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You know what I find really helpful? I love it when the bill at a restaurant includes a section with tip amounts calculated for me. I’m better with words than numbers, so seeing a suggested amount to tip makes life easier for me and in general I would hope servers would end up getting better tips from their customers this way.

In this story, one man’s father-in-law could really benefit from a suggested tip. He always tips the exact same amount no matter how much the bill is. He’s not sure how to convince his in-law to tip more, so he’s tried to do other tactics, like leaving cash on the table to add to the tip when his father-in-law isn’t looking.

Now, he’s looking for real suggestions because he doesn’t want to be considered a bad tipper just because he’s eating at the same table as a bad tipper.

Let’s read the whole story.

My father in law tips badly, but always wants to pay

Question: My uncle in law is around 60 and always tips $10 (US) no matter how long we’ve sat, how many people we have with us (3 to 8), or how much the bill is.

His eyes aren’t great so he’s had me fill out his check a few times (once with 3 people @ $60 bill + 10 tip. And a second time with 6 people, $140 bill + 10 tip).

He makes good money but is very… i dunno … clueless? or back country maybe? I don’t know how to describe it, but maybe think of a 60 yo construction worker/mechanic/factory worker that just seems clueless about how much stuff costs and how little people get paid.

OP seems to wish he could pay instead, but it’s tricky.

I’ve done the “forgot my wallet/keys/phone” thing when leaving multiple times and went back to put cash tip on the table to make up for it… but it feels awkward every time.

Oh, and I rarely carry cash so this isn’t always an option.

Oh, and he doesn’t like others to pay, nearly ever. So it’s not like I can just start paying every time either. And playing the game with the server “no no, I’ll pay. Not him” while he’s shoving his card at them is frustrating and just makes for a bad experience for everyone.

His wife shared her opinion.

On a related note, I feel like eating at a place with him will give us… everyone at the table…. a reputation as being bad tippers.

We don’t want a reputation we haven’t earned. HE’S the bad tipper, not we.

I brought it up to my girl and she basically said he’s stuck in older times and he thinks $10 is a good tip regardless, (for context she and I tip 20% or $5 minimum, whichever is more, and then adjust from there).

What are your suggestions for handling this? I’d rather not embarrass him by telling him he’s a cheapo and just not eating with him isn’t really an option. Thoughts?

It sounds like the uncle-in-law or father-in-law (not sure which it is since the title is different than the story) doesn’t mean to be a bad tipper. It seems that he just doesn’t know any better. Is there a tactful way of educating him?

Let’s see what Reddit suggests.

Here’s a simple suggestion.

Here are a couple more options.

This is good advice.

But this person thinks there’s no excuse for the father-in-law to be a bad tipper.

The real question here is if there’s a tactful way of explaining that a $10 tip is not the answer in every situation. Maybe it works sometimes, but it depends on the bill. Think of it like tax. It’s a percentage not a flat rate.

Covering the tip is one solution, but if the older man simply learned to tip better, that would be a better solution. In the meantime, I guess, bring cash.

His father-in-law is either cheap, stubborn or ignorant.