Tipping in Restaurants

Mojisola

I would rather the bill covered the cost of paying the waiting staff a decent wage and they did their job to a reasonable standard just because it's their job.

elisebutt65

I always tip unless the service is total pants or it's a buffet style place. Sliding scale of 5% for average service, 10% for good, 15% for great service & 20% if I'm in the States.

My hairdresser always gets a fiver as well, cos she deserves it:)

I never tip on the card cos a) you can't guarantee the staff get it, b) if they do, then the govt gets 20% and why should my tip go to the taxman and c) some places use the tips to make the staff's wages up to minimum wage (illegal now but some still do it)

caeler

I don't always tip ultimately I'm paying for the food, that should be enough but like you when there is something more exceptional about the experience then I tip. I don't feel bad as I'm unlikely to ever get challenged about why I didn't leave a tip by the restaurant but if challenged I'd be happy to explain the basis of my decision. Occasionally I just don't have the change.

gunsandbanjos

LudaMusser wrote: »

Yes, this is my point exactly. It`s like a tip is expected.

I work in a restaurant and have done for a while whilst I do my degree.

Tips shouldn't be expected, they should be earned. If I feel I haven't given someone great service I don't expect a tip. However if I've given amazing service and everything was great, they walk out saying thank you so much we had a great time but leave no tip. Then I want to punch them in the head;)

The argument - we don't tip shop assistants etc doesn't hold water with me I'm afraid. Generally they get paid more and it is so much easier than working in a restaurant ( before anyone says anything I have done both so know what im talking about). Working in a restaurant is bloody hard work, especially a busy one. Anyone who says differently has no experience of it.
I view tipping as a performance led bonus, same as many industries where a bonus is considered the norm if you hit targets and perform as expected.
No one begrudges a fair bonus scheme ( not talking crazy banker bonuses here), just your run of the mill standard bonuses.

If i spend 2/3/4 + hours running around after you catering to your every whim, making your you get everything you need and you have a great time then hell yeah I expect a tip.

gunsandbanjos

Mojisola wrote: »

I would rather the bill covered the cost of paying the waiting staff a decent wage and they did their job to a reasonable standard just because it's their job.

Then there is no incentive to go the extra mile, you'll get people just doing the bare minimum and no more. Not everyone I grant you, but a large proportion.

carrieuk

I get really annoyed in those restaurants that put the tip already in the bill then when they put it through the card machine its the higher total, that to me is forcing me to pay a tip. I've always asked them to remove it but feel guilty but why should I pay when the service has been terrible?...

I don't tend to tip in the places we go every weekish, but if we go out for a special meal i will usually tip if the service has been good.

erichamster

gunsandbanjos wrote: »

Then there is no incentive to go the extra mile, you'll get people just doing the bare minimum and no more. Not everyone I grant you, but a large proportion.

What does going the extra mile really mean in a restaurant setting though? Surely you either bring the food in good time and in good condition or you don't, what more is there to do?

I mean no disrespect btw, all I mean is that surely by providing good service you're really just fulfilling your job description and not really any more that would warrant a tip?

Just because a job is hard doesn't mean we tip, so I just wonder where the convention to tip waiting staff came from? Presunmably from a time when only the rich could afford to be waited on and therefore would think nothing of tipping.

Mojisola

gunsandbanjos wrote: »

The argument - we don't tip shop assistants etc doesn't hold water with me I'm afraid. Generally they get paid more and it is so much easier than working in a restaurant ( before anyone says anything I have done both so know what im talking about). Working in a restaurant is bloody hard work, especially a busy one. Anyone who says differently has no experience of it.

So wages should be higher for waiting staff.

I view tipping as a performance led bonus, same as many industries where a bonus is considered the norm if you hit targets and perform as expected.

That's fine if the bonus is given by the business owner.

BitterAndTwisted

Tipping is expected. If it's a restaurant where service est compris the staff don't always get the tip. Some carpy establishments even insist on taking the cash tips left behind for particular waiting-staff and either distribute it themselves or pocket it. The @ngus Streakhouse is renowned for it. If they're proper waiters/waitresses the Inland Revenue have been known to tax them on assessed tops and not what they've actually earned and declared, so for some employees it's lose/lose situation and a double whammy at the same time.

I always tip unless the service has been particularly dire and never withhold one because the food hasn't been good enough: that's not the waiting staff's fault. IN whixh case I send the food back or complain. 10% for good service and more if it's been really excellent.

One of my particular bugbears is places where the service-charge is included on the menu and then the swines automatically add a gratuity to the bill. I always ask them to remove it and leave something in cash if they deserve it

BitterAndTwisted

erichamster wrote: »

What does going the extra mile really mean in a restaurant setting though? Surely you either bring the food in good time and in good condition or you don't, what more is there to do?

I agree with you if you are in an establishment where the only job the waiting staff have to do is take orders and bring food. But it's always a great deal more than that. Like asking about what's on the menu, whether there's anything suitable for people with specific dietary requirements, whether they can modify what's on the menu to withhold or add something that you'd like, when you'd like them to bring the menu back for another course or want another glass of water. Or a multitude of other things which are not ordering, bringing or taking away but which can have a massive impact on your experience.

I thought I knew what really great service in a restaurant was until I went to a really fantastically top-class one for the first time. Worlds of difference and it wasn't the food.