Do you tip?

tea_lover

I don't tip anyone, ever.

bluenoseam

What I would add to my original post is that I agree with the person who spoke about the actual journey & how the taxi driver handled it. I remember back in the states a few years ago getting a taxi to the airport from the upper west side. Now over there it's law that airport runs are fixed rate plus toll & tip, so you know what you're paying before you go (if you do your research). During the journey he explained all about the areas we were going through, talked a bit about why there were so many street parties going on (Flag Day) and stuff like that, honestly it felt like an informal documentary. That's honest to god one of the most awesome taxi journeys I've had, so informative, none of it felt "forced" (no "doing anything nice at the weekend?") so that guy got a $20 tip & it was worth every cent!

SueC_2

I don't tip people for doing their job. That's what their wages are for.

I do tip people for going beyond the call of duty. And the level of tip depends on how far beyond the call of duty they've gone.

So, the hairdresser doesn't get a tip for washing my hair. But the hairdresser who had to root around in the waste pipe looking for the earing that I had foolishly forgotten to remove before having my hair washed gets a nice healthy one.

nfollows1982

The biggest tip I've ever left was on that holiday in NYC. We found a lovely place to eat and we went there every day, one particular waiter made the place and it wasn't the same when we went in and he wasn't there. We'd tipped every day but we left him a $50 tip on our last visit and the look on his face was totally worth it!

Loz01

I never do anywhere, call me stingy but they're already getting paid to do a job!!! Nobody tips me in my job so why should I tip some girl or boy in a restaurant for delivering a plate of food to my table, you wouldn't tip the bus driver or train driver for doing an 'exceptional job', its just what they're supposed to do.

sallysaver

IHD wrote: »

Do you tip taxi drivers? I have to get a taxi next week to go for some hospital treatment and the cost (for me) is a lot of money....£80 return. Because i have used the taxi firm before a few of the drivers know me and the driver that thinks he might be doing the job said to me, i hope you are going to give me a £20 tip for doing this !!! To be honest it made me feel like not giving him a tip at all. What would you do ?

We have something in the Uk called the Patient Transfer Service. It's totally free to the patient. Your doctor's surgery will have all the details. A phone call to them will give you the remedy! Sally

claire16c

I always tip in restaurants Id be embarrassed not to. I'd only leave nothing if the service was bad as leaving nothing would show that.

I sometimes tip the hair dresser a couple of pounds, taxi the odd couple of quid.

But if someone asks me that really annoys me and makes me want to not tip them! Which is normal in the US so it doesn't bother me as much there although it can get irritating. However - customer service has much higher standards in America and I think that comes down to the tipping culture. I'd much rather pay less & tip more & receive better service. Whereas here we often get terrible service and you can't do anything about it.

chrisv24

IHD wrote: »

Do you tip taxi drivers? I have to get a taxi next week to go for some hospital treatment and the cost (for me) is a lot of money....£80 return. Because i have used the taxi firm before a few of the drivers know me and the driver that thinks he might be doing the job said to me, i hope you are going to give me a £20 tip for doing this !!! To be honest it made me feel like not giving him a tip at all. What would you do ?

No way do you tip him. They do just fine and taxi's are overpriced as it is. With £80 in a petrol tank you could drive from one end of the country to the other.

The most I ever do is round it up to the nearest fiver if its just another couple of quid and just say keep the change.

Primrose

I think him asking for a tip actually amounts to harrassment and I would complain to the taxi company. They're probably unaware that he's treating their customers in such a way. I'd also book with somebody else and tell the taxi company that if you ever book with them again you do not want that particular driver allocated to you. Tell them that you will also be telling all your local friends. They can do without that kind of publicity.
If he's prepared to harrass you in this way, how much further might he be tempted to go in terms of difficult behaviour towards a customer?

motherofstudents

Yes that is cheeky, I assume he was joking but even so.....If he wasn't joking then I would cancel.

When I am in America I will tip because it is their culture but it really annoys me when Americans want to do it in other countries. On a cruise once there were 4 of us from England and 4 from America and we booked a private tour for the 8 of us. The Americans wanted to tip the driver BEFORE we set off for the day. We said absolutely not, let's see if he deserves it first. I think a tip should be for service over and above the norm. The next cruise we are going on, we have to pay the gratuities in advance and I don't like it at all but as it is an American cruise ship it is expected and there isn't another one we could do.

If you go on https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk on the forums you will find arguments raging between Americans and other nationalities about tipping and it is quite entertaining to see how they call us mean, stingy etc and it gets quite heated.