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Do you tip in restaurants?

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  • Minnibix
    Minnibix Posts: 263
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    Sorry I may be missing something but I get paid minimum wage, which I believe is the lowest anyone in the UK can get paid and again I am expected to do a good job or I will have no job.

    If I get really good service it is a pleasure to tip but as a norm I do not tip someone who earns the same as me.

    I understand that it is not the same in other countries so I do follow the custom/norm for that country
  • TudorRose
    TudorRose Posts: 421
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    Well said Minnibex. I too work for minimum wage. I work hard for my money like many other people on low wages but I neither expect, nor get, tips from customers for doing my job. My employers expect me to give good service as part of the job. As someone said on this thread we have a minimum wage rate in this country so there are lots of us in the same boat and I can't afford to increase the wages of someone on the same rate of pay as myself when I go out.
  • mai_taylor
    mai_taylor Posts: 220 Forumite
    I've always worked in customer service often dealing with very difficult customers on not much more than minimum wage. I don't get tips nor would I expect to. I don't see why restaurant staff should get tips for doing their job, they should provide good service regardless as this is what they are paid for. I only ever tip if someone has gone above and beyond but eating out is so expensive anyway I don't feel like I should have to pay any extra.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,244
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    Minnibix wrote: »
    Sorry I may be missing something but I get paid minimum wage, which I believe is the lowest anyone in the UK can get paid and again I am expected to do a good job or I will have no job.

    If I get really good service it is a pleasure to tip but as a norm I do not tip someone who earns the same as me.

    I understand that it is not the same in other countries so I do follow the custom/norm for that country

    OK, so if you wanted to consult a lawyer you would refuse to pay their bill, on the basis that their pay for hour should not be more than yours? Surely not. I think that you would choose to see a lawyer or whoever on the basis of what it costs, and do without if you cannot afford it.

    It is the same with a restaurant: if you do not feel able to pay for the food, drink and service then you have the option of not consuming them, or trying to negotiate a special deal. You are welcome to enter a restaurant and explain your policy on tipping before ordering: I expect that the waiter would then give you basic service or perhaps show you how to pass your order directly to the kitchen. Equally, you are welcome to ask the owner for a discount on the prices on the menu. What you are NOT allowed to do is consume the food and drink and then announce you are not willing to pay for it. I suggest that if you allow a waiter to see you in the belief that reasonable service will be rewarded with a tip, and then fail to tip for satisfactory service, you are guilty of a form of fraud. The fact that your boss recently "shafted" you by failing to reward good performance does not justify treating others in this way.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,244
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    mai_taylor wrote: »
    I've always worked in customer service often dealing with very difficult customers on not much more than minimum wage. I don't get tips nor would I expect to. I don't see why restaurant staff should get tips for doing their job, they should provide good service regardless as this is what they are paid for. I only ever tip if someone has gone above and beyond but eating out is so expensive anyway I don't feel like I should have to pay any extra.

    I do agree that tipping is a very bad practice. The reality is that it is not fair to deceive a waiter by not tipping when a tip could reasonably be expected.
  • I_Love_comps
    I_Love_comps Posts: 2,290
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    I will tip only if I receive good service - Good Food and friendly waiter/waitress.

    I also make a point of leaving a comment on Trip advisor so other people can see my views on the place.
    I am a Senior Ambassador on the Competitions Time Board and the Old Style MoneySaving Board.
    If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators.  Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.



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  • I never said I would not pay for the food and service that is what I pay for when I pay my bill after eating my meal. I don't understand what you mean by basic service, so if we all pass our orders directly to the kitchen who do you think will be out of a job? not the chef. I think tipping is outdated and even a little demeaning it reminds me of toffs tipping the plebs. However in a lot of other countries they do not have minimum wage so I tip and tip well. Are you saying you cannot go into a restaurant and enjoy a meal unless you tip - then I think that every place that serves food should have a big sign on the window saying that tipping is mandatory.
  • Oakdene
    Oakdene Posts: 2,560
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    Yep, I usually tip 10% for good service & good food.

    I have had a shocking meal before but the member of the waiting staff was brilliant & I left them a small tip as their service was great.

    I wont leave any form of tip if during the meal we're not asked is everything ok? or if we're made to wait ages for our plates to be cleared (unless its exceptionally busy).
    Dwy galon, un dyhead,
    Dwy dafod ond un iaith,
    Dwy raff yn cydio’n ddolen,
    Dau enaid ond un taith.
  • Just back from the US where one of the bills helpfully had tip amounts of 15%, 20% and 22% calculated at the bottom. Looked to me like, normal, good and excellent service indicators.
    I tended to tip around 15% generally (bill dependent) and nobody complained.

    At home, I tend to to tip around 10%, unless the service is excellent where I'll sometimes push it to 20%.

    I don't get (nor expect) tips in my public sector role, but I do remember what making minimum wage is like so I'm happy to increase the pot for low paid staff where I can. I have friends who are astonished that I would tip service staff, but I really don't care if they value someone else's hard work so little that they won't recognise it (and some of those on minimum wage work very hard to please).
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0
    Holiday Haggler
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    edited 15 September 2016 at 12:52PM
    T - To
    I - Insure
    P - Promptness

    Tipping doesn't really live up to its name.

    I'll tend to tip more at cheaper places, than expensive. If the expensive places can't pay their staff well, then the management need to take less of a cut.

    I got back from a cruise 2 weeks ago, where they expected a $12.95 a day, per person in the cabin (room). Yup, they wanted an automatic tip of £39 a day for a family of 4, just to be on holiday on the ship.
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