When do you give a tip? (For service!)

[The Other Foot]

Tipping is a load of shite, even in a restaurant. They get paid a salary, that should be enough. Barely any other occupation gets tips, why waiters and waitresses? It's not even that bad a job, it's pretty fucking easy. 

 

Having said that, I always tip them as I don't like conflict....

[Granny Danger]

49 minutes ago, Fullerene said:

Apparently centuries ago, this also applied to executioners who could be paid extra by the person getting their head chopped off.

You’d lose your head if they did a crap job after tipping them.  Mind you…

[Derry Alli]

1 hour ago, DA Baracus said:

Why does the worker behind the counter at Greggs not get a tip? They've heated up and given you your food.

Location of this Greggs, please.

[DA Baracus]

1 minute ago, Derry Alli said:

Location of this Greggs, please.

All of them. The food comes in frozen and they chuck them in the ovens to cook them.

[RuMoore]

One of the undervalued things with tipping is it makes you feel vastly superior to the person you're gifting money to like you're some major philanthropist donating to noble causes. 

Often when the change at the shops is less than 5p I like to wink at the cashier and say "Keep the change". 

[Derry Alli]

25 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

All of them. The food comes in frozen and they chuck them in the ovens to cook them.

Very weak interpretation of "cook" here.

The food is barely lukewarm 99.9% of the time.

[Hard Graft]

3 hours ago, Am Featha *****h Nan Clach said:

I find the idea of tipping mad, especially when they are carrying out the most basic function of the job they are paid to do. In the last year I've had one takeaway delivered and have not been in a pub where the wait to be served has been over a minute so not even like I can use it to my advantage to 'queue jump'.

Not long back from USA cruise where everyone and their uncle wanted a tip. Took my cases to a porter with a trolley, he took them from me and placed them on the trolley then asked for a $5 tip. Needless to say he got F**k all.  Bar staff on the ship were great and were rewarded several times.

[TxRover]

3 hours ago, DA Baracus said:

Being a waiter/server is hard work, but why is taking an order and bringing you your food and drinks more deserving of a tip than someone who stocks shelves at a supermarket for 8 hours?

I take it the servers are mandated a certain minimum wage? Over in the land of the free, the minimum wage hasn’t changed in 14 years (still $7.25/hour for untipped workers and as low as $2.13/hour for tipped workers) and has the abominable provision of a lower minimum for “tipped” employees. Some places tried raising server wages and telling people they didn’t need to tip, but with higher prices on the menu, people went next door (and tipped there making the prices effectively the same but the diners felt they were cheaper).

Some States and Cities have higher minimum wages than the Federal minimum. There’s now a nationwide push by the restaurant business to allow as young as 14 to sell/serve alcoholic beverages and work extended hours…cheaper labour.

[Todd_is_God]

1 hour ago, Derry Alli said:

Very weak interpretation of "cook" here.

The food is barely lukewarm 99.9% of the time.

Tbf, Greggs is a baker's shop. The food sometimes being hot is a side effect of it's popularity; that it sometimes needs reheating is exactly like every other baker's shop.

[Miguel Sanchez]

I got a haircut for the first time in a while a couple of weeks ago. He asked for £10 and I was so surprised it was so cheap and my hair was so long I gave him £15 out of shame.

[coprolite]

1 hour ago, Derry Alli said:

Very weak interpretation of "cook" here.

The food is barely lukewarm 99.9% of the time.

It's heated up to improve the flavour, not to be served hot. For VAT reasons. 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

51 minutes ago, TxRover said:

I take it the servers are mandated a certain minimum wage? Over in the land of the free, the minimum wage hasn’t changed in 14 years (still $7.25/hour for untipped workers and as low as $2.13/hour for tipped workers) and has the abominable provision of a lower minimum for “tipped” employees. Some places tried raising server wages and telling people they didn’t need to tip, but with higher prices on the menu, people went next door (and tipped there making the prices effectively the same but the diners felt they were cheaper).

Some States and Cities have higher minimum wages than the Federal minimum. There’s now a nationwide push by the restaurant business to allow as young as 14 to sell/serve alcoholic beverages and work extended hours…cheaper labour.

One of the things i really dont like about americans is when you see them talking on twitter or elsewhere about how europeans ‘dont tip’ and how generous they are etc etc. when ive been in the states ive seen how much these arseholes tip and i sure as f**k tip more than they do. Some of the really rich religious ones even rub it in the waitresses noses by writing shite like ‘i give my 10% to jesus’ in the tip field. Also on a cruise in Alaska last year the way they speak to waiters etc is genuinely appalling. One guy with a ‘vietnam vet’ hat on was the worst ive ever seen, speaking to a wee irish girl on the ship like she was scum, I clamped him and he didnt like it. 

[coprolite]

“Optional service charge” added to bill gets on my tits. 
 

It goes in the tips in most places, so I usually just pay it instead of a tip but with no guarantee it’s going to the staff. 
 

 

[Torpar]

11 minutes ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

One of the things i really dont like about americans is when you see them talking on twitter or elsewhere about how europeans ‘dont tip’ and how generous they are etc etc. when ive been in the states ive seen how much these arseholes tip and i sure as f**k tip more than they do. Some of the really rich religious ones even rub it in the waitresses noses by writing shite like ‘i give my 10% to jesus’ in the tip field. Also on a cruise in Alaska last year the way they speak to waiters etc is genuinely appalling. One guy with a ‘vietnam vet’ hat on was the worst ive ever seen, speaking to a wee irish girl on the ship like she was scum, I clamped him and he didnt like it. 

"Vietnam runner up" seems more appropriate 

[MEADOWXI]

Since cash has mostly disappeared it actually a pain to tip sometimes,

Tip a taxi driver by rounding up.

Tip when eating out if happy with service/food,

The main bar I drink  in the staff take a quid for their own tip jar if you saw take one for yourself. Might do that a couple of times in an evening. It a decent local with good service.

Barber gets a tip, but only been to a barber twice since lockdown, bought a razor and do it myself, the job I do of it ain't worth a tip.

If in a shop and using cash, vert rare, if it only pennies coming back point at charity tin and get them to throw it in  there.

[RH33]

Don't tip hairdresser or beautician as both self employed.

Never tip taxi drivers.

Restaurants depends on service. 

 

[alta-pete]

3 hours ago, coprolite said:

“Optional service charge” added to bill gets on my tits. 
 

It goes in the tips in most places, so I usually just pay it instead of a tip but with no guarantee it’s going to the staff. 
 

 

^^^ this. Rips my knitting that the ‘discretionary service charge’ is now a ‘thing’. If we are out for a meal I now deliberately take cash, score through the service charge to take if off the bill but then give the full amount to the server. They can then deal with the tip, not a Kitchin-esque carve up where the management ponce a portion off the card payment. 

[vikingTON]

17 minutes ago, alta-pete said:

^^^ this. Rips my knitting that the ‘discretionary service charge’ is now a ‘thing’. If we are out for a meal I now deliberately take cash, score through the service charge to take if off the bill but then give the full amount to the server. They can then deal with the tip, not a Kitchin-esque carve up where the management ponce a portion off the card payment. 

Why should the server get 100% of the tip at the expense of the kitchen staff? You're just replacing one arbitrary and unjust mechanism with another.

[alta-pete]

2 minutes ago, virginton said:

Why should the server get 100% of the tip at the expense of the kitchen staff? You're just replacing one arbitrary and unjust mechanism with another.

No, you’ve come breenjing in as always hoping  to be the all-seeing one but actually just making a fool of yourself as usual.

I’m expecting the on-shift kitchen staff and servers to have some sort of team ethic. What I’m trying to work round is this sort of practice:

https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/tom-kitchin-accused?amp

[Paxo]

Why are so many places so keen on this service charge automatically added to bills? Can't get away from it in Edinburgh these days, and it's quickly becoming 12.5% rather than 10.

I get that it effectively increases their turnover by 10%, but surely also has a detrimental effect on profit margin?

Edited August 1, 2023 by Paxo