As a DFW Do you Tip in Restraunts, etc?

Headintheclouds_3

Willsnarf1983 wrote:

yes and then maybe you should read what i wrote!

Say you costed going out to be £60 including a £5 tip but u only had £55 then from what you wrote your saying you wouldn't go out because u wudn't be able to afford the tip!

Which would be nuts!

Will

Okay, let me rephrase to avoid this turning into a slanging match.

I feel that a tip is an intrinsic part of the cost of the meal i.e. I would definitely include it, so when I am working out my budget for a night out then I automatically include the tip as part of the cost of the meal. If the total cost of the meal and everything else (drinks, taxi etc) was beyond my budget, then I would give it a miss. I wouldn't not go out just because I couldn't afford a fiver for the tip. That would be 'nuts', but if going out would require a new outfit or a £30 taxi home on top of a meal then - all things considered - I may not be able to afford it.

I certainly don't begrudge paying a tip, or want to do the server out of their wages as you suggest. Not that that is *my* responsibility; it's the employer's.

rog2

Headintheclouds wrote:

Okay, let me rephrase to avoid this turning into a slanging match.

I certainly don't begrudge paying a tip, or want to do the server out of their wages as you suggest. Not that that is *my* responsibility; it's the employer's.

To tip, or not to tip, should be totally discretionary. I have already stated my own stance on tipping and, let's face it, this is one of the very few decisions that are still left to the customer's discretion - long may it continue:beer:

Headintheclouds_3

rog2 wrote:

To tip, or not to tip, should be totally discretionary. I have already stated my own stance on tipping and, let's face it, this is one of the very few decisions that are still left to the customer's discretion - long may it continue:beer:

I quite agree, rog2, tipping is very much a personal choice - and a very divisive topic for discussion on forums!

Willsnarf1983

rog2 wrote:

To tip, or not to tip, should be totally discretionary. I have already stated my own stance on tipping and, let's face it, this is one of the very few decisions that are still left to the customer's discretion - long may it continue:beer:

cept rog when its added on the end as a 10% charge etc



Will

Hello

saubryn wrote:

I had some grief for going to the bar to buy my own drinks instead of using waitress service. The waitresses were really pushy and kept asking 'do you want another drink' when my drink was still 3/4 full, and they were asking for tips every time they brought a drink over.

I just couldn't afford that - I wanted to buy drinks at my own pace, and not have the added expense of tips. That was in the USA though - maybe they really rely on tips a lot more over there, making them more pushy.

Yes, they are taxed on their likely earnings from tips, so if no-one tipped them they would have to fork out tax for what they didn't earn. It is not as if they can prove either way what was earnt or not.

I think that is why it is such a debate over here. Someone said 'would you tip bin men and postmen???' and that is exactly what some people do, I used to get a few pence back in the dark ages when I delivered newspapers. I have never tipped the free paper deliverer!!

Thankfully we do have minimum wage and there is the option to tip or not, some countries do not have either of these.

Interesting debate. Personally I tip at a restaurant if the service has been good, find out what the expected is abroad when I go and ALWAYS tip taxi drivers well - my OH is one!!

Heres a thought the next time you take a taxi - the meters are set and calibrated to the local council's say, if the taxi driver works for a firm they are likely only to get 40% of the journey. It may have taken and hour or more to get to the front of the taxi rank and then their fare is £2.00. I couldn't do it, it would drive me mad!! My OH often doesn't make minimum wage but as he is self employed working for the taxi firm there is nothing that can be done.
H
x

moozie_2

We go out for a meal about once a week and we tend to stick to the same 3-4 restaurants. We always tip and do it happily if the service was good. On the rare occasion the service is poor, we don't tip. It's as simple as that.

I have always tipped my beautician and hairdresser and I have not stopped that just because I realised my financial situation needed addressing. I feel happy leaving a tip but I don't feel obliged to do it.

rog2

Hello wrote:

Yes, they are taxed on their likely earnings from tips, so if no-one tipped them they would have to fork out tax for what they didn't earn. It is not as if they can prove either way what was earnt or not.
x

I may be wrong, but I have been told that people like waiters and taxi-drivers have to declare their tips in the UK too. If they don't, I am told that the Inland Revenue will assume that they get a 'certain amount' in tips anyway.
I welcome being corrected if I am wrong.

Also, other than in large restaurants and cities, I notice that many of the waiters and waitresses in pubs and restaurants in the UK appear to be part-time students and housewives (possibly even some DFW's) doing the job for 'minimum wage' In my opinion 'waiting' can be a very difficult, stressfull and demanding job, often looked down on by the very customers they work so hard to please - in my opinion a good waiter or waitress deserves to be tipped and a bad one does not.
In Europe, and probably in the larger establishments here, waiting is treated as a true profession, often the result of several years of training. I assume, therefore, that their salary is structured to match their qualifications and that the 'tipping' element should either be stipulated as included in the price of the meal, or left to the discretion of the customer.

Gemmzie

saubryn wrote:

I've heard some people say that the rich only get there by being tight - I'm not sure if thats the case with him or not - he was unemployed for a number of years and learned to live thriftilly, then he got this really really high paid job and went wild, but it seems some habits stuck.

Some of my distant family are a prime example of this, they first got a VCR in 1996, only got a computer last year. And are stinking loaded - they've just outright bought a second home.

I don't tip, because I only earn just above minimum wage and work my butt off and no-one tips me so why should their job be deemed tip-able. See Reservoir Dogs for a great argument about this

saubryn

Including a certain amount for tips in the tax sounds strange to me - that must be terrible if you had a slow month for tips.

If somewhere adds a gratuity at the end and demanded that amount, I don't think I'd go back - unless it was clearly shown at the entrance and on the menu that the tips would be included in the bill. Thats moot though, I rarely eat in places posh enough for that :-p

Its interesting to see the different opinions - I'm suprised there doesn't seem to be many in the 'I tip if I can afford it' camp - I hadn't realised it was such a strong issue!

elantan

i work long hours for very little pay and no-one tips me ....but i chose the job (which i am lucky enough to love)..i do tip when i go to restuarants but i have to admit i grudge every penny..i will find the courage not to tip one day