[issakoo]

I was entering to win a new treo and one of the images displayed a tip calculator, but didn't mention the name. What is it? Please see attachment for screenshot.

-wg

[tonycpsu]

Dunno about that one, but MegaCalc calculates tips, along with a lot of other things. I use it more for the RPN / techie calc stuff, but the tip calculator is useful, and easy to get to. Not to mention I can use it to calculate how many rods to the hogshead my car gets!

http://www.megasoft2000.com/product....oduct=MegaCalc

[meyerweb]

If you check out Handango or PalmGear, and do a search on "tip", you probably find at least a dozen tip calculators. Many of them free.

And, of course, you can do it with any regular calculator, too.

Cost of meal * .nn (where .nn is the percentage tip you wish to leave) = tip. Add cost of meal to tip to get total.

IOW, assuming a $50 meal and a 15% tip:

$50 * .15 = 7.50 + 50 = $57.50

meal * % = tip + meal = $total

[hirschr]

15% tip? Read this book Nickel and Dimed - On (not) getting by in America and you'll start tipping 20%.
Plus it's easier to calculate in your head and you won't need to waste precious Treo memory on a calculator.

You should even let (make) your kids read it so they realize the benefits of education.

[JackNaylorPE]

There's a couple around...this one figures the tip and splits the bill

http://www.pdasoftnet.com/tippro/index.htm

[jonecool]

I was entering to win a new treo and one of the images displayed a tip calculator, but didn't mention the name. What is it? Please see attachment for screenshot.

-wg

Not sure, but here's one that I'm a little partial to SplitBill ... It even has a tip estimator and service timer, something I haven't seen anywhere.

[meyerweb]

I generally tip 18 to 20 percent. I used 15 as a simple example. But I also feel that a tip must be earned. I've tipped as little as 10 percent for crummy service, and more than 20 for exceptional service.

I take issue with the concept that a wait person is entitled to a certain tip just because they showed up for work.

[jonecool]

I take issue with the concept that a wait person is entitled to a certain tip just because they showed up for work.

I agree, check out SplitBill . It has a tip estimator which takes in several factors to come out with a tip recommendaiton. Sure, it's mostly for fun but I got allot of input from others when I wrote it. I use it frequently to give me a good guideline. Although, tipping is a matter of personal opinion... Before I met my wife (she was a waitress), I hardly ever tipped

[stringbeanie]

15% in your head is a snap if you are ok with a good ballpark. Just take 10% of the bill and add half of the 10% to it. Example the bill comes to $38.75. Round to the nearest dollar...$39. 10% is $3.90 which is really $4 and half of that is $2. So 15% is $4 + $2 or about $6.

I use the 10% to calculate sale prices in my head too. I take 10% of the price and multiply it by 3 if it is 30% or 4 if 40%......You can also figure out 35% by multiplying 10% by 3 and adding half of 10%. It is a heck of a lot easier than digging out your calculator.

Don't mean to offend any math wizards but there are an amazing number of people who don't know these little tricks.

[horsmanp]

Its megatip... i have it, nice little program, lets you split the bill for multiple peolpe if necessary...

[ZBoater_wn]

Im with hirschr on this one... a mind is a terrible thing to waste, and Treo processing time is even worse. stringbeanie's tip is a good one - 10% and add half of that. It doesnt have to be exact. I'm not meaning for the thread to go into the area of social commentary, but we really need to use our brains a little more often...

[jetkins]

But I also feel that a tip must be earned. I've tipped as little as 10 percent for crummy service, and more than 20 for exceptional service.

I've gone as far as leaving a nickel one time when the waiter was slow, inaccurate, slovenly, and downright rude.

A guy I used to work with, had a little set of flipcards labeled from 5% to 25%, that he would place on the table whenever we went out to lunch. He would open them initially to the one that read "15%", and would flip them up and down throughout the meal depending on the service. Once the waiters saw their cut descending towards single digits, the service would invariably improve, and it usually finished up between 18 and 20%. Only one time did it finish below 10%, and the waiter seemed genuinely taken aback when he discovered that we weren't bluffing.

[Chillin_]

If you check out Handango or PalmGear, and do a search on "tip", you probably find at least a dozen tip calculators. Many of them free.

And, of course, you can do it with any regular calculator, too.

Cost of meal * .nn (where .nn is the percentage tip you wish to leave) = tip. Add cost of meal to tip to get total.

IOW, assuming a $50 meal and a 15% tip:

$50 * .15 = 7.50 + 50 = $57.50

meal * % = tip + meal = $total

I can make it even easier than that.

Cost of meal * 1.nn (where .nn is the percentage tip you wish to leave) = total.

IOW, assuming a $50 meal and a 15% tip:

$50 * 1.15 = $57.50

meal * 1.% = $total

*but, I am totally with the other guys. If you can't calculate 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% in your head then you need the practice anyways.

[jorang]

I'm amazed how this subject engage you all

A little engaged my selves too, but not enough to "spend" Treo memory on it

[meyerweb]

Yes, there are lots of mental math tricks, and I use many of them. I calculate tips in my head, and even do currency conversions (rounded) in my head when I'm overseas. In my retail days (before the time of electronic cash registers), I computed sales tax and change in my head. (Used to drive some customers nuts that I added the sales tax without looking at the little chart attached to the cash register--but when I showed them that the chart and receipt matched, their eyes just kind of glazed over. They just couldn't believe anyone could do that.)

But I figured that someone looking for a tip calculator probably wasn't interested in figuring out the tip in their head. I've taught my kids these mental math techniques, but in my interactions with their friends I realized it's a dying art. I'm not sure if cash registers that do everything for you are a result of the dumming down of math education, or part of the cause, but many retail clerks these days have a hard time making change even after the cash register calculates it for them. Heck, the clerks at the local Popeye's have a hard time counting out three chicken strips.

And Chillin: Yes, that works fine if you're paying in cash and only care about the total. But if you're paying by credit card, you need to figure out the tip separately.

[JackNaylorPE]

I start at 20% and go up / down from there. I have no problem leaving nothing is service is terrible but since hopefully you don't just walk into a joint w/o asking for recommendations, and you frequent places where service is good, this should be an extreme rarity. At my regular haunts, it 's usually 25% and once you are a "regular" you'd be surprised at the attention and bennies that brings......food / desert samples, drink buybacks, etc.

I wouldn't bother whipping out my Treo to calculate a tip. As someone who "does math for a living", I'd have to retire if I couldn't handle those in my head....where the programs do come in handy is if you are out with a large group, including government clients, who may be prohibited from accepting any type of "gratuity" (yes, this includes dinner) ......the bill splitting feature then comes in handy....not so much to do the math.....but to show them that the math you did in your head is correct....quick, what's 503.75 divided by 13 people ?

[meyerweb]

In my head? Well, 500/13 is roughly 38... and 50.

How close did I get: 503.75 / 13 = 38.75. Close enough for gov't work. <g>

[meyerweb]

In my head? Well, 500/13 is roughly 38... and 50.

How close did I get: 503.75 / 13 = 38.75. Close enough for gov't work. <g> (But I didn't need a bill splitter to do that... Any calculator will do.

[JackNaylorPE]

In my head? Well, 500/13 is roughly 38... and 50.

How close did I get: 503.75 / 13 = 38.75. Close enough for gov't work. <g> (But I didn't need a bill splitter to do that... Any calculator will do.

Oh, it's not the math that presents the problem.....it's convincing them that you are right without wasting 10 minutes. TipPro shows the tax, tip, number of people and the amount per person on one screen. Tax and tip % can be saved as preferences so the only input you have to do is bill total and number of people. Much faster than calculator and having all the results on one screen means no taking the "bean counter" thru the step by step.