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Naperville
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Gratuity Guide for 2012

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Today, it’s customary for most Americans to tip between 15 percent and 20 percent.  According to recent online surveys, only one person in twenty tips 25 percent or more, and about one in eight people tip 10 percent or less.  One easy way to calculate a 20 percent tip is to simply look at the total for your drinks and food and add $2 for every ten dollars of the total of our bill.  For instance, if your bill is $35, leave a tip of $7.00; if it’s $80, leave $16.

  • Naperville Note #1. If you have a $100 gift Certificate or voucher to a Naperville restaurant, please remember to take $20 cash for the tip. The gift certificate is not redeemable for cash (in other words, you will not receive change if you do not use the entire amount of the gift certificate) and does not include tax and gratuity.
  • Naperville Note #2. If you have a $50 gift certificate or voucher to a Naperville restaurant, please remember to take $10 cash for the tip. The gift certificate is not redeemable for cash and does not include tax and gratuity.
  • Naperville Note #3. It’s appropriate to tip 15-20 percent of the total tab before taxes (sales tax and food & beverage taxes are added); however, many patrons are aware that servers rely on tips and that they also “tip out” or share the after tax amount with the bartender, bus boy and food runner.

Since the tip is shared with everyone who provides a service during your dining experience, many patrons tip after taxes and servers appreciate it very much.

Source: Tipping Etiquette All Around Meat Heads

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The art of making reservations

With many fine restaurants trying to plan ahead for your dining pleasure, it’s always a good idea to make a reservation in advance. Most restaurants will e-mail or call you back to confirm. Also, many restaurants only hold a reservation for 15 minutes before they turn the table over to someone waiting. Be on time.

Common courtesy

If you find you’re running behind or have changed your mind about where to dine, call the restaurant as soon as possible (cell phones make this easier in today’s world) and update your status.  Also, if you’ve made three or four reservations at different restaurants to try to accommodate the pleasures of your party to choose, it’s always appreciated if you call to cancel the unwanted choices. In fact, always cancel unwanted reservations whether for a party of two or a large group so walk-ins or patrons on the wait list can be notified. Your cooperation and a little common courtesy will be greatly appreciated by everyone in the hospitality and restaurant industry.

Also, when you have finished your dinner and paid the check, be considerate of your server and other diners. If the restaurant you have selected has lots of folks waiting for a table, it’s always appreciated when diners vacate tables in a timely manner so others can dine. If the restaurant is not busy, ask the server if it’s OK to linger. Courtesy goes both ways and a long way in the hospitality business.

Variety is the spice of Rice

  • From family favorites to steak and seafood houses to sushi bars to upscale farm-focused menus paired with fine wines, Naperville’s array of dining pleasures is sure to whet every appetite.
  • Need a restaurant recommendation? Be sure to follow PN’s columnists, Laurie Rice and Mark Rice as they make the rounds, focused on good food and service every month.
  • Since they began writing “Your Table Is Ready,” the married couple has featured their pleasures and experiences at SugarToad at the Hotel Arista, Quigley’s Irish Pub, Meson Sabika, Catch 35, Tangerine Cafe, Tasso’s Greek, Hugo’s Frog Bar, Rotary/Sunrise’s NaperPalooza, Rosebud’s, Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House, Potter’s Place Heaven on Seven and Juicy O, etc.
  • Our Policy ... It’s our policy not to bad mouth a restaurant, so if we have an unfavorable opinion of a restaurant, we simply will not talk or write about it.  Laurie and Mark Rice had favorable experiences for a variety of different reasons at every restaurant listed above.
  • We also respect that everybody’s taste is different.

“On the high day of Patrick, every fold will have a cow-calf, and every pool a salmon.”

Gaelic Saying

Again! Thanks for visiting.  For more restaurant news among plenty of food for thought about things happening in the Naperville community.

Bon appetit!

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PN Editor
PN Editor
An editor is someone who prepares content for publishing. It entered English, the American Language, via French. Its modern sense for newspapers has been around since about 1800.

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