so where did this mandatory 10% tipping thing start??
Discussion
190bhp said:
This Fb group is trolls winding poor American servers up.
https://www.facebook.com/bodybuildersagainsttippin...
lol,https://www.facebook.com/bodybuildersagainsttippin...
I recognise that it did indeed travel over from the U.S. and started there but
but my post was referring to how and why it travelled to the UK which has completely different salary laws etc....
I do normally tip, although far too often I do question if anything was deserved. Too often over here the service is really poor.
It is getting very common for restaurants to add 15% if there is a group of people. I've never quite understood why a group of people should have to automatically pay more, they are already spending more money.
A few places also cheekily give suggestions of what you could pay. 15% is often the suggestion.
It's not as bad as upto 25% which was suggested in some of the US restaurants. Many actually printed off what each percentage worked out to and some only had ranges from 18-25%.
The service in the US usually embarrasses the service we get over here though.
I do wonder why people always feel they have to tip waiters, yet other services they wouldn't even think twice.
I also wonder just how much waiters can actually make?
Go out for a 3 course dinner and a bottle of wine in an average restaurant, £100 per couple is common.
Some busy restaurants get through a lot of custom in one night and if everyone left even 10%, that's a lot of cash.
It is getting very common for restaurants to add 15% if there is a group of people. I've never quite understood why a group of people should have to automatically pay more, they are already spending more money.
A few places also cheekily give suggestions of what you could pay. 15% is often the suggestion.
It's not as bad as upto 25% which was suggested in some of the US restaurants. Many actually printed off what each percentage worked out to and some only had ranges from 18-25%.
The service in the US usually embarrasses the service we get over here though.
I do wonder why people always feel they have to tip waiters, yet other services they wouldn't even think twice.
I also wonder just how much waiters can actually make?
Go out for a 3 course dinner and a bottle of wine in an average restaurant, £100 per couple is common.
Some busy restaurants get through a lot of custom in one night and if everyone left even 10%, that's a lot of cash.
As someone who frequently gets tips (and gifts) at work, I'm well aware of how much they generally mean to the recipient. If we get a good tip at work it lifts the spirits and puts everyone in a good mood, not to mention improving the bank balance.
So I usually leave 10% because I know what it means to receive them and, more importantly, I believe in karma and do it to ensure they keep coming my way as well!
It's a personal choice though and I woudn't question someone's decision not to tip in the UK.
So I usually leave 10% because I know what it means to receive them and, more importantly, I believe in karma and do it to ensure they keep coming my way as well!
It's a personal choice though and I woudn't question someone's decision not to tip in the UK.
I like to tip in my regular but that's more just because I want to and I feel good about it. I know the staff pretty well at this stage and I know they really appreciate tips, I also reckon I now get a better service because of it.
I would never judge someone for not tipping, it's something I personally like to do but people can do whatever they like with their money.
In my previous job I would occasionally get tips but my feeling towards the customer depended on their attitude more than anything else. If someone was a friendly chap then they would get good service whether they tipped or not but a knobhead was a knobhead regardless of how big the tip might be from them.
I would never judge someone for not tipping, it's something I personally like to do but people can do whatever they like with their money.
In my previous job I would occasionally get tips but my feeling towards the customer depended on their attitude more than anything else. If someone was a friendly chap then they would get good service whether they tipped or not but a knobhead was a knobhead regardless of how big the tip might be from them.
The law in the US
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires a minimum wage of $2.13 for tipped workers with the expectation that wages plus tips total no less than $7.25 per hour. The employer must pay the difference if total income does not add up to $7.25 per hour.
Reality;
When you pay the tip by credit card it can be used to make up the employees pay to the required level, however some/many places use that excess to make up the pay of bus boys and lower paid kitchen staff.
Known as pooled tips.
A decent waitress would not work at a place that pooled tips.
An employees girlfriend works as a waitress her paycheck from a well known chain is actually zero.
It includes tax and FICA and health insurance deductions for pay plus assessed tips.
Some days she gets around 40 Bucks cash in tips. (for about 5 hours)
Another waitress I know, sort of ex waitress now business owner still kept waitressing one night a week because she loved the place and made $250.
In the States you tip because it is part of their remuneration.
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires a minimum wage of $2.13 for tipped workers with the expectation that wages plus tips total no less than $7.25 per hour. The employer must pay the difference if total income does not add up to $7.25 per hour.
Reality;
When you pay the tip by credit card it can be used to make up the employees pay to the required level, however some/many places use that excess to make up the pay of bus boys and lower paid kitchen staff.
Known as pooled tips.
A decent waitress would not work at a place that pooled tips.
An employees girlfriend works as a waitress her paycheck from a well known chain is actually zero.
It includes tax and FICA and health insurance deductions for pay plus assessed tips.
Some days she gets around 40 Bucks cash in tips. (for about 5 hours)
Another waitress I know, sort of ex waitress now business owner still kept waitressing one night a week because she loved the place and made $250.
In the States you tip because it is part of their remuneration.
surveyor said:
I discovered a few weeks ago that some employers are employing waiters as apprentices. This valuable skill that takes 12 months to learn and that will see the person in a career means they earn about £2.68 per hour. It's not very much.
I found out about it when step-lad got a job in the local burger joint, but having done some research the big boys are at it too.
I also found out that at the said local burger-joint the tips are to be handed in to the owner, and go to the Christmas party are some sad excuse. I don't eat there anymore.
I'm consequently in a quandary. I'd like to tip, but I'd like to know that my tip is not swallowed by the employer.
I found out about it when step-lad got a job in the local burger joint, but having done some research the big boys are at it too.
I also found out that at the said local burger-joint the tips are to be handed in to the owner, and go to the Christmas party are some sad excuse. I don't eat there anymore.
I'm consequently in a quandary. I'd like to tip, but I'd like to know that my tip is not swallowed by the employer.
In 1987 i went on my first work trip to the US, i was young and didn't appreciate the tipping culture/need. We normally ate in the Officers Mess, but the first night eating out in town we paid the bill and left.
A few seconds later the waiter ran out of the place and chased us demanding we give him a tip, the tip he got was to f
k off before my mate who was a bit headstrong showed him what a "Glasgow kiss" was.
We did however think about it and asked our American colleagues who pointed out that he was actually chasing after his wages!
We went back next night, with a envelope for him with a lot more than the tip would have been and a humble apology. We ate there many more times in the 3 months we were stationed there and actually became good friends with him.
So yes I tip in the States always, everywhere else 10% unless it is automatically added, I have that removed and tip the waiter/waitress directly, usually a fiver.
A few seconds later the waiter ran out of the place and chased us demanding we give him a tip, the tip he got was to f
k off before my mate who was a bit headstrong showed him what a "Glasgow kiss" was.We did however think about it and asked our American colleagues who pointed out that he was actually chasing after his wages!
We went back next night, with a envelope for him with a lot more than the tip would have been and a humble apology. We ate there many more times in the 3 months we were stationed there and actually became good friends with him.
So yes I tip in the States always, everywhere else 10% unless it is automatically added, I have that removed and tip the waiter/waitress directly, usually a fiver.
I tip for exceptional service, like the waitress who took the time to talk to my 6yo niece and kept her entertained for half an hour, or the waitress who's first day it was (she usually did the pot washing) and we caused a bit of chaos with a large group of us and she managed to keep everyone happy.
BlackST said:
I've never been America.
Is the service there generally better than the UK because they are working for their tips or is it taken for granted that the tip will be given?
Both, I suspect. The service there is leagues ahead the disinterested rubbish we get in this country. This thread has made me re-evaluate my attitude to tipping in the UK. Usually if the service was sIs the service there generally better than the UK because they are working for their tips or is it taken for granted that the tip will be given?
t I would leave a very small tip. Now I'm going to knock it all on the head save for the very best service, who will then receive a very small tip.So tipping an amount to Waiting staff seems to be expected (talking about the UK here)
So what other jobs or positions are in the "tipping club"?
Taxi drivers
Barbers
????
As a teenager/student I used to work in a large campsite as a receptionist, taking bookings, checking campers in and showing them to their pitches if they needed help. Quite often I would be offered a tip for helping - holding awning poles, or towing a car out of a muddy patch, recovering lost children etc. I always refused them, saying I was already being paid to help. That was my job. Not sure if I was a principled youth or nuts...
So what other jobs or positions are in the "tipping club"?
Taxi drivers
Barbers
????
As a teenager/student I used to work in a large campsite as a receptionist, taking bookings, checking campers in and showing them to their pitches if they needed help. Quite often I would be offered a tip for helping - holding awning poles, or towing a car out of a muddy patch, recovering lost children etc. I always refused them, saying I was already being paid to help. That was my job. Not sure if I was a principled youth or nuts...
surveyor said:
I discovered a few weeks ago that some employers are employing waiters as apprentices. This valuable skill that takes 12 months to learn and that will see the person in a career means they earn about £2.68 per hour. It's not very much.
I found out about it when step-lad got a job in the local burger joint, but having done some research the big boys are at it too.
I also found out that at the said local burger-joint the tips are to be handed in to the owner, and go to the Christmas party are some sad excuse. I don't eat there anymore.
I'm consequently in a quandary. I'd like to tip, but I'd like to know that my tip is not swallowed by the employer.
This sort of thing should be made illegal. I recall someone on here a while back saying their girlfriend was doing an apprenticeship... at a newsagents!I found out about it when step-lad got a job in the local burger joint, but having done some research the big boys are at it too.
I also found out that at the said local burger-joint the tips are to be handed in to the owner, and go to the Christmas party are some sad excuse. I don't eat there anymore.
I'm consequently in a quandary. I'd like to tip, but I'd like to know that my tip is not swallowed by the employer.
rehab71 said:
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.
WTF?! £10 tip on £30 is 33%!! Way too generous. Yet you say 10% on £200 is far too much; despite being "only" £20. What planet do you live on?!This tipping malarky in the UK is ridiculous and has got way out of hand.
Obviously no; I generally do not tip in the UK. Servers are being paid a decent enough minimum wage already to simply bring food and take plates away.
What do you do in small restaurants, where the waiting staff are usually the family/wife/children of the owner?
We went to a really nice restaurant recently, and our waiter turned out to be a partner in the business. Through chatting, found out he and the chef had invested a considerable amount of their own money in the venture. Somehow, giving a £10 tip to someone who just spent £150k on setting up the place seemed a bit odd.
We went to a really nice restaurant recently, and our waiter turned out to be a partner in the business. Through chatting, found out he and the chef had invested a considerable amount of their own money in the venture. Somehow, giving a £10 tip to someone who just spent £150k on setting up the place seemed a bit odd.
boyse7en said:
What do you do in small restaurants, where the waiting staff are usually the family/wife/children of the owner?
We went to a really nice restaurant recently, and our waiter turned out to be a partner in the business. Through chatting, found out he and the chef had invested a considerable amount of their own money in the venture. Somehow, giving a £10 tip to someone who just spent £150k on setting up the place seemed a bit odd.
Simple - don't tip them. It's possible they may be richer that you! We went to a really nice restaurant recently, and our waiter turned out to be a partner in the business. Through chatting, found out he and the chef had invested a considerable amount of their own money in the venture. Somehow, giving a £10 tip to someone who just spent £150k on setting up the place seemed a bit odd.
My other half always insists on leaving a tip even if the service was crap....
Prime example was the other night in a restaurant & waiting half hour before anyone came near us to order our meal. Had our starter & then waited another hour for our main ( I eventually had to ask for them) Anyway when it came to paying, I used my card but paid exactly the amount & no more! As we were leaving miss boobles hands over £5 to the person that eventually served us!!!! I wasn't best pleased purely on the princible!
Prime example was the other night in a restaurant & waiting half hour before anyone came near us to order our meal. Had our starter & then waited another hour for our main ( I eventually had to ask for them) Anyway when it came to paying, I used my card but paid exactly the amount & no more! As we were leaving miss boobles hands over £5 to the person that eventually served us!!!! I wasn't best pleased purely on the princible!
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