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I tip. If the service is good. And I'll tip as much as my budget allows.

However, if they automatically add a service charge, I always refuse to pay it. Why? Because tipping should be up to me deciding what their service was worth, not them deciding how much money I should give them, whether their service was good or not.

In my experience it is customary to leave a tip of 10% of the total bill (including drinks). This is only done in restaurants/pubs with table service.
Cash is the prefered form of tip although many places accept it via credit/debit cards.

A law was recently passed in the UK that stoped restaurant/bar owners from using money earned in tips to top up wages so that they effectively pocketed the tips for themselves. Something to bear in mind though is that the tip you leave may well be split up between all the staff including the chef, drinks waiter and even door staff.

Generaly speaking in the UK we do not tip bar staff, although many customers will tell the member of barstaff serving them to "take for one for themselves" after ordering a particularly large round. In certain pubs/bars people wishing to engratiate themselves with the owner/manager/landlord will ofter buy them a drink. It is often hard to tell if this is out of genuine freindliness or because they wish to appear popular and "in with the landlord"

Some of the high end restaurants in the UK will add a 10% service charge automaticaly, you are well within your rights to refuse this regardless of your opinion of the service. It is also completely legal (although rarely done) to only offer to pay what you felt the food was worth if it wasnt up to scratch.

Other restaurants/hotels and the like will charges "corkage" this is a fee for removing the cork from a bottle of wine or the top from a bottle of beer. This is mandatory to pay, although It tends to only happen in Top restaurants, hotels and BYO's. In the later it is perfactly fine to opt to open your own and avoid the charge.

Most other types of business do not recieve tips however there are a few exceptions. Taxi drivers are often given a couple of £'s if they get you to a destination in good time or are particularly pleasant. Hotel concierge's quite often recieve large tips for arranging theatre tickets and the like. Also many people will give tradesman such as builders a case of beer on completion of a job if they have done it particularly well but this is less common. Some people will give a small amount to bin men, paper boys, milkmen and postmen at Christmas as a thankyou for good service throughout the year but this is bcoming increasingly rare.

People who generaly don't get tipped are bus drivers, Policemen and other emergency services staff. Shop keepers and retail assistants, clerical staff i.e. post office workers. Gargare staff such as mechanics and delivery staff such as couriers. Soldiers, although bags of Haribo are gratefuly accepted

The bus companies already steal far too much of my money and give a crap service - they shall never get a tip so long as I live unless the service drastically changes. Same with the post office

SilverMK2 wrote:The bus companies already steal far too much of my money and give a crap service - they shall never get a tip so long as I live unless the service drastically changes. Same with the post office

I don't mind the post office so much, but i too hate the bus companies (grr, Stagecoach, grr): In my last year in Manchester, a weekly ticket went from £6 to £11, whilt providing fewer buses at less stops.

In Spain it depends on the zone where you live. Tipping is more common in central and south Spain. I live in north, we don't use to tip. But I've lived in Madrid (wich is center Spain) and I got used to tip. In deliveries (packages, food) I'm like Albatross said on "keep the change". In other situations it depends on the amount of money, I might leave some coins.

J.Black wrote:I don't mind the post office so much, but i too hate the bus companies (grr, Stagecoach, grr): In my last year in Manchester, a weekly ticket went from £6 to £11, whilt providing fewer buses at less stops.

I loved Stagecoach as a strudent - 50p singles all over Sheffield ). Really hate First though - their monthly pass has gone up £10 in less than a year, from £50-60 (which is one of the smallest changes). And their service is shocking, especially during term time (though I have to say I think it might be getting slightly better on some routes).

The thing I dislike about the post office is when their package collection places are open - who the hell can get to them during the week? And at the weekend they are open until 12pm on Saturday - what the hell is with that? You just end up wit hthe whole working world stood outside the doors for most of Saturday.

Though to be fair, we are strraying a bit OT now

halonachos wrote:I like to tip, one time I went to a cold-stone creamery and the lady flipped the ice cream into the air and caught it in a cup, that's an instant +$5.00 for a tip in my book.

Personally, I work in retail and don't expect to be tipped. In fact I hate it when people are all too willing to throw money at me instead of telling my manager that I did a great job.

There is one lady in particular at the Coldstone in my hometown that does that. She'll lob it about 3 feet above her head and catch it every time. One time she even got it behind her back. Very brave to try that. Had I attempted that I would have had ice cream all over my head.

That and she is easy on the eyes so I'll tip her at least $1 whenever I buy a $4 shake.

Coldstone ice cream rocks too. I'd say it's as good as Ben and Jerry's.

Emperors Faithful wrote:@IG_Urban: Why would you tip if the service is horrible?

Good Karma. That, and the fact that, like I said, they wok for tips. There a different types of horrible service. You never know what that person is experiencing. They're mom could be dying of cancer and they are on the bad end of a double shift. Or, they could just be a holes. Either way, I would rather put forth the money, and the effort, and the good energy into the universe, than be a selfish prick.

Ketara wrote:I tip. If the service is good. And I'll tip as much as my budget allows.

However, if they automatically add a service charge, I always refuse to pay it. Why? Because tipping should be up to me deciding what their service was worth, not them deciding how much money I should give them, whether their service was good or not.

Well, restaurants that charge a service will say so before you sit down on signs, and in the menu usually....I don't know about your land, but here in 'merica, refusing to do that is illegal.

Coming from a waiter/bartender during my 4 years of college, in the US, tipping is more of a requirement.

There are perks to tipping well, especially a bartender. We remember the good tippers, and even more so the people that stiff us. Trust me, some of those people that wouldnt tip well week after week started getting less liquor in their drinks. Where as the ones who tip well every week... Well you tended to be a little heavy handed

Average salary for a employee that gets tipped in the USA is 2.15$ an hour. The employers assume that you are making enough money in tips to offset that rediculously low wage.

Personally i tend to tip 15% for average service, and up to 25% if you do really well... I have only not given someone a tip once, and it was because the service was absolutely horrible.

At bars i normally throw them an extra buck for each drink i order.

I only tip at restaurants if it was really good, and in shops that I frequent.

Asking me for a tip means your not getting one. ever.

ShivanAngel wrote:Coming from a waiter/bartender during my 4 years of college, in the US, tipping is more of a requirement.

There are perks to tipping well, especially a bartender. We remember the good tippers, and even more so the people that stiff us. Trust me, some of those people that wouldnt tip well week after week started getting less liquor in their drinks. Where as the ones who tip well every week... Well you tended to be a little heavy handed

Average salary for a employee that gets tipped in the USA is 2.15$ an hour. The employers assume that you are making enough money in tips to offset that rediculously low wage.

Personally i tend to tip 15% for average service, and up to 25% if you do really well... I have only not given someone a tip once, and it was because the service was absolutely horrible.

At bars i normally throw them an extra buck for each drink i order.

I agree, I always tip my bartenders well.

and feth, the minimum wage in Seattle is $8.55 per hour. Are cost of living is redonkulous, though.

IG_urban wrote:Well, restaurants that charge a service will say so before you sit down on signs, and in the menu usually....I don't know about your land, but here in 'merica, refusing to do that is illegal.

It isn't automatically illegal, and in some areas can be illegal on the part of the restaurant. My main question to business owners that do this, is why not include the cost IN the price of their goods or services? Reminds me of bank fees and the like, because I most often can't get real reason for it, and it appears to be nothing less than away to make the extra cost seem insignificant.

I don't know really, but if a restaurant charges me for service, I simply won't want to tip them beyond that. My example of tipping pizza delivery after a previous service charge, covers it pretty clearly. If I am not tipping because of the cost of delivery (as in the cost covered out of pocket, BY THE DELIVERY GUY), am I just paying 2 bucks for the phone call? It kind of pisses me off, because it obligates me in some way, to compensate the expense of a car... twice. So basically, it seems like the drivers are just getting screwed by their companies; like the manager decided he needed tips as well, but ended up just taking a bite out of their drivers tips.

Soladrin wrote:I only tip at restaurants if it was really good, and in shops that I frequent.

Asking me for a tip means your not getting one. ever.

Yeah i dont care who you are, you never ever ask for a tip, thats just wrong...

Best tip i ever recieved was 1250$. Brought a guy a bunch of food for a graduation party (was the only one working with a truck that night). I set it up, and then tore it down and cleaned his kitchen for him.technically, i was supposed to drop it off and then i was done for the night. He handed me a check and said i saved his ass and he really appreciated it, I was skeptical but the check cleared.

The other one was a guy said how much should i tip you (was like a 400 dollar tab). I was like i hate answering that question. he was like TELL ME. I said 200 bucks. He threw down 2 benjies and walked away!

Most states actually pay tipped wages equal to Fed. minimum but some states still pay less than $3/hour. Most states wait staff and bartenders actually have it pretty good as they make what a burger flipper makes + tips.

On a good night as a bartender in Mn you could earn $300 between tips and hourly wage. A waiter can take home as much as $150. Not bad wages for those barely out of HS with no degree yet or dropouts who can't really hope for better.

$150/8 is $18.75/hour.

Fateweaver wrote:Most states actually pay tipped wages equal to Fed. minimum but some states still pay less than $3/hour. Most states wait staff and bartenders actually have it pretty good as they make what a burger flipper makes + tips.

On a good night as a bartender in Mn you could earn $300 between tips and hourly wage. A waiter can take home as much as $150. Not bad wages for those barely out of HS with no degree yet or dropouts who can't really hope for better.

$150/8 is $18.75/hour.

Doing the grind on friday and saturday night normally netted me between 600-1000 dollars in tips. Other nights was around 100-200.

Of course there were slow weeks, one week you could make 1200 bucks, the next week you would barely scrape in 200 bucks, all part of the waiting game.

Yep. Waiting tables/bartending is a crap shoot.

It's like being a salesman. One week you'll wrack up enough sales to go on a cruise, the next week you might barely be able to afford gas.

Fateweaver wrote:Yep. Waiting tables/bartending is a crap shoot.

It's like being a salesman. One week you'll wrack up enough sales to go on a cruise, the next week you might barely be able to afford gas.

Yeah one year when i got my tax form thingy i averaged out my hourly as like 18.50$ per hour. That of course, isnt as high as it should be, since waiters tend to not declare a lot of the cash tips that they get.... =D

In restaurants I tip an even 20% by default, and rarely refuse to tip.

In a bar I'll tip $1 a drink, unless either the drink or the order is complicated.

I also tip/bribe the maintenance staff in my building, as it ensures the swift resolution of complaints.

dogma wrote:In restaurants I tip an even 20% by default, and rarely refuse to tip.

In a bar I'll tip $1 a drink, unless either the drink or the order is complicated.

I also tip/bribe the maintenance staff in my building, as it ensures the swift resolution of complaints.

Then you ghost-ride the whip tha hell on outta there!

You're so 'G' you're almost 'H', Dogma.

See, now I need to listen to that song.

Fateweaver wrote:I don't leave a tip, I give the entire thing to the waitress.

I think for groups larger than 6 people it should be automatic. I've worked restaurants where a table would be seated with 12 people, the waitress would be overly nice to them, the table racks up a $300 bill and don't leave the waitress even a single penny.

Sorry, if you can afford a $300 dinner you can afford at least a $20 tip.

Wow thats brutal. Id be PISSED if a group that big didnt tip the waitress. They have to live on those tips, because they damn sure arnt making enough to pay the bills.

I tip at restaurants and the pizza guy, mainly because the place we order from the guys have to drive a good distance to get to my house. It wouldnt be right being a cheap skate after that. But in other place no friggin WAY am I tipping.

IG_urban wrote:

Emperors Faithful wrote:@IG_Urban: Why would you tip if the service is horrible?

Good Karma. That, and the fact that, like I said, they wok for tips. There a different types of horrible service. You never know what that person is experiencing. They're mom could be dying of cancer and they are on the bad end of a double shift. Or, they could just be a holes. Either way, I would rather put forth the money, and the effort, and the good energy into the universe, than be a selfish prick.

Ketara wrote:I tip. If the service is good. And I'll tip as much as my budget allows.

However, if they automatically add a service charge, I always refuse to pay it. Why? Because tipping should be up to me deciding what their service was worth, not them deciding how much money I should give them, whether their service was good or not.

Well, restaurants that charge a service will say so before you sit down on signs, and in the menu usually....I don't know about your land, but here in 'merica, refusing to do that is illegal.

Over here, they don't tell you. And is it really? I thought tips were voluntary by definition?

I do believe that's the whole point of a tip.

Anyway, why has no one mentioned those little jars with coins in them at the counter? They're at pretty much every cafe or whatever that I go to. When ordering a drink or a meal, that's ussually where I'll chuck the tip in if I'm content with the service. Seems fair enough to me, that way the loot is divvied up fairly enough.

dogma wrote:See, now I need to listen to that song.

Your tax-dollars hard at work!

SIDEBAR: Do you think it would be MORE safe, or LESS safe to ghost-ride over an IED? You might be thrown clear of the blast, but you would also be more exposed to shrapnel. It's a puzzler.

feth it, it would freak the Taliban out anyway... that's got to be worth it.

Tipping feels very unnatural to me, like you're throwing money around to make a big man out of yourself. It probably has a lot to do with waitstaff here in Australia being paid well enough for what they do, so the only real motivation to tip is to throw money around to make a big man out of yourself.

But I've travelled in countries where waitstaff are paid very little because it's expected that the tip will make up for it, in which case I've always made sure to tip, even though it still feels odd. Travelling with other Aussies, a few have refused to tip because tipping is stupid, and while I agree it's a pretty silly system, the only person impacted by the decision to not tip is the waiter, and that's not cool.

Tipping is never mandatory and should never be something expected from you. It´s something you decide on. I can´t ever fault someone for not giving a tip.

If I ever come to a restaurant that actually has a "required tip" thing going on, I'm gonna 180 out of there.

That said, I had Mexican food last wednesday after coming back from the Zoo and am now addicted to nachos. I tipped 5 bucks(51 buck dinner).