Tipping at restaurants

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speedbird

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Last night, six of us went to a nice restaurant in a pub. We all had a nice 3 course meal with good service and it came to £180. Service wasn't included and I said if we all added about £3.00 extra each it would cover the tip. The others said they didn't tip at restaurants. Im afraid I lost it a bit and said I thought it was disgusting that they were prepared to leave the restaurant leaving nothing. I said a few other things as well ! I left a fiver and thats all the waitress got. Is it just me or do lots of people never tip, even when its good service ?
 
I worked in a restaurant and must have served upward of 150 tables while I worked there, only 1 table ever tipped me
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. I always tip if the service is good, usually 10% of meal cost.
A lot of restaurants these days add a service charge to the bill, but I'm not too happy with this as I don't know how much the actual waitress gets.
 
I always tip if its good service, would be shocked if people didn't tbh. Although I admit I do think more carefully about it in the current financial climate. Whats an extra £3 to that bill?!!

I wouldn't be eating with them again
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I nearly always tip, unless the service has been poor. Partly because I'm a waitress and curse the misreble sods who you bend over backwards for and then the bugger off leaving nothing but a mess and spilt food
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My OH however, is a tightfisted sod in everyway
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on one mortifying occasion, I left a tip out of the change, he took it back, saying he didnt give tips. Fine, I put some of MY money down as a tip and he picked that up, buggered off with it repeating that he didnt tip. I had no more money in my purse so had to leave without giving a tip. It was so embaressing
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It does depend on the service but I usually tip, usually around 10% of the bill. Though to be fair, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I go out for dinner in a year so it doesn't happen often
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I tip but klnock off the cost of the wine or alcohol as the mark up on that is huge anyway. Usually leave 10% and always in cash never add it to the credit card amount.
 
If the service is good I always leave a tip normally about 10% but more if the service was better than you'd expect. Always in cash too.
 
Depends who is footing the bill. I tip if I am eating out for myself, but never if work is paying (as they won't reimburse me).

Personally, I find tipping unpleasant and just wish restaurants would pay their staff properly and add it to their prices. I don't tip my riding instructor, binmen, or the checkout operator in Tesco/Lidl, so why a server in a restaurant? Its archaic and feudal.
 
I think it's down to tradition why we tip some service providers e.g. taxi drivers. I agree that it would be better for restauarants to pay decent wages - but at least nowadays they have (in theory) pay the national minimum wage), I don't tip unless service is good, and yes it should be in cash.

The thread should actually be in New Lounge, not Laest News!
 
I will tip if the service has been good in a restaurant, but I won't tip in a pub.

I think these days it's socially expected for you to leave a tip, however I remember just 5-10 years ago we never left tips. IMO you shouldn't feel pressured into leaving a tip, it's your choice whether you do or not. If it was compulsory it would be added for you (like some restaurants add 10% if there's more than 10 people).
 
that's a tricky one, i always tip in restaurants & taxi's, so does my oh and all my friends.

There was a group of 8 of us out on saturday so and extra £5 each left a £40 tip we just like round numbers, It was a lovely meal and good service in a busy restaurant. We always chat to the waitress & to the owners and tip well. It's worth it because we know we'll get good service & seats next time.

Whereas, oh and I were out for a meal together recently and left a £2 tip, just rounding up the bill slightly as the service was crap and i mean the service, not the kitchen. I always try and distinguish if the kitchen is the problem and not blame the waitresses for late food. I wish i had actually said something as the restaurant used to be lovely and the food is great but they have got some waitresses who could do with some training/manners and no experienced supervision front of house.
 
Try going to the USA and *not* tipping ! You're expected to tip 15 or sometimes 20%, and woe betide you if you dont. Mind you, service is usually very good.
 
If the service is good I tip (unless it's been included in the bill already). However, if the service is cr*p (as in one restaurant i was in the other week) I would politely ask for the optional service to be removed.

I used to waitress and work behind a bar. It's not hard to be efficient and polite to customers so i don't think bad or rude waiters/waitresses should be rewarded.
 
IF the service is excellent I tip.
Anything less and I don't.
I'm already paying for the food and service so fail to see why I should be paying extra on top.
 
I haven't read other posts but I always tip even if service is bad because 9 times out of 10 whatever has gone wrong is not the fault of the waiting staff and its usually youngsters seeing their way through uni or something. If service is slow its imo down to bad resource management not having sufficient staff to cover the volume of clients, if the meal is bad its a poor chef so unless its something the waiting staff can influence I do tip.

And for those that say the chef should be included in tips I would surmise he earns a lot more than the waiting staff anyway .
 
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IF the service is excellent I tip.
Anything less and I don't.
I'm already paying for the food and service so fail to see why I should be paying extra on top.

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Was about to say the same.
R's hairdreser ale#ways gets a £4 tip(cut itself is £6 so give her the change).They really go the extra mile to make him happy and fuss over him so feel she deserves a thankyou.
On the other hand,my hairdresser does a good job but doesnt give hat great service so doesnt get a tip,same when eating out.
 
QR having worked with food in the past ( but not waited on) I know how hard these lads and lasses work both in and out of the kitchen. In larger establishments there are are people employed to wash up etc but I can bet in the smaller ones the waitresses are a jack of all trades. I always tip and have never had a poor service by any staff wherever I have eaten out. If anything has been to blame with the food ( only complained once over a steak that was meant to be med rare but arrived on plate as well done) then it is not the fault of those serving the food. Quite often though I feel really sorry for the serving staff as they are the one's who get publicly humiliated for instances which in most cases are not their fault. Therefore I think it is only fair that these people who work damned hard, rushing around on their feet most of the day and putting up with some right old miserable feckers, get tips. Yes they get paid the minimum wage now that is true but that still doesn't mean they should not be entitled to a tip for their efforts. I have seen waitresses bend over backwards to help people. Yes it is their job to serve food but it is not their job to constantly put themselves out for people who most of the time are so damned ungrateful. Having eaten out I have seen allsorts dining out and believe me I would rather not be in the waitresses shoes at all.
Getting tips not only boosts their wage packet but morale as well. Yes I know they choose to do that job but many do it because they need the work and the hours suit. If I can walk out of an eating establishment knowing I have put a smile on someone's face if they haven't received a tip all day then that makes me feel happy inside.
Restaurants or pubs it makes no difference to me. If food is brought to your table then that is service and if it is not included in the price of the meal then I always tip whether it is for one course or 3 plus it makes no difference to me.
To the OP I would ditch these so called friends next time you think of going out for a meal. What utter tight arses they are!
I mean we are all feeling the pinch of the credit crunch but it doesn't mean I will not tip ( don't eat out that much now though) or give money to charity. It just means I will give that bit less but some is better than nothing I say and if one waitress gets a pound from every ten tables she or he serves then that is an extra £10 for that shift which in some cases can mean a lot to people.
 
QR, I tip if the service is good. We're not in america, the UK isn't a tipping nation. I hate places that force a tip. We went on a riding club social to TGI fridays and had appaling service, food took an hour, we found plastic in one dish and the staff were down right rude so when I saw "gratuity included" on the bill we acctually took it off. Service doesn't have to be outstanding but clean, courtious usually does it.

Come to think of it, the only place I consistantly tip is Yo Sushi, they're always fantastic. Then again I'm a student and can't afford to tip too much anyway.
 
I tip if the service is good but I never feel I have to tip. Like many waiters/waitresses I too have a minimum wage job but my customers don't give me money when they have had good service from me. I get the odd thank you card but its what people expect, good service all the time. Why should people dealing with food be treated any differently.
 
I agree with you, toto.
I've worked in a bar and waiting on, and certainly don't expect tips.
Oh and I don't tip, I'm a poor student.
 
We always tip, normally 10% of the bill.
I am a waitress in a pub/hotel an a few people do tip us but loads of the miserable buggars don't!! A guy who was up with a shooting party bought me a drink once tho, think i can forgive them for not tipping!!
 
Forgot to say tho part of our bar has CCTV, we have to hand our tips in to the bar and it all goes in a tip jar and gets divvied out every 6 months, but chefs/ pot washer get it aswell, tho a lot of our tips get pinched out of the jar by the owner!
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The waitresses have a rule between us that if we get a tip from a table away from the CCTV, we pocket it, otherwise we won't get it back!!
 
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QR having worked with food in the past ( but not waited on) I know how hard these lads and lasses work both in and out of the kitchen. In larger establishments there are are people employed to wash up etc but I can bet in the smaller ones the waitresses are a jack of all trades. I always tip and have never had a poor service by any staff wherever I have eaten out. If anything has been to blame with the food ( only complained once over a steak that was meant to be med rare but arrived on plate as well done) then it is not the fault of those serving the food. Quite often though I feel really sorry for the serving staff as they are the one's who get publicly humiliated for instances which in most cases are not their fault. Therefore I think it is only fair that these people who work damned hard, rushing around on their feet most of the day and putting up with some right old miserable feckers, get tips. Yes they get paid the minimum wage now that is true but that still doesn't mean they should not be entitled to a tip for their efforts. I have seen waitresses bend over backwards to help people. Yes it is their job to serve food but it is not their job to constantly put themselves out for people who most of the time are so damned ungrateful. Having eaten out I have seen allsorts dining out and believe me I would rather not be in the waitresses shoes at all.
Getting tips not only boosts their wage packet but morale as well. Yes I know they choose to do that job but many do it because they need the work and the hours suit. If I can walk out of an eating establishment knowing I have put a smile on someone's face if they haven't received a tip all day then that makes me feel happy inside.
Restaurants or pubs it makes no difference to me. If food is brought to your table then that is service and if it is not included in the price of the meal then I always tip whether it is for one course or 3 plus it makes no difference to me.
To the OP I would ditch these so called friends next time you think of going out for a meal. What utter tight arses they are!
I mean we are all feeling the pinch of the credit crunch but it doesn't mean I will not tip ( don't eat out that much now though) or give money to charity. It just means I will give that bit less but some is better than nothing I say and if one waitress gets a pound from every ten tables she or he serves then that is an extra £10 for that shift which in some cases can mean a lot to people.

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Completely agree with you although I think that smirnoff has unfortunately highlighted a common issue.
 
I think the owner should have his/her hands removed for that behaviour as it is appalling!
I do agree about it being shared between the chef and washer upper though as they too are slaving away in the hot kitchen faced with orders ( can be non stop when busy) or an onslaught of pans and dishes to be washed, dried and put away. I think as everyone works as a team between creating the dishes, serving the food and then helping to tidy and clear away then all should share the tips. I think every 6 months is a bit harsh though. Maybe once a month would be better or even once a week. But 6 months is quite stupid. What about staff who may get taken on for busier periods and then get laid off ( not sure if it happens where you are), or staff that don't last the 6 months work. Surely they have helped to earn that money so why shouldn't they get a share, it seems rather harsh to me.
As for the owner nabbing the money I would try and set them up and record it and put on you tube or something to name and shame them, or even report them to someone if/when you have proof ( don't know if there is anyone though?).
I certainly don't agree with them taking it at all. You all earned it so you should be entitled to it. Now if the owner did do work on days to earn a share then they should get some but it should be a fair share between all staff.
 
please remind me WHY someone who doesn't tip is 'tight arsed' or such and such? These people are getting paid (and if all is legal and above board it will be at least minimum wage) and it's not hard to be polite and efficient, the customer is already paying for the meal, why pay extra?
 
If the service is worth it I always leave a tip, around the 10% mark. In the US you are expected to tip everyone, including your piercer or tattooist. I don't tip my hairdresser, but she's my aunt so it would be a bit weird
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We're no longer allowed to leave a tip jar on the counter in my work (a chippy) due to the VAT that gets taken from it or something?

My friend was in New York last year in a restaurant and he said the service was atrocious and the waiter so he didn't leave a tip. The waiter then stopped him and starting arguing with him in the packed restaurant!
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Friend stuck to his guns and walked out.
 
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