Tipping Etiquette: How Much Gratuity on a $600 Bottle of Wine?
My friends and I enjoyed a very fine bottle of Bordeaux on a half-priced wine night at a local four-star establishment. To make the most of the discount we went for something in the $600 range. However, we were given an even more expensive vintage because the sommelier insisted it was drinking better. At the end of the meal, we were presented with the bill and the issue of gratuity came up for hushed discussion.
There’s an argument either way about what to tip on items discounted by the restaurant, but for the sake of this post let’s just assume that it was an even $600. Normally we’d tip 20% on the full price of an item, but $120 in addition to a $300 dinner seemed a bit’¦ disproportionate. On items where the cost can rise astronomically beyond the price of the food, where do you draw the line for good service? Or is there a line?
When I started this series, it was my hope to research and present some of the more arcane rules of tipping etiquette. I am very unhappy to report that there do not seem to be any rules; only vague cultural mores and confusion. Not even so-called authorities can seem to agree on whether there’s a cap or not. Not that they ever acknowledge differing opinions exist. Reading the various message boards, one quickly finds that this issue tends to spark a lot of heated responses and the two basic attitudes seem to go as follows:
- If you can afford $600 or more for wine, you can afford to pay 20% uncapped gratuity on the total bill regardless of what you order. If you don’t like it, don’t eat out.
- $120 for a tip on wine alone is over-payment for the level of service rendered. Something should be paid but it’s a gratuity, not income tax. If you don’t like it get a different job.
The first attitude is usually favored by servers and people who work in restaurants. It’s a position well-supported by common practice. As a culture we’ve established that 20% on the total bill of a nice restaurant is the norm and many people do it without question. Depending on how restaurants calculate their servers’ tips and the tips going to the sommelier, tipping less than 15% on a bottle of expensive wine may hurt the servers financially.
The default in almost every situation where there is a question of gratuity is to favor the highest possible amount. But usually 20% implies an extra buck or two– at triple digits the cost of service becomes prohibitive. Sure you probably can afford, it but it looks like less and less of a value.
From a consumer’s perspective, the level of effort required to serve a $100 bottle of wine is the same as a $700 bottle. It is no simple task, but is it really worth $120? A tip is, in theory, a measure of how good you thought the service was. So do you only look at the percentage or do you start to look at the dollar amount when it becomes significant?
If the full twenty percent isn’t right, then what is proper? There’s another school of thought which holds that gratuity should taper down as the cost of wine increases. I tend to agree with this opinion myself, but I’m not encouraged by the lack of definitive guidelines. Some people advocate tipping 10% on wine; others suggest a fixed price per bottle (like corkage), while still others say to tip up to a ‘œcertain amount’. Depending on whom you ask that ‘œcertain amount’ appears to be a moving target from $20 to $500. And then there are those who don’t tip on alcohol at all.
Fortunately, there is a very easy, equitable answer to this maddening debate. Surprisingly none of the etiquette experts or service industry folks ever recommended it. I advocate asking, preferably up-front: ‘œHow much do customers usually tip on wine in this price range?‘ Every restaurant is different and some even have gratuity baked into the price of a bottle. A simple open-ended inquiry will quickly set the proper expectations. Whether you agree with them is another matter, but you can spend and tip with confidence.
People tend to be easily embarrassed in restaurant situations where price is involved. No one wants to appear low-class. However if a restaurant can afford to charge $600 a bottle they can afford to answer any questions you have graciously and respectfully. If they can’t manage that then the issue of tipping gets a lot easier. Diners, even people in the industry, have so many different opinions on what to tip that the servers will probably be glad you asked.
At this point, many of you are probably thinking, ‘œJust buy a nice bottle retail and pay corkage.’ That’s certainly the economical option’¦ though some also propose you tip on the price of your own bottle. I think that’s going a bit far myself. It’s not a sale, so tipping on the corkage fee is sufficient.
When not wading through angry forum posts on tipping, Mike writes Broken Cupid, a dating blog for single gay men.
Out of curiousity, what did you end up tipping?
As a server, I couldn’t imagine being tipped 120 dollars for merely uncorking a bottle. On the other hand, the government still expects that we made 8-10% gratuity on that bottle and we get taxed out of our net sales. 10% in that situation seems appropriate to me (10% of the bottle fee, 15% for the rest of the meal).
Hey Vixen– Sorry I mised your comment. I honestly don’t remember what we tipped as I wasn’t paying for the meal. It was definately not 20% but we were so stunned and confused (not to mention drunk) I think we made up our own rule on the spot.
Being a server a 10% tip on a costly bottle of wine is ok, of course some people think anything over $50.00 is costly! Anyway let’s do the math on a $600.00 bottle of wine and let’s say a $200.00 meal I’m thinking there are two to four people having dinner (since there was only one bottle of wine) It’s ok you leave $30.00 (15% for dinner if service was so-so)and $60.00 (10%) on the wine, that’s a total of $90.00 here comes the math part on $800.00 of sale the server tips the busser $16.00 to $24.00 (2%-3% of the sales, depending on house rules)the bartender gets $8.00 ( which is 1% of the sales.. forget it if there is a wine stuart involved the server get’s to pay him 5-10% of the price of the wine)I’m assuming you’re paying with a charge card then (at least in the restaurant I work)the computer automaticly charges a 3% user fee on the tip = $2.27 which in turn charges a 7% sales tax on the user fee so now that user fee is $2.43 so at this point the server pays out $26.43 – $34.43.. which leaves him $73.57-$65.57 (if there is a wine stuart involved that leaves the servers take in the 20’s) and he still gets to pay taxes on $90.00 (since it’s on a charge card)…..Anyway thank you for letting me vent ….IT FELT GREAT!!! ps I just had a costumer tonight who informed me she does not tip on a bottle wine over $50.00…..again thank you Pasquale
Pasquale you might not read this since its been a year but afaik you cant be forced to pay the restaurants operating cost of the credit card processing fee. Contact me by email if you want to consult an attorney specializing in the service industry.
Ok tipping on wine.
Bottom line as Pas. mentions in some detail the server pays taxes based on what you spent. SO if your not tipping on what you spend then your basically stealing from the server. Period. Rationalize it all you want but thats what it boils down to.
I think the actual %age should be based on the service provided. Did you get useful help in selecting a wine byu the server. Was it brought to the table and properly opened, poured, were glassees kept refilled through out the meal? Tip 20%. Did you order it without assistance and refill your glasses throughout the meal? Tip the 10%.
On corkage-you mean to say your too cheap to buy the restaurants wine-and I dont mean that as an insult but you posted it as a way to save money NOT as a way to bring in great bottle you had in your collection.
You are prevent the server from making that sale who has to provide you clewan glasses, open the bottle, and keep your glasses refilled. Depending on how the computer is set up the system may post the charge in a manner where the IRS considers it a sale and thus they must declare income on it thus pay taxes. Trust me 99% arent going to bother here. Many will charge grat on the taxed amount but only somewhow pay the server grat on the pre-tax amount which nets the house a percentage point or so.
The corkage fee is the same as a split plate charge. Its there to recoup revenue lost to the house because the guest is too cheap to spend money on their dining experience. To use a business term think of them as opportunity costs.
So what your advocating here is to steal sales from the house and the server then NOT tip on the fee you are charge to do so which most places is very economical esp considering the cost of a comparable bottle would cost. Bottom line your stealing money from the server.
@ Ninja: A year after writing this article it’s funny to revisit these arguments– Incidentally I DID recommend tipping on the corakge fee.
Where the establishment allows and charges for corkage (some don’t) I don’t see it as “theft” from the house. The mark up on alcohol in most places is a hundred percent at best.
How a restaurant makes their margins is their business but it’s essentially seat rental. If it’s not profitable to seat me as a customer for a meal then it’s their failure (and their employees should probably look elsewhere for work). I would never feel like I was depriving anyone by paying less on a total bill. With 20% gratuity 🙂