I was once in that pub, the Neptune, in Corpach on the Caledonian Canal facing Ben Nevis. A family were leaving after having a meal and drinks and the father had left several pound coins and fifty pence pieces as a tip. The youngest boy in the party came back to the table after his family had all gone out and quickly scooped up all the change from the tip plate!
Do you tip? Who do you tip and how much?
- Thread starter PaulB
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Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
My daughter always used to stare longingly at tips we left on tables as we left as it was a mystery to her why we did it when we'd already paid once... seems logical even to me now!
brokenbetty
Über Member
- Location
- London
I do tip. I picked up the habit in US/Canada and I like doing it. It's also a good way to get a round figure when you need to split the bill 
I don't think it's as expected here as it is in the states (despite All Bar One's cheesy silver trays!). It's the norm in restaurants but not to the point where they forget it's optional.
I tip waiters, hairdressers, beauticians and taxi drivers. I don't tip bar staff unless it's a local and I buy them a drink (for some reason it's not done for women to buy the bar staff a drink, so I'll only do it when I am a regular or if we've got into a genuine converstaion) but I will often add a tip if I've been running a tab all night. In hotels I usually leave some money in the room for the chambermaid, and when I go skiing I tip the chalet staff. When we moved from Newcastle to London I gave the removal guys some cash and a couple of slabs of beer.
I usually go for around 15% rounded to the nearest £1. It gets a bit less accurate when I've had a few drinks though! And if the bill is more than £100 I tip a little less.
Taxi drivers get "keep the change" unless that would be less than £1 in which case I throw in another quid or two depending on the total fare. I tip black cab drivers who take me home generously because I want to encourage them to accept fares to South Tottenham!
I don't tip toilet attendants in nightclubs because I don't like them being there (although it makes me feel bad because I'm pretty sure they aren't employed, in fact they probably pay the club for the pitch, and what sort of a life is that?), but I do in public toilets if they have a coin tray out.
Basically, I go by gut feel. If I think someone will be insulted by a tip I don't, if I think they'll be embarassed and surprised but glad to get it I do.
I've only got it wrong (that I know of) once, in New York. On our last day we asked the security guy in our apartment block if we could leave our bags in his office as we had a long time before our flight. When we came to pick them up I offered him a tip but he wouldn't accept it.
Liz
I don't think it's as expected here as it is in the states (despite All Bar One's cheesy silver trays!). It's the norm in restaurants but not to the point where they forget it's optional.
I tip waiters, hairdressers, beauticians and taxi drivers. I don't tip bar staff unless it's a local and I buy them a drink (for some reason it's not done for women to buy the bar staff a drink, so I'll only do it when I am a regular or if we've got into a genuine converstaion) but I will often add a tip if I've been running a tab all night. In hotels I usually leave some money in the room for the chambermaid, and when I go skiing I tip the chalet staff. When we moved from Newcastle to London I gave the removal guys some cash and a couple of slabs of beer.
I usually go for around 15% rounded to the nearest £1. It gets a bit less accurate when I've had a few drinks though! And if the bill is more than £100 I tip a little less.
Taxi drivers get "keep the change" unless that would be less than £1 in which case I throw in another quid or two depending on the total fare. I tip black cab drivers who take me home generously because I want to encourage them to accept fares to South Tottenham!
I don't tip toilet attendants in nightclubs because I don't like them being there (although it makes me feel bad because I'm pretty sure they aren't employed, in fact they probably pay the club for the pitch, and what sort of a life is that?), but I do in public toilets if they have a coin tray out.
Basically, I go by gut feel. If I think someone will be insulted by a tip I don't, if I think they'll be embarassed and surprised but glad to get it I do.
I've only got it wrong (that I know of) once, in New York. On our last day we asked the security guy in our apartment block if we could leave our bags in his office as we had a long time before our flight. When we came to pick them up I offered him a tip but he wouldn't accept it.
Liz
The laws on tipping changed here (in Europe generally???) not too long ago. All prices must now include service (servis compris) so you should feel no compulsion to tip. You can still tip of course, and people obviously still do, and this will go directly into the waiter's pocket. So that's kind of as you'd want in a way, directly rewarding someone for the service they have given.
I tip in a big way if I'm going back to a restaurant. People remember. There's one restaurant in South London that we can walk in to whenever, and, while the waiter or waitress who's been there for a few months is telling us that there's no table, the manager who's been there a decade is throwing a 'reserved' label in the bin.....
And Archie Tect is right. Waiting staff sometimes rely on tips.
I never tip taxi drivers. But, then again, taxi rides are something I've given up......
And Archie Tect is right. Waiting staff sometimes rely on tips.
I never tip taxi drivers. But, then again, taxi rides are something I've given up......
NorfolkNewbie
New Member
- Location
- South Norfolk
Hiya
I'm new but thought I would poke my nose in.
Have to say whenever I hear about tipping I always think about the first five mins in the Reservoir Dogs movie "the smallest violin playing just for the waitresses"... I can see both sides of the argument!!
I tip if the service is outstanding.
I currently work part time as a waitress and we accumulate all our tips together and they get paid every 3 months... That said, not a lot of people tip - and if they do it's not very much (and that's not just because I'm a terrible waitress lol - it's something we've all talked about). Because of this, I don't feel bad if I don't tip when I go out because I don't think it makes me stand out as not many people do nowadays... and if someone is "doing their job" then why tip?
If they do a GREAT job then I would leave a little bit... but I never feel obliged to tip.
Just this week we had a family of 12 come in and I gave exceptional service, very attentive, even brought some paper and pens for the kids and some colouring books (we're a privately owned place so that's not "normal" for us) and even printed out some information about things to do in the local area. I wasn't expecting a tip but my manager was surprised when they left and only left £1.50 when the bill was over £200!
Oh well.
So not everyone tips anymore....I just tip when it's great.
I'm new but thought I would poke my nose in.
Have to say whenever I hear about tipping I always think about the first five mins in the Reservoir Dogs movie "the smallest violin playing just for the waitresses"... I can see both sides of the argument!!
I tip if the service is outstanding.
I currently work part time as a waitress and we accumulate all our tips together and they get paid every 3 months... That said, not a lot of people tip - and if they do it's not very much (and that's not just because I'm a terrible waitress lol - it's something we've all talked about). Because of this, I don't feel bad if I don't tip when I go out because I don't think it makes me stand out as not many people do nowadays... and if someone is "doing their job" then why tip?
If they do a GREAT job then I would leave a little bit... but I never feel obliged to tip.
Just this week we had a family of 12 come in and I gave exceptional service, very attentive, even brought some paper and pens for the kids and some colouring books (we're a privately owned place so that's not "normal" for us) and even printed out some information about things to do in the local area. I wasn't expecting a tip but my manager was surprised when they left and only left £1.50 when the bill was over £200!
Oh well.
So not everyone tips anymore....I just tip when it's great.
Always tip in restaurants, 10% ish unless it's been bad. Never use that include a gratuity bit on the bill. Tip the hairdresser a few quid, round up a taxi fair and that's about it.
I have also tipped in Europe but may re-consider now, never know what to do in hotels for hotel staff, leave an individual tip, maids and restaurant staff or add it to the bill.
America I find too demanding and upfront on the tip bit and I tended to undertip there, typical retiring embarrased Brit.
I have also tipped in Europe but may re-consider now, never know what to do in hotels for hotel staff, leave an individual tip, maids and restaurant staff or add it to the bill.
America I find too demanding and upfront on the tip bit and I tended to undertip there, typical retiring embarrased Brit.
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
In the UK I tip around 10% whenever there's good service. If a place is terrible I won't tip, and I also won't be back. And I give an extra pound when I get my hair cut.
In France (where service is included) I don't tip as such, but I'll leave the loose change.
In France (where service is included) I don't tip as such, but I'll leave the loose change.
PaulB said:
When is a barmaid in a busy pub going to find the time to drink it and if everyone did that she'd be pissed.
I usually give between 10 and 15% depending on the nearest round figure. Only recently though I discovered that at the local indian the tips all go to the manager which has put me right off going there.
Renard said:
That's not the point. When the bar's chocker and you're trying to get a drink before losing the will to live, she may remember that you were kind to her the last time you were there and think you'll offer her another tip this time, thus giving you an advantage. It really works and you want to try it sometime.
NorfolkNewbie
New Member
- Location
- South Norfolk
PaulB said:
Or... if she's like me when I was 18 (years ago now) she'll just think you want to shag her. So if she doesn't fancy you she'll enjoy bleeding you dry for free drinks (enjoyed after she's finished with the rest of the bar staff)... and if she does...well, it's a good opener!! (I met my first serious boyfriend when he kept asking me for extra lemons in his bacardi and coke..)
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
Crackle said:
Must say that is how I felt in Canada, it kind of spoiled the eating out experience.
karen.488walker
New Member
- Location
- Sevenoaks :(
In restaurants I tip well for good service. OK for OK. and Nothing for nothing. Also depends on if I'm going back. obvious? The one I get confused on is waxing. A wax is a wax and it's expensive at that. I am usually going back, but you can't really go wrong. Amy ideas? (same with hairdressers)
