MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. How much should Nigella tip?

dave2

I dislike tipping generally, a proper wage should be paid and included in the price of the food. I also agree with the Reservoir Dogs debate. Importantly though you never know who is getting your tip. Is it just your waiter? Or just the waiter who clears the table? Does the guy who made my food get a cut? Or maybe it gets put in a jar and shared out monthly, maybe even with the manager getting a cut.

What's more it generates this idea that everytime someone does something nice it should be paid for. There's no manners, good service, professional attitude or desire for the customer to have a good experience, it's merely "I do this I get paid".

But... That's just not "how it is", and not much point in me pretending otherwise. I always tip cash and never tip a % of the bill. The % thing is stupid. The more expensive the food is, surely the more likely they are to be paying the staff properly, and anyway why is good service for a cheap meal worth less than the same service for an expensive one?

I tip whatever I feel like at the time, but as an indication I would probably be giving roughly £4-5 for 2-3 people having a meal and taking about an hour. Funnily enough around 10% on average.

That does leave me wondering though. Using assumptions that seem quite conservative to me, say the waiter keeps all the tips at £5 per table for a waiter covering 4 tables, on average people take 1 1/2 hours and tables are full half of the time, comes to average £6.67 per hour + £5.73ph min wage = £12.40ph, 18% more than I get for >4 years experience in a job that requires a degree and results in hairloss (yes I did factor in holidays, and no I didn't factor in my unpaid overtime).

AmericangirlinUK

I'm fascinated to see the differences of opinion here - a very similar question was recently posed in my native USA. A group of us belong to a website that sends out hugely discounted vouchers for spas, restaurants, etc and the debate on their feedback page was the same: tip based on the discounted or the non-discounted service?

In the American column discussions, "not tipping" simply didn't come up. Honest - you would have to have had APPALLING service - for which you had probably complained to the manager - to leave absolutely nothing as a tip. I've only done so once in my life and that was when the waitress was so rude that we left (leaving the exact price of the drinks on the bar). And I still felt guilty about it.

Virtually everybody on that forum agreed that you tip on the "before discount" price. As lots of people here have pointed out - the server isn't at fault because the restaurant management have decided to run a promotion. Service staff have no control over the costs. Why should they be penalized because a promotion is being run? They work just as hard.

Or not... if they don't deserve much of a tip, you don't leave much... in America, this means "only" 10% instead of the much more usual 15-20%. That's if the serving staff have been indifferent... not if they've actually done something wrong. It's well recognized that service staff are paid very poorly and hope that their smile and winning ways will earn them tips to make up the difference. I'm not going to comment on the politics and inequities of that system... the fact is that this system is what we've got right now.

If the food was poorly cooked or not to your liking, it's not the service staff's fault! If they correctly conveyed your order, were attentive and provided good service, and tried to make it right (short of cooking it themselves) then if there's still a problem you complain about the food to the manager, you don't take it out on the wait staff by leaving a poor tip.

I do agree that those concerned about where the tip goes, should simply ask the wait staff. It's a very good point.

Re tipping "$5 plus one cent for exceptional service" in America as someone mentioned earlier - I think someone might have been joking about that!

For a bill that would have cost 40 quid, and was discounted to 20, I'd leave an 8 pound tip for good service. Actually, split three ways as in the original question, we'd probably leave three quid each for a tip. Especially if we wanted to go back some time.

My, errrm, two cents.

oleander_3

Susan_Frost wrote: »

Nigella is in charge of splitting the bill. She should split it three ways, having taken off the vouchers. Then it is up to the individuals to throw in what s/he thinks is a suitable tip. Why argue? Give if you want to, dont if you dont.

Thanks for actually answering the question!!! My thoughts exactly.

tyzer2001

Perfect - except there were four of them at dinner. I bet it's that bloody Delia shirking out of paying her bill again...

gunsandbanjos

dave2 wrote: »

But... That's just not "how it is", and not much point in me pretending otherwise. I always tip cash and never tip a % of the bill. The % thing is stupid. The more expensive the food is, surely the more likely they are to be paying the staff properly, and anyway why is good service for a cheap meal worth less than the same service for an expensive one?

Unfortunately way off the mark! Its usually the more expensive places in my experience that use the tips to make up to minimum wage.

fairleee

barnaby-bear wrote: »

Should I tip the min. wage staff in the pub? In poundland? The clarks shoe girl? My kid's nursery assistant? The bus driver? The carer who wipes my great uncle's bum?
Actually loads of them have a less pleasant work environment than a restaurant.

I find that people who object to tipping are usually those who have never worked as a waiter themselves.

Firstly, tipping in pubs is up to your discretion - however, it is not SERVICE, which is what you are tipping for - you go up to the bar and you take your drink away. Similar story in poundland. The clarks shoe girl will, most likely, be on a performance-related incentive scheme, which means the more shoes she sells, the nicer her monthly pay check will be - a lot of companies are very generous with these schemes. The nursery assistant is, in all likelihood, on a proper salary, unlike waiting staff who are on wages, so tipping isn't necessary there. Same story with the bus driver and the carer.

Working in a restaurant is not particularly pleasant. It is antisocial hours, hectic, and you are often taking the brunt of customers' anger when something is wrong with your meal which isn't your fault. Tipping is a recognition of the fact that you have been provided with service from someone who is not on a career ladder - there isn't much you can go onto with waiting, unlike the chef in the kitchen who is on a career ladder from under chef, to chef, to head chef, to head chef in a bigger, better place.

If you have ever worked in a restaurant, you will know how much a tip means to the hardworking staff. However, if the service they give you is crap, then don't tip.

jenny11648

I have been genuinely shocked by the horrible mean attitude of so many on this forum. " I dont believe in the principle of tipping so I never leave one" Fine! Take it up with Gordon Brown, but don't use your "principles" to rip off the waiter/waitress who has contributed to the enjoyment of your evening.

The American system of no included service charges but generous tipping if service is good, means that service is almost always of a very high standard.

meher

MSE_Natasha wrote: »

How much should Nigella tip?

Gordon, Delia, Nigella and Jamie love dining out, and have just discovered their favourite restaurant offers 2for1 discount vouchers. After the next slap up meal, it's Nigella's turn to pay. Yet she dithers when it comes to leaving a tip as Jamie says it should be 10% of the total bill before the discount, Delia thinks 10% after the discount and Gordon thinks they're all mad for entertaining the idea of leaving a tip in the first place.

She should pay what delia suggests. Don't listen to people like Gordon, he's stingy, I find no respectabilty and class in people who cannot pay a tip, specially where you go to eat. When you eat something don't you share - consider tip to be a recompense. As for Jamie, he's just being self-righteous, he must be a bore. I'd kick him and Gordon out of my gang after the meal, if I were Nigella. Four is a crowd anyway

jgriggle

Simple - don't tip. I've read so many times about restaurants that use tips to bring staff wages up to minimum wage - therefore the money you're giving is going straight in to the restaurant owner's pocket as they would still have to pay the staff member the same wage whether you gave the tip or not.


Could we use this board to name and shame restaurants that do that? I seem to remember Pizza Express as one of them, although this may have changed.

I know the argument is that waiting staff are poorly paid and do a great job, and I'd never for a minute dispute this, but it does seem that we're all far too accepting of restaurant owners who choose to pay their staff poorly and then expect their customers to make up the shortfall.


I've never believed in tipping anyway - I'm sure most people only leave a tip as they feel it's expected. After all the waiter is just doing their job. When's the last time you tipped a shop worker, even if they gave excellent service? Probably never as it's not what's expected. When I worked in electrical retail I'd regularly carry enormous TVs to people's cars - these things weigh 40 - 50 kilos. It technically wasn't even part of my job but I was happy to do it. In the nine years I did it I never once got a tip and wouldn't have expected one. People were always grateful but because I was a shop worker it probably just never occurred to them to tip.

I know waiters & waitresses everywhere will jump on me for my anti-tipping stance, but before you do, answer me this:

When did you last tip the person on the checkout? Why should you expect extra money just for doing your job, and why shouldn't they??

Rant over!

ThinkingOfLinking

I worked at Giraffe (a chain of really nice family friendly restaurants) in London for a while, and the wages were well above the minimum wage. It was the nicest working environment.