Do you tip in restaurants?

NBLondon · 13 November 2017 at 11:44AM

adonis10 wrote: »

Agreed. I think they should also be far more transparent about where the service charge ends up - if they can spare the space to say on the menu they can find a little extra to say "all service charges will be paid directly to the waiting staff", "all service charges will be distributed amongst the staff at the manager's discretion" or words to that effect. I see the service charge as just another income stream in the absence of words to the contrary.

This is key... If the menu says there is a service charge - then I'm assuming that the price of the dish is the cost of making it plus profit margin and the x% is the supplement for having it brought to me. So why isn't it a set amount per course/per person? It doesn't require any more work to deliver a £25 steak/lobster combo than a £6.50 salad so why is the waitperson getting £2.50 for one and 65p for the other? I can just about accept it in France - where it's universal and clear. Plus in a cafe - you pay it if your drink is brought to the table and not if you stand at the bar for a quick coffee - you really are paying for an extra service/convenience.

So I will try and ask subtly if the charge actually goes to the waiting staff - either directly to the individual or pooled between a whole shift. If I don't get a reasonable answer - I'll ask for it to be removed and tip in cash when the service has warranted it. If the service didn't warrant it; I'll ask for it to be removed. So what if I look stingy to them - I'm not likely to be going back :exclamati

lisyloo · 13 November 2017 at 9:03PM

takman wrote: »

So how much exactly is a fair wage for someone who carries plates of food and writes down an order/enters it into a computer?. It's a low skilled job which requires little training.

Not necessarily true (although depends on where you go).
Some staff are able to advise on wines, ingredients, taste I.e. spicy ness and even the methods used in slaughter.

YDARB · 15 November 2017 at 6:08PM

Always tip. You see it a lot more in the north than south

adonis10 · 15 November 2017 at 7:18PM

YDARB wrote: »

Always tip. You see it a lot more in the north than south

Always? Even if the service is crap?

Is "service charge is added to the bill" as common up there as it is down south?

happyandcontented · 15 November 2017 at 7:26PM

It generally is if the party size is six or more. It can still be removed though if the service was sub-par.

alankershaw66 · 16 November 2017 at 9:04AM

benten69 wrote: »

However, I always say that I don't get tips for doing anything extra and providing good levels of service in my job, so why should I pay others extra for a basic service their employers should be paying them for. In my previous role I saved the company £20,000 a day in penalties by delivering the project on time (a week early in fact), but I didn't get anything extra for it, because quite simply, it was my job.

i would imagine that youre probably paid a lot more than waiters and waitresses in a cafe for your job - forgive me if im wrong

i can live comfortable these days due to a few lucky decisions, so whenever im out i'll always leave a tip to make their day a bit better.

i can still recall a time when after finishing school early all i could find was work in a diner near my home. long days watching the road outside and hoping that there was more out there for me than what i was doing. tips weren't really thing back then.

my daughter worked in a bar while at university and tips were a good boost to her wage so its good to help others like her

tipping culture is one of the best things we've got from the states along with clint eastwood films

Nick_C · 16 November 2017 at 9:43AM

alankershaw66 wrote: »

... tips weren't really thing back then...

tipping culture is one of the best things we've got from the states

Tipping has been around for a very long time, and the practice pre-dates the creation of the US.

As a child, I remember my mum tipping in restaurants, taxis, and the hairdresser. When I was old enough to go the Barber by myself, mum would give me the money plus a tip (think it was 6d).

At Xmas, she used to tip the Postman, Milkman, and Dustmen.

I used to get Xmas tips when I did it a paper round.

There is a long tradition of tipping in certain jobs to ensure and reward good service. Employers in those sectors paid their staff a pittance, knowing that the tips would far exceed the wages.

alankershaw66 · 16 November 2017 at 11:16AM

thanks nick i stand corrected, think my post was a bit too mcuh of a generalisation.

i suppose there was a bit of tipping when i was younger but i never got anything in that diner. perhaps i was just a terrible waiter though

interestingly it worked the other way for us growing up a lot of the roman rd local traders knew my mum and her financial situation so would often offer us a bit of a discount on certain things. i think she was embarrassed but couldnt not take it

Iamzee · 18 November 2017 at 6:41AM

Out of generosity, yes. Happy to share whatever I have.

whiteslice · 3 December 2017 at 3:13PM

I always tip when eating out unless the service was really poor. I try to muster up the courage and ask for the 12.5% service charge to be removed, but don't always manage. I will tip 10% for decent service, 5% if the bill is huge, 15% in some circumstances (i.e. family run restaurant with good food & service and very low prices). I am not a fan of the tipping culture (and the automatically added service charge does irritate me) but I recognise that it's impossible to get by without tips if you're waiting tables, the pay is just too low.

Do you tip in restaurants?

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