Do you tip in restaurants?

Former_MSE_Lawrence

Poll Started 10 April 2007: Do you tip in restaurants? If you go out to eat, and there's no service charge added to the bill, which of these is closest to your usual, personal tipping policy?

A. I never tip
B. I only tip on rare occasions of exceptional service
C. I tip less than 5%
D. I tip less than 10%
E. I tip roughly 10%
F. I tip roughly 12.5%
G. I tip roughly 15%
H. I tip more than 15%

Vote here or click reply to discuss.

teddyco

I had a hamburger and fries last week at TGIFridays and I gave a £2.00 tip for normal service. I worked my way through college waiting tables in the evenings so it's easy for me to give a tip.

nearlyrich

We went out for dinner on Saturday evening to celebrate a birthday, we had researched the restaurant and they gave us a menu etc which looked lovely, we booked for 5.30 as we were also going to a concert. When we got there the menu was a fraction of the one they gave us ( early evening concert menu), one of the drinks was flat, we got the garlic bread after the starter, starter was overcooked, steaks were not as ordered and had to go back, the waiter was rude and unhelpful.

When the bill arrived it had a 10% service charge, we had it removed as they didn't deserve it and we won't be going back or recommending it to anyone else.

In the other hand if we get good service I am more than happy to tip generously.

crazy_guy

This subject has been vaguely discussed before.... but my view is not to tip at all.

I just don't believe its fair to supplement the wages of certain workers such as waiters just because they are on a "low wage".... do you tip the street cleaner, the supermarket checkout person, the toliet cleaner in a pub......no!

Another argument is that its to show your appreciation for good service..... perhaps a geniune thank you and that was lovely would be sufficient, it doesnt just boil down to money!....I would rather have good service due to the standards demanded in that particular restaurant not because they are chasing my money!

Were lucky in this country to have a minimum wage and i didn't expect a tip when i was a checkout lad, or a baker, or a dish cleaner..... i performed a good service due to my belief that if you have to do a job you do it properly and i did it for the wage, not for the hope of getting some money off the public.

The only exception is when i'm in a poor country where those people rely on those tips to live.

reehsetin

never tip, i dont see the difference between working in a restaurant or in a shop or supermarket, paid the same wage, both jobs your helping customers, why should one get tipped and not the other

airforce_beret

i generally give a tip by just rounding up to a suitable figure, either a ten or a five. But this is obviously dependant on the food and the service. If either of these are bad then I have no hesitation in not tipping as they get the minimum wage anyway (in the UK)

TITEASCRAMP

i dont tip, they get paid its their job why do they need tipping

airforce_beret

if the food and service is good then why not compliment it. not saying give your life savings away. just alittle gratitude

TITEASCRAMP

airforce_beret wrote: »

if the food and service is good then why not compliment it. not saying give your life savings away. just alittle gratitude

i do agree to an extent but other low paid jobs dont get tips. y r waiters different

ILikeFreebies

My wife really begrudges tipping. When you eat in a restaurant what's the most important thing, the food isn't it? So when you tip, isn't the food the biggest factor? What you may or not realise is that in the kitchen staff rarely get a share, big notes are often pocketed by the person who is given them. Why does this bug my wife? Well, she's a chef who has worked in several restaurants/hotels. She has got several years of experience and training behind her, working hard in a hot kitchen. Yet the tips go to the 16 year old part timers working the busy weekend shifts for a few hours per week. All they have to do is smile, remember the menu and take orders correctly, all of which they often have trouble doing. Which are there more of career chefs or waiting staff? Both are on similarly low wages, one spends years building their skills, the other is (usually) getting some pocket money or earning cash until a better job comes along, yet the latter is the one who gets the tips.

Safe to say, we don't tip big or routinely.

jonnno

I get embarrassed by tipping - never knowing how much to give. I don't really agree with giving tips anyway - nobody tips me for doing my job.