so where did this mandatory 10% tipping thing start??

[egor110]

Waiting staff seem to think taking your order, serving the food then coming back 10 mins later to check if everything's ok is all that's required to deserve a tip.

Give me a waiter who actually shows some interest in if your celebrating a birthday etc or if your in town for a concert or is clearly working there ass off and i'll tip.

[theboss]

I struggle a bit with tipping as a percentage of the bill. Take four of us in London last week, receiving good service but a £70 "discretionary" tip added automatically on the bill. If we'd gone for cheaper wine it may have only been £30 yet the service would have been identical at least in terms of effort involved... yet there is an automatic expectation that we will tip proportionately more because we spent more.

Edited by theboss on Sunday 5th October 16:41

[BlackLabel]

I hate tipping - I would rather see prices be put up by 10% (and the staff get a pay raise) than pay a tip of 10%.

[Rocketsocks]

I'm another that will only tip if the service is exceptional. Most of the time I find that it isn't.

I recently experienced this mandatory 10% tip thing at one of those all you can eat, smash and grab style Chinese buffets.
Queuing up to pay, I asked (loudly) if they would please remove the 10% tip that had been added to the bill. I asked why it had been added, as there hadn't been any service. I served myself! The guy on the till just looked bemused and said that most people just pay it.

[bitchstewie]

Do you tip the checkout person at the supermarket or the person behind the counter in McDonalds?

They're both likely to be on minimum wage and I've never honestly understood what makes someone getting you some food or drink different.

[Urban Sports]

I always leave 10% unless I had a poor experience.

[hedgefinder]

bhstewie said:

Do you tip the checkout person at the supermarket or the person behind the counter in McDonalds?

They're both likely to be on minimum wage and I've never honestly understood what makes someone getting you some food or drink different.

this is exactly the point i tried to make earlier..

[Bungleaio]

It should be a reward not standard.I tip for going above and beyond not for doing a job and no more.

I understand how it works in the USA and I did tip there but on the whole service was better so it was deserved. Also after 4 or 5 drinks in one bar the barman bought me a beer.

[Blayney]

If there is a table service and it's good, 10%. If not they get nothing.

[Vipers]

hedgefinder said:

bhstewie said:

Do you tip the checkout person at the supermarket or the person behind the counter in McDonalds?

They're both likely to be on minimum wage and I've never honestly understood what makes someone getting you some food or drink different.

this is exactly the point i tried to make earlier..

Sums it up.

[Snollygoster]

I always find it a little awkward and not sure what the custom is.

I always pay on my card, and occasionally the card machine has a tip option on it, although this is not often the case. Once I've paid, it seems that they aren't really expecting anything, so usually I won't.

However, if we've had a really nice meal, good food, and the server was really good, smiling, chatty, etc. more than happy to give them a £10 or something on the way out.

[sday12]

Worth the money surely?
For not looking like a cock in front of your sister?

[rehab71]

But where does the amount stop? 10% of a £200 meal is far to much regardless of how good the service is but on the flip side £3 on a £30 meal is a bit of an insult. £5-£10 is about right if the service is good.

[Warnie]

TIP? A bloody TIP??

I can hardly afford a meal out these days. 2 pints for me £7-8, 2 glasses of wine for the wife is £10-12. Then 2 kids 2 drinks each thats around £6. So that's £25 on just drinks alone at a standard stty pub where the beer will probably be st and the wine will be cheap nasty crap. Add in a meal without starters, that's another £40, so £65 for a cheap meal out at an average st hole. At your average st hole the service is not great, all you normally get is asked how your meal is, usually when your mouths bloody full or are in deep conversation.

So that £65 notes for a couple of drinks each and a bit of meat and salad topped off with stty frozen chips. Tip? I don't think so.

[BoRED S2upid]

It hasn't started it's in your sisters mind. I've never heard of it. You tip what you think the meal is worthy of which includes nothing if it's rubbish / late / cold.

[parabolica]

Having worked as a waiter during my teenage and early twenties, I now always tip around 10% unless the service was bad; whether the food was bad or not doesn't come into it as a waiter can't control food quality. I always leave cash on the table, never on the card. As others have said its customary, not mandatory, but it does change depending on which country you are in.

[STW2010]

mwstewart said:

I tip if the service has been exceptional, but on the whole, I don't.

Damn right. I'm exactly like this too- one of my mates came with me to my regular curry house to collect a takeaway. We paid cash to get a 10% discount, but he insisted that we left a 10% tip anyway. fk that

[megapixels83]

What constitutes the expected minimum service, good service and outstanding service.

[hedgefinder]

sday12 said:

Worth the money surely?
For not looking like a cock in front of your sister?

I thought the person looking like a cock was my sister for making such a big issue out of it.
So you obviously never stand up for your own principals then and are very easily led/pressured into things to conform to others will?

Edited by hedgefinder on Sunday 5th October 17:58

[Dodsy]

In the pub where you have to go to the bar to order food and collect your own cutlery etc then no. In a restaurant if the service has been good then a few quid. Bonus ££ if the waitress is pretty and wearing a short skirt :-) If they go out of their way and make it a great experience then I would go over 10%.

One bar I go to regularly I tip the barmaid every time I buy a drink, maximum a quid a time. Come 1am when the place is heaving and its 6 deep at the bar and a 20 min wait for a drink I get served in seconds.