Do you tip? Who do you tip and how much?

[PaulB]

Prompted by a story I saw where singers Beyonce and Jay Z left a $500 tip on a $1200 lunch, it made me wonder about the British and tipping. I know some never, ever do and some who always do. What about you?

Personally, having been on the tipees side, I like to tip when I've had good service but never feel I have to tip if the service or quality has been poor. I tend to leave up to 15% and always buy the barmaid in a busy pub a drink as that way, you will be favoured by her when you next go. I also tip taxi drivers if they don't talk the hind leg off me and get me to where I want to go by the quickest route possible. I also like to ask waitressess what the chef would like to drink if the meal has been of very good or exceptional quality. I rarely tip chambermaids or hotel staff though. Maybe I should?

Anyway, what's your opinion on tipping?

 

[garrilla]

I will usually tip around 10% but only if the service is more than perfunctory. My bon mot for this is "you get paid for waiting tables, you get tipped for good service".

 

[wafflycat]

In a restaurant I will tip if the food is good and the service good. In tipping I will not add it to the bill but will leave a tip directly with waiter/waitress.

 

[BearPear]

We tip in restaurants, last night the bill was £63 and we paid £70. I won't tip if the service is poor.

In the USA they expect 15% regardless. Last time we went on our final night the waitress was rubbish, she got the orders the wrong way round and almost tipped another diner's soup all over my daughter. I paid $100 which included about 10% - as we were leaving I heard her b*tching about us and the inadequate tip we had left! I almost went back to tell her the reason why her tip was so poor.

Friends of our were in Chicago and had rubbish service and left no tip at all and the waiter followed them out into the street! My friend's hubby is a large chap and told the waiter in no uncertain terms why there was no tip!

I think it is fair to reward good service.

 

[Danny]

I also tip about 10% in restaurants if the service is good. Sometimes, if I think there has been an outrageous mark up on the wine, I just tip on the cost of the food. If I add a tip to the bill I'll always check that the staff get the full amount (as some restaurants withhold it).

Taxi drivers rarely get a tip from me unless they help with loading and unloading heavy bags, or are particularly adept at finding their way round traffic jams.

Sadly I rarely stay in hotels, but if I did I would tip the chambermaids as they are generally poorly paid and have appalling working conditions.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I tip in restaurants if the food and service is good - 10% usually in cash to the waiter or waitress.
Tip chambermaids too if I'm staying for a few days and I see them to give it to them.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I tip waitrons - usually 10% if I can find enough change in big enough denominations - but always in cash and only if the service has been good. Sometimes I buy a barman / maid a drink, but that's more usual if I'm on my own. Taxi drivers only get a tip if they've obeyed the speed limit and not scared me to death!

 

[numbnuts]

I don't go anywhere to tip

 

[PaulB]

Be interesting to hear from those who don't tip.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

How about mean old Mick Jagger....

David Bailey recalled the following “I decided we should go to a place called the Casserole down the King’s Road. I remember that Mick paid, which was unusual in those days because back then he never paid for anything.

“I told him to leave a tip and he said: ‘Leave a tip? What the f*** for?’ I said it was normal practice and suggested he leave a 10- shilling note, one of those old brown banknotes.

“Mick put the 10-bob note on the plate, but as we were putting our coats on, I noticed his hand slip out and put the 10 shillings back in his pocket.”

What a tight-wad!!

 

[XmisterIS]

If I get good service I always give a tip ... usually scribbled on a napkin ...

 

[yello]

I rarely do but only because it's not now required/expected/done here in France. In the UK, it was restaurants only and 10% if everything was as expected but more if better. I just didn't go again if service/food was poor. I never caught cabs but I'd probably have rounded up. I like the idea of excluding the wine cost though, the mark-up there can be outrageous.

 

[Archie_tect]

Tips if taken by the restaurant aren't given out to serving staff on top of wages but used to make up the minimum wage so try to give someone who has provided good service the tip in their hand otherwise you're just adding to the owner's profits.

My daughter worked for the Cheese Farm cafe near Morpeth as a summer job and they used to collect all the tips ostensibly to distribute them every 3 months... they laid her off at the end of the summer season and kept the money she'd worked so hard for....

When we last visited the USA a lot of the serving staff we got talking to rely on tips as commission to make up their basic wage- it's supposed to force them to work harder for their bosses as they don't have the benefit of a minimum wage but sometimes the places are so mean people just give up trying to give good service but it also explains the "Have a nice day" brightness you get there.

 

[ianrauk]

Always tip if good service in restaurants. Good attentive barstaff will buy a drink. Hate places that have service charges on the bill then also expect tip. In those instances I will ask them to take service charge off, and if they wont, then no tip. Cabbies usually round up the fare. Chambermaids usually a few quid at end of stay.

 

[rich p]

In cafes/restaurants on the continent I always used to tip but I asked a few locals and observed others and found that I was the only one who did. I now rarely tip abroad and I was interested to read what Yello had said.