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

Peter_Lanky

JayD wrote: »

We always tip for good service - and not for poor service. So, if you feel you had good service, I would say 'leave a tip' even if you are the only one doing so. BUT - didn't you even mention it to your fellow diners? They sound like a mean lot!

More judgmental comments. It would be so much easier if the pro tippers just stuck to giving away their money ad-hoc and patting themselves on the head instead of criticising those who don't wish to partake in the charade.

Zero_Sum

db2016 wrote: »

personally,

I eat out in somewhere like pizza hut and a couple of local indian places maybe 4-6 times a year (and i tip 10% ish but use whatever change i have so may be more ,maybe less by 50p-£1 here or there - the other eating out times are pub grub obviously no tipping there.

i have been out with some people or on dates etc where they almost look at me as if i'm daft for doing so though!

i'd begrudge going on a cruise though tbf, i don't know the fulls ins and outs, but it seems that they are expected and for everyone you encounter! that could seriously add up on a holiday bill and i'd feel that!

Weve done one cruise & they just added it to your account at the rate of £5 a day (so was £10 a day with the 2 of us). I asked them to remove it as the holiday had been a bit misold & probably wouldnt have gone if the company had been a bit more honest. Also all the staff were fillipino's so probably just using them for cheap labour (out at sea so guessing dont have to comply with min wage) & some of the service wasnt great, pressurising you into sitting at the group table when you want to eat alone etc. But this another case of advertising one price & charging something else. Pay your staff properly & charge the correct rate from the outset. Not advertise a lower rate then diddle you out of loads of 'optional' extras.

gloriouslyhappy

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

One of the things that attracted me to my partner is that he's a generous tipper and regularly offers to buy bar staff a drink (which is always appreciated).

The offer might be appreciated but not the drink, I believe they're rather have the money than the alcohol. What sort of service would they be providing if they accepted every offer, and has this 'generous tipper' considered some of the staff might be driving home, or be battling alcohol problems?

Marvel1

gloriouslyhappy wrote: »

The offer might be appreciated but not the drink, I believe they're rather have the money than the alcohol. What sort of service would they be providing if they accepted every offer, and has this 'generous tipper' considered some of the staff might be driving home, or be battling alcohol problems?

Soft drink? I very much doubt the employer would allow staff to drink alcohol while working.

onwards&upwards

gloriouslyhappy wrote: »

The offer might be appreciated but not the drink, I believe they're rather have the money than the alcohol. What sort of service would they be providing if they accepted every offer, and has this 'generous tipper' considered some of the staff might be driving home, or be battling alcohol problems?

‘One for yourself’ usually means the cost of a soft drink goes in the tip jar, not an actual drink.

GlasweJen

onwards&upwards wrote: »

‘One for yourself’ usually means the cost of a soft drink goes in the tip jar, not an actual drink.

When I worked in a nightclub (early 2008-2011) if someone told us to "get one for yourself" we'd put our preferred alcoholic drink through, print a receipt and put it in our tip jar. At the end of the night we could then either cash out the drink or have it as a actual drink during the "staff drinks" debrief (the company poured everyone on staff an alcoholic drink if the takings were over a certain amount).

Ergates

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!

Cash tips given directly to staff *aren't* taxable.

Even if they were (which they aren't) it wouldn't be the customer that was costing the servefr the money, it would be the tax code based on an incorrect assumption.

Ergates

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?

It absolutely *can* be denied that it benefits the customer, because it doesn't. The only people it benefits are the restaurant owners.

It enables them to keep the pay of the serving staff down, which in turn enables them to keep the cost of the food artificially low, which attracts more customers.

It certainly doesn't benefit the waiting staff - nobody should have to depend on the whim of a customer as to whether they get paid properly or not.

It doesn't really benefit the customer - who now has additional mental and emotional decisions to make to work out if they should tip and if so, how much. Granted, it's not *that* big of a decision to make, but at the end of the day - I'm the customer, why should I be the one who has to decide how much the restaurant's staff earn? I'm just here to have a meal.

Also, many of us who are against tips would happily see a 15% increase in the cost of meals if it meant the service staff were getting a fair wage.

Ergates

undrop79 wrote: »

If you're so adamant you want to automatically pay what the price should be to reflect the TOTAL cost of the meal which includes more than minimum wage for the staff, why don't you just add 10% to 15% yourself? Oh wait... that would be a tip and you're really against that. Sure...

Because I'm the customer, why should I have to to maths in my head whilst reading the menu/bill?

Imagine if other shops did that - all prices shown were 10-15% lower than the actual price. How annoying would that be?

le_veilleur

pickledonionspaceraider wrote: »

What so bad, that waiters deal with?

Well it depends on what kind of restaurant you're working at and in what country. It's quite enough that you have to deal with people everyday. And working hours sometimes goes up to 14-16 hours.

Even if it's a high class restaurant they don't really pay much to waiters. Some people never considers waiters' feelings and doesn't even try to be nice even if they are trying their best. You have to put on a fake smile for a whole day. I get that their job is to "deal with everything" but it is really frustrating when it seems that it will never end and you barely pay your rent and have no time or energy for yourself afterwards.

I am not saying that there are no fair restaurants out there, where you can actually earn some money and be happy with what you're doing. But I am talking about the most. Not to mention some staff in the kitchen. It's wrong when kitchen feels like prison in terms of communication.

As I've already mentioned it really depends on a country you're working in too. For example in Scandinavia it is so much easier since people are warmer and more considerate. When talking about France or UK, it is really hard to find a place where you won't feel depressed after a month of working.