Tipping is a cultural thing that can either get you into trouble or make you a waiter's best friend forever.Austrian/German waitstaff loves to see Americans come into their restaurants, especially those who haven't read up on their tipping etiquette. Whereas tipping between 15-20% in the States is standard, a 20% tip in Austria might get you a tap on the back or a handshake here.
Each state is different, but generally wait staff can expect to be paid about $3 an hour whereas standard minimum wage is in most cases in the 6-dollar-range. One can only hope that a waiter/waitress makes more than that. As I tell my economics students, $10 an hour is about $20,000 per year.
In Germany and Austria, wait staff earn about 15% of what their customers order. A meal out can typically cost €30-35, so a person earns about between €4.50 and €5.25 from our meal. When you pay, you typically round up to the next euro or the one after that. If the meal costs €30.25, you may hand over €32. Yes, that's not even 6% but people here consider that a good tip. Afterall, "Trinkgeld" means "drinking money," enough to buy themselves a drink later.
Granted, this doesn't sound like a lot of money. At most a person is earning €7 from our meal. In Salzburg, though, wait staff are happy because they're busy. Restaurants are often packed out and if you're responsible for 8-12 tables, you're bringing in €50-85 an hour during meal times.
