Money Moral Dilemma: Should I tip if other diners don't?

undrop79

So many anti-tippers on here. As someone who has worked in restaurants in my youth, this is the reason why automatic service charges or "discretionary" gratuities are added to your bill as a standard in many foot outlets.

It can't be denied that a tipping system benefits the customer. It keeps the restaurant's wage bill and in turn the menu prices that you pay down. I wonder how many of those calling for a "proper living wage" would be happy to see a blanket 15% price hike across the board on all restaurant menus to pay for this?

Tips exist to incentivise the waiters to give you the diner a better experience. If you don't think you received this, you have the ability to not give a tip. If menu prices went up to pay for the wage increases you're calling for, you wouldn't have the option.

I would much rather have the option to tip if I feel the waiting team have contributed to a positive experience.

undrop79

Sea_Shell wrote: »

I'm sorry, but they are just DOING THEIR JOB!!

Do you tip all the minimum wage employees you come into contact with? I doubt it.

Why are only certain occupations expected to receive tips.

I've worked other minimum wage roles such as in retail, it's not as a laborious as working in a restaurant. The understanding when you get a job in a restaurant is that you will earn your basic (often minimum wage) plus tips. If everybody stopped tipping, restaurant owners would have to increase staff wages which would see the menu items and subsequently your bill increase regardless. The restaurant owner still needs to achieve the same profit margins regardless of how the waiters earn what they expect to.

Peter_Lanky

JReacher1 wrote: »

A lot of people don’t like to tip. They will claim it is because of some moral objection to tipping but at the end of the day these people are just a bit miserly!

Having someone cook and then serve you food to you is worthy of a small gratuity to show your appreciation.

Such judgmental comments are not only unhelpful but also completely inaccurate.

I have just been in hospital for 4 months, and relied on health care assistants to care for my every need for much of the time, much of it most would consider unpleasant. They are also earning not much more than minimum wage. Does anyone give them a tip, or is one expected? No, and to do so would probably cause embarrassment all round. The job is hard work, and not remotely comparable to taking an order and carrying a plate across a room, so why should the latter be paid extra?

I suspect most people who don't tip do so because they believe the practice is absurd and outdated, and has probably only caught on because people have watched too much American TV over the years.

Almost every article I read on the subject starts with a line such as "This is one of the most contentious subjects", so the obvious answer is to completely rid our culture of it. In some countries it has even caused an expectation, and people are bullied into handing over money. Is this what we really want?

If people really want to hand over extra money, that is up to them, but there should be no expectation or guilt associated with it. How many people do it when they don't really want to, but are not confident enough to say "No"?

Sea_Shell

undrop79 wrote: »

It can't be denied that a tipping system benefits the customer. It keeps the restaurant's wage bill and in turn the menu prices that you pay down. I wonder how many of those calling for a "proper living wage" would be happy to see a blanket 15% price hike across the board on all restaurant menus to pay for this?

The price "on the menu" should reflect the total cost of the meal, including service. If that means the cost has to go up then so be it. Anything else is just artificially keeping the price low.

ciderboy2009

I'm not sure if it's still the case but many years ago when I was working full time at a pub my tax code was actually reduced as the tax man assumed that I would get a certain amount of tips & he wanted his income tax (tips are taxable).

I never actually got any "tips" - just drinks bought for me. The value of which was less than half of the estimated amount.

So, those of you who don't tip may actually be costing the staff member money!

Zero_Sum

undrop79 wrote: »

So many anti-tippers on here. As someone who has worked in restaurants in my youth, this is the reason why automatic service charges or "discretionary" gratuities are added to your bill as a standard in many foot outlets.

It can't be denied that a tipping system benefits the customer. It keeps the restaurant's wage bill and in turn the menu prices that you pay down. I wonder how many of those calling for a "proper living wage" would be happy to see a blanket 15% price hike across the board on all restaurant menus to pay for this?

Tips exist to incentivise the waiters to give you the diner a better experience. If you don't think you received this, you have the ability to not give a tip. If menu prices went up to pay for the wage increases you're calling for, you wouldn't have the option.

I would much rather have the option to tip if I feel the waiting team have contributed to a positive experience.

The only place where ive found service charges the norm is London. Doesnt happen up north.

Actually I would prefer prices to increase 10-15% across the board its more honest & transparent as you're paying it anyway.

Jimjimmini

I only ever tip if I believe the service I have received has been above the standards that I expect of where I am (that is the point of a tip, to reward outstanding service).

There is an argument that has been made by others that these people are on very low wages and require tips to make ends meet. Sure this may be true, but I would respond by saying if you truly cared about these people you would write to your MP and campaign for an increased minimum wage.

Hodgie

It's down to the individual. I eat with some people who don't tip and others that tip only on food but not drinks.
I usually leave 10% if the service has been good no matter what the others leave. I also leave it in cash even when paying the bill by card. That way I know who is receiving it.
10% is frowned upon in the U.S. as inadequate, but that's tough.

Zero_Sum

ciderboy2009 wrote: »

I'm not sure if it's still the case but many years ago when I was working full time at a pub my tax code was actually reduced as the tax man assumed that I would get a certain amount of tips & he wanted his income tax (tips are taxable).

I never actually got any "tips" - just drinks bought for me. The value of which was less than half of the estimated amount.

So, those of you who don't tip may actually be costing the staff member money!

I know thats the case across the pond but dont think its ever been the case over here. Its probably more just company policy to keep tax man off their back.

I think these days where the till can keep a tab on the table number & whose serving, tips will be paid via payroll rather than cash in hand. So will get taxed on the correct amount.

HH70

I used to be quite rigid about tipping but in recent years, it's tailed off and now I tend to just leave some loose change rather than a specific amount. I don't know why, maybe I've just become less reliant on tradition as I've got older but like others, I am on the national living wage and both my husband and I work in the public sector. Neither of us gets tips or an annual bonus. Maybe that isn't important but I agree with other posters that if the service is really good, and the individual server has gone above and beyond, it's good to tip a bit more but if it's been average or as it should be, I just leave the coins. I don't mind it when restaurants add in the extra as standard as I know before I eat there. One of our local chains does this and their service is generally really good. However, when it wasn't I had no issue with asking them to remove the tip and letting us give our own; it was a bit embarrassing but it was a family birthday meal and I didn't see why I should pay another £15 on top of a big bill for service that was just as it should have been and nothing special.