@Th3solution "Proper" restaurants is kind of an assumed a 10% on meals but some places will automatically add it, maybe at 15%, with big groups. I'm more than happy to leave a good tip if service has been great and/or I think the food was great value.
Taxi drivers, I might do the "keep the change" or round it up a bit as well. I never have done for barbers.
One thing I loved in Canada (and to a lesser degree the US) was that it was standard to bring the card machine over with the bill so you could pay up, finish off drinks, and then leave when you're ready. In the UK, it seems to be standard to cause as many barriers as possible for you to get and then pay the bill which can spoil a really nice meal very quickly.
I mean, service charge is added to the bill in the UK in most places when you dine in by default, and you can ask for it to be removed. But at the end of the day most of us here are tipping for food and drinks by default.
@Th3solution Tipping in the UK is optional but expected at the same time.
It's definitely more cultural in the USA I'd say whether the staff are paid minimum wage or not.
Personally I don't like the concept of tipping in the UK particularly because we are all at the very least on minimum wage and I find it a strange concept that I should have to pay waiting staff extra because they brought me food and drinks yet other staff such as cleaners and care workers don't get tips.
I used to work as a kitchen assistant and cleaner, the waiting staff used to get all the tips and we got nothing despite us arguably working harder and we were on the same wage.
I actually found it quite funny how clearly annoyed some staff were with a dollar tip when I visited NYC. I used to think if you serve 100 drinks and get a dollar off each that's a decent addition to your wage.
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@Thrillho i can see why they leave you with the bill and come back, so the server isn’t stood around listening to how you are all going to be splitting the bill and can do something else. But I do agree it’s annoying when they deliver the bill then it’s another 15 minutes to get them back again to pay, especially if just 1 person is paying for the lot and you’re in a rush. I just get up and go over to the counter to pay in that case!
@kyleforrester87 I always like to have my credit card at the ready for those places which just drop off the bill to the table and then disappear, so that I simultaneously given them the card when the bill comes.
And the statement to sign they bring back has a write-in tip line to add tip later when using a credit card. Even the machines they bring to the table (or have there by default) have a keypad to add tip when you swipe the card. I almost never have cash either.
@The_Moose Agreed. Around here I think the standard at many restaurants is that the wait staff will split some of the tip with the cleaner staff who are ‘bussing’ the tables. But I think this is variable practice.
@nessisonett@Voltan@Kairu Yes, I think at the end of the day, the poor base wage is what is used to justify the tipping culture here. Which is a backward philosophy.
Busy waiters/waitresses will make way over standard wages when tips are added. Not to mention many of those tips are cash and “off the books” so not taxed income. The whole thing is just a mess.
It makes more sense to have tips be a nice added bonus for exceptional service, rather than me as the customer bearing the burden of keeping the worker above minimum wage.
@kyleforrester87 Same, really (the no cash thing). These days the card terminals often have a feature that allows to add a tip but that whole process is somewhat awkward to me tbh.
@Th3solution I've got Mr Pink from Reservoir Dogs vibes from your question!
As others have said, service charge is often on the bill here in the UK. I don't really like it but I also live up to the awkward British stereotype so I never say anything. One girl at one of my old birthday parties did ask staff to remove the service charge at Pizza Express once because they forgot someone's meal and other meals weren't perfect. I just wanted everyone to have a good time so I didn't say anything but I secretly cheered her on in my head 😃😅
That being said, I do tip if I've had a really good time. I went for a Chinese/Karaoke in East London for another old birthday party and they really went the whole hog for us so I covered the tip because it was well worth it.
Most nights eating out are usually done on the cheap. A Meerkat meals code (2for1) and a jug of tap water. I don't think any waiter would expect a tip having seen that level of cheapness in their customer 😅. I probably would still tip 10% in most cases anyway but it's literally a couple of quid because I round it up to the nearest pound. 2for1 meals normally come to around £14 for both of us.
Another thing that's become quite common here is paying before you eat which is another thing I don't like. They do it in Nando's and a lot of pubs. Have an issue with your meal? Queue up for ages to get a refund or partial refund so it would put most customers off even bothering. Not in every instance but it encourages restaurants, particularly chain restaurants to offer a poorer level of service. I'm not sure if they see it in their lack of repeat custom but there are enough suckers in this country (and huge marketing budgets) for it to probably never become an issue. This also discourages tipping though because the end of meal bill portion is completely averted.
I always tip the barber 10% rounded up (so £2) and an extra fiver at Xmas (so £7 tip). She is really good and I have a good chat with her so it's like cheap therapy/counselling so it's worth the tip!
I would tip the postman £20 at Xmas too if I manage to catch him when he delivers post.
I honestly wouldn't eat out that much if I had to pay any more for it. I can have better food at home most days so I only really go to Pizza Express or IKEA (meatballs) and I still don't think it's worth more than £7-8 a head.
So to summarise, I actually do tip most of the time (10% rounded up to the nearest pound) but I resent it if it's expected or if there is a service charge as well. But I won't tip if I don't have change or the meal was substandard or the waiter was rude or inattentive.
@Voltan yeah, I drink in Brew Dog quite a bit as I can’t get enough of the Peach and Guava Hazy’s and the machines they hand you make you select a tip amount before using your contactless. So you basically have to press “£0.00” before you can pay. It’s annoying but I’m not giving them another £1 on top of every one of my £7 pints.
@kyleforrester87 I'm in Aberdeen we have 3 of their bars in the city and it's only half an hour drive to Ellon where the distillery is. My Brother-in-law did the tour and enjoyed himself.
I generally leave a tip if I've had good service, and don't if I haven't. The latter has rarely happened for me. Not sure if this is still a thing in the UK, but some places it was a bit of a grey area if the serving staff actually recieved any of the tips if was automatically added to the bill.
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Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
I'll have to pack away the PS5 soon as we have got ourselves a house. Moving date is the 26th of August so that's exciting, Have boxes all over the flat ready to start packing.
@MightyDemon82 There are players out there that make my matches look like that, except I'm the one taking the beating
I'm curious how fast you'll see improvement after our little chat
@ThereThere I'm mainly a punk drinker but will drink most IPAs and also drink Proper Job IPA too.
I am a fan of Brewdogs Roaster Coaster as well. It's very strong and very expensive, even in a can. I think it's like £3.50 for a 400 and something ml can and like £6 for half a pint in the brewdog pubs
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