tips in restaurants - moral question

dodger1

kaushal101 wrote: »

My wife doesn't believe in leaving tips. If we are holidaying some place new, she will say "why leave tips, we are not coming here again".

Yesterday she did the same. Food wasn't bad. Service was slow, but okay. The waiter was pleasant and nice. I felt we should have left something, What's the usual practice?

In our town, we go to a restaurant quite frequently. There too we don't always leave tips. which I don't like. If our bill is around £20, what should we be leaving behind?

I don't deny her point that we are in saving mode right now. Then I suggest going for take-away to avoid this dilemma. But she doesn't like that idea either.

View please?

My view............grow a pair and tip if you want to, if the wife doesn't want to that's her choice but make your own decision.

nickcc

Just come back from Titan tour in USA/Canada, advised by Titan that 18% tip is expected in restaurants. Many restaurants have now started to include the tip in the bill without telling you so make sure you don't tip twice.

Torry_Quine

I don't tip as a routine as it makes no sense to me that someone should get extra above their wage just for doing the job they get paid for. If they do extra then I will give them a couple of pounds.

totallyrandom

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

This post just shows ignorance of another countries culture.

I've known for ages 15 to 20% is the standard tip in the the States.

Absolute rubbish. The service wasn't worth more than 10% imho as she wasn't particularly attentive.


I have tipped 20% in the States when it was worth it.

geerex

Something which annoys me about tips is this:

You frequently see "deals" for sailing cruises, the price includes whatever includes, but will usually explicitly say includes/doesn't include tips.

Now, "doesn't include" - fair enough, but to INCLUDE tips in the headline price? !!!!!!? So, they're essentially saying that x number of people will receive £xx.xx REGARDLESS of how you feel about the service etc.

I realise it's probably to remove any issues from the shy/stupid, but.. c'mon. Really?

absfabs

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

It's always a bone of contention. In America, waiting staff get extremely low wages, and it's pretty much accepted that tipping will bring their earnings up to a reasonable level. So tipping over there is pretty much the norm.

Over here, tipping is not so much expected. The standard approach is 10%, but really it's all down to personal preference. I'll tip if the service is good, I won't if the service is bad. But no-one should feel obliged to leave a tip. Waiting staff are not paid large amounts, but it will at least be minimum wage. Having worked as a waiter when I was young, yes tips are very gratefully received. But we never "expected" to receive a tip as a matter of course.

I'm afraid since the recession here, many restaurant staff are NOT being paid the minimum wage anymore. It's disgraceful. But having heard from various young people in extended family that they are expected to make up their wage in tips and Up-selling, I have become more generous in tipping again. These young people feel they have no choice but to accept these conditions, same goes for zero hour contracts.
I usually give at least 2£, 3£ if service really good. I can't afford much more. So if just a small bill for 1 or2 people, it's > 10%, if group of people or posh place! then it's less.

shaun_from_Africa

totallyrandom wrote: »

Absolute rubbish. The service wasn't worth more than 10% imho as she wasn't particularly attentive.


I have tipped 20% in the States when it was worth it.

A comment which totally backs up MSK's earlier comment about you not understanding how tipping works in the USA.

The tip is generally accepted to be part of the cost of the meal or drinks and isn't only left to reflect the standard of service.
You pay around 80% of the total cost of the food/drink by way of the final bill and the remainder by leaving a tip.
The US government allows tipped employees to be paid far less than the normal minimum wage as they accept that the tips collected should take their earnings up to an amount that is equal or better than the minimum wage.
If the government accept that tips are part of the wages, why can't you?

Here's another question for you.
How would you feel or react if you were in a long queue in the UK and a couple of African or Middle Eastern people simply pushed their way to the front to get served first? I assume that you wouldn't be upset over this.
In many countries, queuing just doesn't happen and if people from those countries come to the UK, why should they respect what is the accepted practice here if you are not willing to do the same when you visit America?

MarkBargain

It Italy they also add a "coperto" (cover charge) to the bill, which is often around 2 Euros per person. It should be shown on the menu, but easy to miss and so for tourists it's often a surprise on the bill. That goes to the restaurant so a tip would be on top if you choose.

As for tipping in the UK, if I like the service I'd usually leave around 10%, especially in my local Chinese restaurant where the service is excellent including free prawn crackers with sauce and chocolates after the meal. Not to tip them would be very harsh!

totallyrandom

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

A comment which totally backs up MSK's earlier comment about you not understanding how tipping works in the USA.

The tip is generally accepted to be part of the cost of the meal or drinks and isn't only left to reflect the standard of service.
You pay around 80% of the total cost of the food/drink by way of the final bill and the remainder by leaving a tip.



The US government allows tipped employees to be paid far less than the normal minimum wage as they accept that the tips collected should take their earnings up to an amount that is equal or better than the minimum wage.
If the government accept that tips are part of the wages, why can't you?


Here's another question for you.
How would you feel or react if you were in a long queue in the UK and a couple of African or Middle Eastern people simply pushed their way to the front to get served first? I assume that you wouldn't be upset over this.
In many countries, queuing just doesn't happen and if people from those countries come to the UK, why should they respect what is the accepted practice here if you are not willing to do the same when you visit America?

Having worked in the USA alongside Americans who have not tipped when service was not acceptable, I think it is still a case of tipping as the service warrants. When in Rome....!


There is a good article on tipping in the USA here and to be clear 20% is not expected :


http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g191-s606/United-States:Tipping.And.Etiquette.html

PLog86

God, you do see some piffle talked on this site.

e.g.

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

A comment which totally backs up MSK's earlier comment about you not understanding how tipping works in the USA.

Rubbish!

Tipping works in EXACTLY the same way in the states as it does here. Whether or not you tip is up to you and the amount you tip is up to you.

I find the whole idea of the "expected" percentage tip extremely offensive (as do many Americans of my acquaintance). You should also be aware that the "expected" tip percentage varies from place to place, even within the same town.

The tip is generally accepted to be part of the cost of the meal or drinks and isn't only left to reflect the standard of service.
You pay around 80% of the total cost of the food/drink by way of the final bill and the remainder by leaving a tip.

It's a stupid system that benefits no one except the owner of the business and is something an increasing number of Americans want to see change.