MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. How much should Nigella tip?

heleen

nathanhill69 wrote: »

The discount is an incentive organised by the management of the restaurant to entice customers in and therefore that discounted cost is between you the restaurants management.

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The above also means that if peopel weren't coming in for meals without the incentive the waiter would be out of a job altogether!

Mouseman

stars_bright wrote: »

My 16 year old daughter took a job in a local cafe and on her first (and last) day she was paid £10 for working a 8 hour day.

Was a wage not agreed before starting? Sounds more like your daughter was taken for a ride and you let them get away with it! :rolleyes:

Tips should be declared as income and taxed accordingly - in a money moral dilemma, it's interesting that a lot suggest tipping in cash, to make sure it goes into the server's pocket directly. Glad someone else above pointed that out.

Just on that note - tax allowances CAN be shared among multiple jobs; one part time employer of mine refused to NOT take tax from my tips (which was accounted as a second job), telling me that any second job didn't get any allowance at all so faced tax from penny one!

I wouldn't tip for lousy service, I'd give due consideration to leaving something for good service, outside of the remit of the job.

Some interesting views expressed on this thread; from the outright bigot to the demanding expectations of some service staff who ASSUME they are ENTITLED to tips. I'd quite happily explain to any waiter/waitress why they were not receiving a tip in any given circumstance. I'd also leave a tip for good waiting service but complain if the food/drink wasn't up to scratch.

Reverbe

hullight wrote: »

As is said in Reservoir Dogs - why do people feel the need to tip a server in, say, Pizza Express but not in McDonalds?

(us McDonalds staff aren't actually allowed to receive tips, and we probably earn less than most people in positions deemed tip-worthy)

Exactly. I would say dont tip at all. The meals cost a heck of a lot more than the ingredients and cost of cooking anyway.

I gave excellent customer service in a number of shops I have worked in in the past - way over and above the call- and yet have had to turn down any tips offered esp at Xmas time. Not that I gave the good service for perks but because I take pride in doing my job well and helping people. I remember once having to literally thrust a £20 note back in a customers hand at Xmas because the independent music retail chain I was working for would have taken the whole lot in profit.

airheadgreg

I have just moved to Canada to study for a year and here you're expected to tip for everything, even if I buy a single drink at the bar! and the idea that waiters rely on tips to get a decent wage isn't always the case. Some restaurants will use tips to ensure waiters get their minimum wage, others get a collective pot and share it out (thus making it unfair on those waiters who work harder than others), or spend the pot on an employees night out.

So when it comes to tipping I tend to ask if the waiter gets the money directly or what the situation is. And then it's entirely upto you as to how much you pay. If service and food was good then by all means leave 10% (or more if you really want!) and if not then leave nothing/very little. Leaving 1 penny is more hard hitting than leaving nothing too...

-Greg

Reverbe

WhyIsSavingSoHard wrote: »

It's about time the government woke up and helped all workers to receive a wage they could actually live on

You can live on the minimum wage just as you can live on benefits. Ok so you might not be able to live the life of riley but they pay you enough to survive. I have lived in benefits in my time while paying for bills and food and I managed just fine.(this is as a single person btw. this might be different for those with kids.)

j3ffrey

Tipping should be outlawed, as we should expect a first class service without paying extra for it.
There is no proper method of collecting tax and national insurance on this income.
Restaurant owners sometimes keep this income for themselves, sometimes use this money to top up the stafffs wages (to the minumum wage). Restaurant owners should pay a decent wage to their staff in the first place.

Countertenor

To some extent, it depends on who gets the money. Some restaurants give all the tips to the waiting staff. Some split it between the front & back of house staff. Some split it between the restaurant & the staff. The whole point of the 2 for 1 is to get more people to come in & so preserve profits & jobs. The profit margin on food is 100% and more on drinks, so the restaurant won't lose. On balance, I think the staff should get 10% of the reduced price, as they still get a tip (as opposed to none if no-one eats) and the likelihood is that people will spend more than just the voucher allows for anyway.

SUZYBLU_2

tipping should be as per service, eg good service - good tip, bad service - no tip, it's the usa that is outdated.

flytiki99

I used to work as a waitress during uni before the minimum wage and I was paid 50p per hour so relied on tips to make up my money. I left before the min wage and the boss then used to use the tips to make up the wages so quite often the staff were not getting the tips at all. The place I worked was a top resturant with many celebrities and our hours long (but don't get me wrong we could earn great money) and without food, an orange squash was all we were allowed to have. I always tip well now if the service is good so please consider that when you are eating and also leave cash for a tip don't add it to your credit/debit card bill as often the money from that is not distributed to the staff. I know this is the case frequently as I always make a point of discretely checking with the staff when eating at somewhere new.
At least we are better than in the US where you tip for everything.

toadhall

I dont tip ever, not at a restaurant or on holiday, not anywhere, I simply don't have the spare cash to do that. I work very hard for my money and don't get tips in my job.