Money Moral Dilemma: Should Janet pay John’s tip?

JayD

Of course she should leave a tip if it makes her feel uncomfortable that one hasn't been left.

I think she should just leave one without any comment at all.

If John notices and refers to it in any way, she will then find out if he ommitted to leave one deliberately or if it was just a simple oversight on his part.

And of course, if John indicates that it was an oversight and appears uncomfortable about her leaving one, she should say she was pleased to have an opportunity to make a small contribution in that way.

jamespir

yeah she should if she likes it wouldnt bother me

mrbrightside842

I don't really understand tipping over here. I do it when in America, as I know they're often paid very poorly and it's part of the custom, but I'm not too sure why we're tipping over here. I do tip, as I feel uncomfortable not to, but they must be getting at least minimum wage, and then tax free tips? There are lots of jobs which are minimum wage, where the people don't get extra tips, so I'm not sure why we feel obliged to tip in certain situations (hairdressers, taxi's, restaurants). I always do, as I feel I'm saying that I've recieved bad service if I don't, but it seems so Americanised. If I had bad service, I'd let them know and wouldn't use them again.

fleagle21

If big-boss-bankers are intitled to huge fat bonuses for in effect doing s*d all above the job they're meant to, then waiters and waitresses deserve extras too!

I waitressed back in 1999, my wages were pretty awful, but working a fri, sat night and a lunch shift on a sunday, I could easily make £100 - big difference! Granted, I was just 17 at the time, but it meant I could use the cash as my spends, and have some savings too.... they didn't last long once I met hubby!

mrbrightside842

fleagle21 wrote: »

If big-boss-bankers are intitled to huge fat bonuses for in effect doing s*d all above the job they're meant to, then waiters and waitresses deserve extras too!

But then, doesn't everyone deserve extra's? Why just bankers and waitresses? Why should someone work on a till for minimum wage and get nothing extra, and then have to pay someone else's tips if they decide to treat themself to a night out, when that person is being paid the same amount as they do on their till. I agree that the bankers bonuses are ridiculous, but if everyone deserves a bonus in their job, then it just results in everyone having to pay more and cancels it out.

fleagle21

jimbo24168 wrote: »

No. The waiter is doing the job he/she is paid to do. They knew the rate of pay when they took on the job. How can you get "exceptional" service? the waiter brings the menu, writes down what you order, brings the food, clears the table...that's what he's paid to do.

Surely you can notice the difference between a 'good' and 'bad' waiter/waitress? Speed/efficiency/clumsiness/politeness.... and it's for that reason that I also would make sure the tips were kept by the individual, because there are always one or two members of the team that don't pull their weight and try to ride off the backs of others. You find such a difference in a team that keeps their own tips, they will put in that extra effort.

fleagle21

mrbrightside842 wrote: »

But then, doesn't everyone deserve extra's? Why just bankers and waitresses? Why should someone work on a till for minimum wage and get nothing extra, and then have to pay someone else's tips if they decide to treat themself to a night out, when that person is being paid the same amount as they do on their till. I agree that the bankers bonuses are ridiculous, but if everyone deserves a bonus in their job, then it just results in everyone having to pay more and cancels it out.

Fair point, but sat on a till in my opinion (cause I've done that too!) is faaaar easier than being run off your feet all night waitressing. There's nothing really a till person can do above and beyond their job to warrant anything extra, unfortunately.

MrCarrot

I'll be honest I have stopped tipping now. In my line of work I try and do exceptional work every time, yet I have never received a tip nor would I expect to.

People know the rate of pay when they start a job. I think for too long tips have been used by restaurants and hair salons as a method of paying their staff cr*p wages and then topping it up with tips - it's just another way for the business to get richer at the customer's expense. Furthermore, we don't tip the cashier at the clothes store or the guy behind the counter at McDonalds - and they're minimum wage jobs too.

I think the law may have been changed now, but for a long time restaurants were paying staff below the minimum wage, and then using the tips to top the money up to the minimum wage, which is a disgrace. In America I know there is a lot of fuss about tips being divided up amongst all the staff - including the management who are much better paid anyway. This makes me worry about where my tips are actually going.

Now I don't tip as a matter of principal. If nobody tipped, the restaurants would have to start paying their staff better.

ani_ka0

Sorry, but if John is paying and he does not want to leave a tip then she should definitely not tip. If it bothers her she would need to speak to John about it - after all they are on a date!

mrbrightside842

fleagle21 wrote: »

Fair point, but sat on a till in my opinion (cause I've done that too!) is faaaar easier than being run off your feet all night waitressing. There's nothing really a till person can do above and beyond their job to warrant anything extra, unfortunately.

What's actually considered 'extra' from a restaurant? I don't think I've ever recieved anything above and beyond with a waitor/waitress to actually warrent the tip, but I do give it. They take the order, bring the food, check back, and refil drinks when necessary. This, I consider to be expected. I've never had anything else that would say they were going above and boyond to actaully earn the tip. I've had bad service too, never terrible, and I assume we still tipped, as it's the norm. It's like we're now tipping as it's the norm, rather than because the service was excellent. I've had people on a till actually pack my bags, as well as scanning them, and they've been really helpful and gone above and beyond, but they're not allowed to take tips. Tesco's used encourage comments about staff and reward the good work (don't know if they still do), but I doubt many people would even pass on excellent service to be rewarded in these cases. They just want to do their shopping and go out.

Edited to add: I do now remember getting fab service from a waitor in Manchester, who was lovely and chatty, and then at the end he didn't charge us for our puddings. Although he made a thing of telling us this, and so then we were obliged to tip far way more than the puddings cost. I don't know if this is something that's done in some places and encouraged, or if he'd have been sacked for giving away desserts.