Admin

For those who have never travelled to the US before, please be aware of the culture around sales tax and tipping!

Unlike the UK where we have VAT factored into prices displayed in shops, this is not the case in the US!

Each state has it’s own sales tax which is added to products “at the register”. This includes food and beverages at restaurants and bars.

We believe Oregon actually does not have a sales tax (Stevie Hughes can confirm), but Washington state (ie, Tacoma/Seattle) has a 6.5% sales tax.

Additionally, it is extremely common to tip in the US, especially hospitality workers such as waiters/waitresses/bar staff/taxi drivers/etc. A lot of people in service industries are on minimum wage, so depend on tips for their livelihood, so please respect them!

What you tip is up to you, but different place/scenarios often have common or expected tips. For example, in a restaurant you would usually tip 15% for good service, or 20% for very good service. In a bar, it’s common to tip $1 per beer, or $2 per cocktail (shorts + mixer are considered a cocktail). In a taxi, it’s usually 15-20%.

Watch out for people offering to carry bags at airports, hotels and golf clubs – they’ll expect a tip! You can always say ‘no’ and carry your own!

Additionally, people who haven’t travelled to the US may be unfamiliar with how debit/card payments work. The waiter/bar tender will often take your card to swipe it and return with two slips of paper and a pen. The slips of paper are usually pretty identical and will show your bill including taxes. They will also have a space to write a tip amount and a second space to write a total (ie, your bill plus tip amount). You need to fill these in on the ‘store copy’ and sign it. You don’t need to fill in the ‘customer copy’, that’s just for your own records, although you may like to in order to keep an accurate record of your spending.

With that said, the US are slowly moving towards Chip And Pin and contactless, which works exactly in the same way as the UK.

Of course, you can also always pay cash too. When a ‘check’ arrives, you can pay cash. The bar staff/waiter will return any change, or just the final check if you’ve paid the exact amount. That’s an opportunity for you to then leave a cash tip.

In bars, it’s extremely common for the to ‘run a tab’. In this case, they will ask for a debit/credit card which they’ll either take an imprint of, or often, keep behind the bar. US bar tender are usually pretty impressive and will remember people and ‘run your tab’ as you order more. Then when you’re done, you can ask to ‘close the tab’, and then they’ll ask if you want to use the same card – you can choose to pay with the card you’ve hand over, a different card, or even cash. You may even be able to split the check across multiple cards/cash if you want to – but always try and make it as easy for the bar tender as possible! Also, don’t forget to tip – you look after your bar staff and they’ll look after you!

Of course, the ‘tab’ system is open to error – or even abuse – so please remember to check your bills before you pay for them, they’ll usually be itemised.

If you want to run a cash kitty, then it’s often easier for the kitty holder to open a tab, but then pay the check with the kitty when it’s closed.