Do you tip in restaurants?

TITEASCRAMP

jonnno wrote: »

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.

Thats what i think to , iv never had a bloo/y tip

milkydrink

ILikeFreebies wrote: »

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.

I used to wait tables, if your wife wanted tips it would have been more sensible of her to become a waitress than a chef.
I tip 10% & round it up to the next £, so £28 is a £2.80 tip so thats £31

ILikeFreebies

kimevans wrote: »

I used to wait tables, if your wife wanted tips it would have been more sensible of her to become a waitress than a chef.
I tip 10% & round it up to the next £, so £28 is a £2.80 tip so thats £31

She became a chef as a career, not for tips. She is against the idea that the person that takes the food out got the tip and not the person who made it taste great which is surely the main point of going out for a meal?

sarahlouise210

I only tip when I receive really good service. In years gone by tips were relied on as wages were so low (I myself was a waitress on £1.50 per hour!)
Now we have the minimum wage restaurant workers receive the same as many other people who work for the same wage but have no option to receive extras in the form of tips ...so in effect restaurant workers who do receive tips actually receive more than other minimum wage workers. When they do not give good service, why should we give any extra ????

kamoha

I do tip but reading this makes me think maybe I should not! Might save me some money this!

kamoha

Oh & sorry I normally tip about 10-15%

southernscouser

I always tip!

Tip a pint over the waiters head if the food is cold! Boom boom!

Nah seriously I always do! Except when I go abroad coz they always add it on first and I ended up paying twice. Actually make that 'when I did go abroad'. I can't afford to anymore. Actually I couldn't afford to do it then! :doh:

What was the question again? :rotfl:

katiepoppycat

People may be getting tired of hearing me say this but here goes again anyway . . . . .

I worked in a chain restaurant. 'Chefs' are paid more than waiting staff to start with - and skills wise it's not that difficult to be a chef in the average chain restaurant so you really have a choice of where you want to work - front or back of house. Wages-wise, yes there is a minimum wage, HOWEVER, at the place I worked, and indeed many others, waiting staff are paid between £0.50-£1.00 less than the minimum wage. How does the company get away with this? By using credit card tips to make up the difference - once they've taken their 10% first of course. If the server doesn't get the CC tips, the company has to stump up the difference. In 2 years of part time work this happened twice. Multiply that £1.00 an hour by the number of staff and the number of hours worked, plus the national insurance and tax NOT paid and these places are doing pretty well out of htis policy. My policy on tipping is based on whether the staff have deserved it or not. But however much you tip, if you tip at all, make it CASH!! Please!!

GazN

Going to a restaurant is not just about the food, it's a whole experience and the service can make such a difference. For example, I visited the same restaurant with the same group of friends twice in one week. The food was pretty much the same both times, but we had a different waiter each night. One waiter laughed and joked with us, made recommendations on the food and kept the bar open late, whereas the other one just took our order and delivered the food. We still talk about the first night, it was great. That night we left a much bigger tip than the other.

Usually, I tip about 10%, but sometimes leave more if the service was really good. I won't tip if the service was poor. If the food is bad, then I'll complain and refuse to pay for it if it's not rectified, but still leave a tip if the service was good. I get annoyed when a service charge is added to the bill and then the credit card slip also has a space for a tip. I'm sure many people double tip in these cases, not realising.

When adding a tip to a credit card bill, I usually ask where the tips go, to make sure that the waiter/waitress that served me will actually get the money too.

sluggy1967

I tip for good service in restaurants, but resent a service charge, but I NEVER tip taxi drivers!!!!