Tipping?

Over here, we normally tip from 5% to 10% of the net bill. But sometimes it really depends on the service. We give more if we are very satisfied with the service especially if the waiters were very attentive to our needs. But when we are ignored, there are times that we do not leave a tip. We observe tipping even if there is service charge included in the bill.
 
In the UK, restaurants should operate a tronc scheme, which doesn't always happen. Tips are subject to tax and thus should go through a PAYE scheme. It is, therefore, something of a fallacy to think that the person you give the tip to is the one that is going to receive it.
 
One thing that most people do not realize when they have a complaint about the sevice they receive at a restaurant is often it is not the server but the ktichen that is causing the slow service. If the kitchen does not prepare the food they way the table ordered it or if the kitchen is slow preparing the food which makes it late coming out the server is the only person the table sees and the only person they can take their anger out on which is the low tip.
 
Some places pool the tips and then split the total between the staff. So not all the tip will go to the person you intended.
 
I grew up in Australia where tipping isn't mandatory. These days there, some cafes have tip jars on the counter so you can put something in if you feel like the service and food was exemplary - but it's certainly not expected in most places, just a nice extra that gets shared between the staff.

My husband though is from the States and of course tipping is the done thing there. I still often get him to work out the tip amount if we're dining out together because I'm not used to having to calculate things like that!

The minimum wage per hour though is a lot higher in Australia than the States - I think the use of tips in the States is mainly used as a supplement to bulk up their incomes because if there were no tips it would be a pretty paltry amount.
 
I try to tip as generously as I can, usually I tip 15% at coffee shops, which are the only food service places I go more than a couple times a year. Usually my family is paying if we go out to a sit down restaurant, so I don't know what percent they tip. I suspect they don't tip more than 15% though. On occasion I will tip 18 or 20% if I have the money. I am somewhat acquainted with most of the baristas I see, and I really want to help them out, but I too am struggling financially, so it's kind of a sacrifice to even go out for coffee. I do it because I understand economics and the need for the flow of money, so this is one way I am contributing to the local economy, even when it's hard.
 
Tipping is a common trend here in India too. Now with service tax being charged in the restaurants, many people have stopped tipping. But the waiters are not being benefited by this service tax. So I prefer to give some tip to waiters. 5-10% of the bill as the tip is good enough.
 
Just a point - do any of you who tip do the same for any other trade [and I mean on a regular basis] ? Do you tip the shop assistant, the receptionist or the guys who wash your car at the car wash ? If not why not - these tend to be so called low paid jobs too. Add 5 - 10% onto your shopping bill for each assistant who maybe helps you find an item and the bill will soon be astronomical. At what point do we stop ? The airline pilot ? OK he has a very well paid job BUT he has kept you alive while in the air - no matter how good or bad the service can a waiter or waitress ever say that ?
 
sidevalve said:
Just a point - do any of you who tip do the same for any other trade [and I mean on a regular basis] ? Do you tip the shop assistant, the receptionist or the guys who wash your car at the car wash ? If not why not - these tend to be so called low paid jobs too. Add 5 - 10% onto your shopping bill for each assistant who maybe helps you find an item and the bill will soon be astronomical. At what point do we stop ? The airline pilot ? OK he has a very well paid job BUT he has kept you alive while in the air - no matter how good or bad the service can a waiter or waitress ever say that ?
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That's a great point. I think we just tip servers because of the history behind it: people giving servers extra money if they served them sooner. Eventually, it evolved into people tipping servers in general.

Also, lots of restaurants aren't that profitable, so it can be difficult for owners to pay their servers a whole lot unfortunately.
 
worldmachine said:
I don't agree with tipping in restaurants in general and i wonder why it is expected. When you go in to a supermarket for your groceries you don't tip the cashier or the shelf stackers, they are providing a service just as much as waiting staff in a restaurant. I will tip in a restaurant if the food and service have been exceptional but not otherwise. Some restaurants build the gratuities automatically in to the bill, i will not frequent these establishments, it should be personal choice whether to tip or not.

I do understand however that waiters and waitresses don't make a lot of money and rely on the tips but i don't want the money going in to the pockets of greedy restaurant owners. I do not want to be told either that i must leave a tip, that should always be at my own discretion.
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The people who work in a grocery store or car wash or any other job make at least minimum wage. Servers make as little as $2.75 an hour in some states. Tips do not go to the restaurant owner. Taxes are paid on tips just like any other income. Often some of the tips go to the dishwashers/table bussers as well. They do the hardest work in the place and are paid the least!

If you do not want to tip, do not go to a restaurant with servers :( If the food is bad, it is not the server's fault. If they do not attempt to do something about it; that is a problem. I think people assume that the server runs the place and cooks all the food too! Servers are amazing, but don't do all that :happy: If you get exceptional service you really should tip exceptionally! If you do and are a repeat customer, you will get even better service next time :okay:
 
Momma9 said:
The people who work in a grocery store or car wash or any other job make at least minimum wage. Servers make as little as $2.75 an hour in some states. Tips do not go to the restaurant owner. Taxes are paid on tips just like any other income. Often some of the tips go to the dishwashers/table bussers as well. They do the hardest work in the place and are paid the least!

If you do not want to tip, do not go to a restaurant with servers :( If the food is bad, it is not the server's fault. If they do not attempt to do something about it; that is a problem. I think people assume that the server runs the place and cooks all the food too! Servers are amazing, but don't do all that :happy: If you get exceptional service you really should tip exceptionally! If you do and are a repeat customer, you will get even better service next time :okay:
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Its interesting what you say about the hourly rate for servers in some States. In the UK there is a minimum wage and its illegal to pay less - yet its still an accepted practice to tip the waiters and waitresses - although increasingly an optional 'service charge' is added to the bill. You can have it removed but have to ask!
 
morning glory said:
although increasingly an optional 'service charge' is added to the bill.
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That is an interesting point - I wonder if I would be allowed to collect my own food from the kitchen anyway thus not incurring a 'service charge' ? It is supposed to be 'optional' but how many people really dare to not pay ? I suspect the true reason for it in many cases is to increase the profit of the restaurant more than to reward the staff.
Just out of interest I would also be curious to know how much a meal out costs in the states for example as opposed to the UK - I suspect it is cheaper. I'm not talking burger bar or kids pizza place or top end restaurant here just somewhere nice for a meal out. As an example we paid about £90 for a meal for four not long ago [ok included a few drinks] that's about $130 dollars ish - is that similar ?
 
queenbellevue said:
The whole tipping process fascinates me. In some countries it's expected (maybe just the US, I've never heard of tips being the expected norm anywhere else) and in others it's seen as an insult (Japan comes to mind).

How much do you guys usually tip when you go out?
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I should move to Japan:). I have to admit I don't eat out much at home and when I do it's often nowhere that calls for tipping. It's when I travel that I have no idea how much to tip. It's worse when I do not enjoy the meal but the waiter or waitress is super polite.
 
If I get good service I tip 10%, really good service even more. If I get mediocre service no tip it's as simple as that.
In the UK at least all employees get at least the minimum wage tips are a bonus & tip collection systems aren't always fair. I've worked in cafes/bars, I never expected tips I went out of my way to earn them.

When I'm in another country I tip as tradition dictates as a minimum adding extra for good service.
 
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