 15 to 20 percent. Perhaps a little higher, if you’re dining alone and/or received exceptional service.
But what about when you order a $50 bottle of wine? Or, a $100 bottle? Or, a $500 bottle? How much should you tip on a $1,000 bottle? And finally, what about those elite wine drinkers who order $10,000 bottles of wine? Don’t tell me the expected tip is always 20 percent across-the-board. It can’t be. Can it?
I’ve enjoyed many $100 bottles over the years. But I rarely order anything more expensive than that, mainly because: (1) I can’t afford it, and (2) If I really want to buy something special, it will something that isn’t marked up three times the retail price. So, when I order a bottle that costs $100, the extra twenty percent or so ($20) isn’t a big deal. So, I just tack it on to the total bill.
However, on some occasions, the people I’ve dined with ordered bottles costing several hundred dollars. I confess — I like to hang out with those kinds of people. So, what should you tip when the meal for four people comes to $400 and the wine is another $400? Should you tip 20 percent of the grand total, which would be $160? Or, should you tip based on the food alone, and then tack on a flat corking fee for serving the wine, which seems to make a lot more sense?
By the way, just for the sake of argument, let’s leave out wine stewards and sommeliers, which is a different question altogether. We’ll just assume it’s a nice evening out, with the waiter presenting and pouring the wine.
Most people in the service business insist the industry standard is always 20 percent, no matter want. Trouble is, I’m not sure I really believe that. Call me cynical, but I suspect waiters and bartenders might be biased. Note: It’s worth noting that by law, servers must declare a certain percentage of tips based on total sales (including wine), which does make their opinion considerably more persuasive.
Frequent fine diners I asked were split right down the middle. Some insist that if you can afford a $500 bottle of wine, the extra $100 tip isn’t such a big deal. But some really serious wine people that I trust firmly insist that wine should be served accompanied a sort of flat service fee, usually between $20 and $50 per bottle. Of course, if you order a $40 bottle, the tip is easy. It’s 20 percent ($8), plain and simple.
An article in The Wall Street Journal (one of the few authorities on this question) also happened to see the debate both ways. Part of the article made a strong case for tacking on the full 20 percent for wine, while there were dissenting viewpoints that the tip should be much less, based on common sense.
Now, let’s move on. Next, we’ll shift the question to poker.
Obvious parallels exist between the wine question and what should be tipped out at a live poker table.
Let’s say you win a typical hand. That means, raking in a modest-sized pot that’s pretty much forgotten once it’s over. The customary tip for the dealer is probably a dollar or two. At least, that’s the common poker tip here in Las Vegas poker rooms.
But let’s say you sit down in a poker game and win a massive pot. Making this easier to understand, let’s imagine you start the hand with $1,000 in chips and win a three-way pot. That means you made around $2,000 in profit in what amounts to about five minutes. How much would you tip?
To be clear, the work by both dealers was about the same. The modest-sized pot and the massive pot required almost equal time and skill. The same number of cards were pitched, and the hand took about the same duration to play out. Is the dealer entitled to more money simply because the pot is bigger?
I think most of us would toss the dealer a few extra chips in that situation, as a sort of feel-good bonus. I certainly would. But let’s not get too carried away about tipping, either. You might just lose that same $2,000 back (or more) on the very next hand.
Extending this discussion out into the casino pit, if you were to hit a slot jackpot, or let’s say you’re dealt a royal flush on a video poker machine, it’s likely that your winnings will be paid out by hand. That means a slot cashier comes to you and pays your winnings in cash (this is for tax reasons, by the way). If I win a $4,000 payout on a video poker machine (which is the typical payoff of single-line play on a $1 machine), how much should the tip be? What if you’re stuck $2,000 before hitting the four-grand win? Does that change things? What if you’re stuck $6,000 before hitting the jackpot? Should you even tip at all?
Wine. Poker. Slots. I really don’t know the answers.
I suppose — to use the old poker axiom about making the right decision — it depends.
Readers, what do you think?
Here’s the quick quiz, if you want to cut and paste. How much to tip for proper service on:
1. $1,000 bottle of wine
2. $10,000 bottle of wine
3. $100 poker pot (profit)
4. $2,000 poker pot (profit)
5. $4,ooo video poker jackpot (profit)
6. $4,000 video poker jackpot (profit = $2,000)
7. $4,000 video poker jackpot (but still a $2,000 loser)