Do you tip?

[Mrs M]

Always tip in restaurants unless the service is bad. Give the airport park and fly driver £2 (nothing if he's a grump).
£5 to hairdresser but Mr M thinks that's extrvagent and gives his a "mere quid"

 

[Andy_R]

I tip narrow boat owners on old MTB's into the canal.

 

[LocalLad]

Out with LocalLass on Saturday evening. Had great meal, service was excellent, food amazing, overall great night. They were heading for a good tip, until the bill came with an accidental almost doubling of the price of the wine. By the waiters expression, it was evident it was not an error...

Needless to say they cost themselves a significant tip..no way I was tipping after that!

 

[mustang1]

I tip everyone. Postmen, hair dresser, waiter, government, charity worker, pilots (I tipnthem particularly well, heck if I want something happening in the air), and uhm, those personal service uhm, anyway... Bike mechanics get beer and stuff like that.

But I don't like it.

I also give the hairdresser and taxi drivers a huge tip if they just shut up.

 

[Cubist]

Cubester worked at a pub restaurant. Tips were taken in cash and put in a communal pot. They were shared out once a month. He was happy with this as a bearded prop forward doesn't get tipped as much as the other prettier waitresses, and he reckoned their feminine charms would boost his tip income. Until he saw the owner putting the tip jar contents into the bandit. The resulting argument got him sacked. (He doesn't pull his punches....) the last laugh is on him though. Within three hours of being sent home he had landed himself another job where the tips are shared religiously at the end of every shift and he makes as much there in a shift as he did in a month at the old pub. There are also some pretty worrying trip advisor entries about the old pub. None of which could be traced back to Cubester I'm pleased to add.

 

[postman]

Window Cleaner & Postie get a little something at Crimbo too

Do you want my PayPal account or my bank details.

 

[jonny jeez]

 

[RichardB]

I used to be of the 'don't tip, won't subsidise low pay' persuasion. For the last five years I have worked in a job that brings me into close contact with a lot of wait and bar staff and I see not only how badly they are paid, but what utter crap they have to put up with from 'customers'. Now I tip 10-15% unless service is notably poor. The postman gets a fiver in his Christmas card, but then it's the same guy all year and we are on first name terms. I cut my own hair (what's left of it) and rarely use taxis, but if I do I round it up a bit, the amount depending on blood alcohol level, I guess. I won't generally tip in a pub if it's just a quiet drink, but if it's an occasion and the round is a large one I will offer 'one for yourself' and expect to pay the price of a half, not poured but 'for later', which is fine.

 

[postman]

My wife is a very good tipper.We were in Manchester this week, we ate at Pizza Express,she gave the lad a fiver.

 

[Brandane]

I tip everyone. Postmen, hair dresser, waiter, government, charity worker, pilots

I haven't flown on Ryanair recently, but is this a new thing? Do they stand at the exit rattling an empty Starbucks cup at you as they bid you farewell after the flight? Or maybe sit cross legged on the airbridge with a blanket and a scruffy looking dog?

 

[Joffey]

What are people's views on tipping (i.e. giving extra money to someone for a product or service rendered)?

My wife thinks I am a grumpy cheap-skate because I don't tip. My view is: I've received a service or product for which I have paid in full. The person who delivers it is paid by their employer, and I do not feel obliged to supplement their wages because they are not paid enough.

So, does anyone expect/rely on tips? Should I change my attitude, and if so why?

Only verbally

 

[Accy cyclist]

I tip a few quid after a meal. about 20 Euros for the chambermaids after holidays and i give the lad in my LBS about 10% on top of labour costs as he's so cheap.
I receive about 50 quid in tips from my window cleaning round customers at Christmas time.

 

[marzjennings]

Generally in restaurants I tip 20% for good, 15% for ok and 10% for expected service. Took me a while to get used to tipping when I move here, but when you find out that most wait staff only get about $2.50 an hour you don't feel so bad about it.

We were in Falmouth about a decade back, taking my family out for a pub lunch (about 9 people) and at the end of the meal my wife hands the waitress a 20 for being really helpful. Poor lass was almost in tears.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

I don't tip taxi drivers although I sometimes tell them to keep the change.
The only service I tip is for cafes and restaurants, up to a couple of quid in cafes, up to 15 in restaurants. Although I did tip 20 in a hotel restaurant recently, but they were exceptional ! That was on a bill of about 90.

 

[Vidor06]

The "one for yourself" thing, common in North of England is done every round of drinks you buy. So it adds up.

Now I get it. The get one for yourself thing here would only ever happen once in an evening.