Genie Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 As a student I worked in the often packed out bar at a Beefeater earning minimum wage. It was VERY rare to get a tip, and if it was it was £1. Round the corner, my colleagues also on minimum wage carrying plates from the kitchen to the table often picking up £5, £10 and sometimes £50 per table in tips (I remember one Christmas one big table tipped £200). Do you think they split the tips with the bar staff? Do you think they work harder than the bar staff? Do you think they are more skilled than the bar staff? Do you think they declare this to HMRC? No to all in case you were wondering. Tips really are not needed. Where I used to work all the tips were split between all the staff. That certainly would have been fairer, didn't happen in my time :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Well, that escalated quickly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Also why I'm all for tipping and the idea behind it has its basis in my first job. I worked forecourt at a Texaco garage and did loads of washing cars with the jet wash. The quality of my work and effort got rewarded with tips. So much so that specific customers would come back and ask for me to wash their car. I would have hated simply doing my job as best I could had there not been this incentive. So I agree with the whole idea of tipping, sales commission and performance related pay. Well, that escalated quickly. I killed a man with a trident 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I think we're uncovering a subtle difference here between the opportunity to offer a tip as a reward for some exceptional service of ones own free will, and being culturally forced to give a tip otherwise you'll get ignored or sneered at (restaurants / anywhere in the US). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I got my hair cut the other day and the hairdresser passed me my change painfully slow, coin by coin, while doing a running commentary. Didn't get a tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 That's three tips! Kudos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Tipping? Not for me. Waiters and Waitresses earn just as much as the person who serves me on the checkouts at Tescos, and I have no intention of voluntarily giving extra money to either. Life is already a big enough rip off that screws you at every opportunity. If they don't like it, then go and get a better job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Customer service is not good enough to warrant tips in this country. In America it is 'do everything possible for the customer' or you're on your ass. They get paid pittance too. So in that case, tips are fair. Not here though. Not a **** chance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 for some reason the only people i seem to tip are taxi drivers, rarely accept change from them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I can't get my head around tipping someone pulling pints in the US. I scoffed at the impudence but was told I'd be ignored at the bar if I didn't tip. It's sorta always been the unwritten rule as I understood it and so we were giving the barman a $1 each round on our US road trip last year .. I would say that in a lot of instances we seemed to be the only people doing it ... so don't know if that custom is slowly dying out ? some of the bars we were running tabs and paid as we left ... trusting place America , I couldn't see it working over here with complete strangers ... This was years ago. It annoyed us as the place was busy so it was basically tip or leave. Also had problems explaining to bar staff that we wanted a pitcher of beer each, not to share. One of the restaurants we went to in New Orleans kindly showed on our bill the amount of tip required should we wish to leave 10% , 15% (suggested) and 20% it's the thoughtful things like this that makes you leave less than you would have done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 for some reason the only people i seem to tip are taxi drivers, rarely accept change from them Yeah, me too. I seem to tip taxi drivers and waiting staff, but that's it. It's a strange convention, isn't it? Why just them? Why not leisure centre receptionists, or dental receptionists? We tip some low paid staff, but not others. Try tipping your Tesco checkout person next time you're in, and see the reaction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 11, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted July 11, 2013 How about hotel staff? The youth that carries your case up to your room. I think you're supposed to tip them, but I never feel comfortable doing it. Then again, I'm English, I never feel comfortable doing anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted July 11, 2013 Moderator Share Posted July 11, 2013 I'd rather any tip actually went to the waiter instead of going via the employer to top up the stingy wages they pay.This is now illegal, didn't used to be but the law changed a while back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 The tipping in America is great. I was told in NY by a local that if I didn't think the service is good, don't tip. If the person who served you asks where's his tip, tell him it wasn't good enough - surprisingly, the only service that wasn't very good on our trip to Vegas, Chicago, Toronto & New York, was in New York. You pay less for food over there, the servers are on a lesser wage equivalent to our waitresses/waiters and it's meant to be an incentive based job. If they do a good job, which most do, they deserve $2/$5/$10/$20 depending on where you are and how they've treated you. I mean, if you owned a restaurant, you'd want to know that your staff are going out of their way to make your customers visit as good as possible.. In America they do that, they treat you like a king, in most establishments. I got back from that trip, went into Weatherspoons and ordered a breakfast and was met with an arsey bloke in his 20s, who looked like a tramp, smelt like a tramp and treated me with disdain. I haven't been back since, but in the restaurant business, repeat business and word of mouth are the best adverts for them. Get good staff, thrive, get arseholes, expect to suffer. Tipping is good and I wish we did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Carnegies in New York someone left a small tip and then got berated by the waitress very loudly along the lines of $5's , I can't even buy toilet paper with that much subsequently you saw the other customers leaving a bigger tip to avoid the same public humiliation I thought it was out of order personally .. but I wasn't brave enough to not leave a tip / a small one !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted July 11, 2013 Moderator Share Posted July 11, 2013 I'd have turned around and responded "then use the $5 dollars I just gave you and &^%$ off" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 How about hotel staff? The youth that carries your case up to your room. I think you're supposed to tip them, but I never feel comfortable doing it. Then again, I'm English, I never feel comfortable doing anything. Rarely use porters unless the establishment is a real warren. Not a tightness issue, to me they're there to assist those unable or unwilling to carry all their chattels. The service for which I most commonly tip is food delivery. If it's quick and the food is hot they get a couple of quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 11, 2013 Moderator Share Posted July 11, 2013 Tipping depends on the wage. It's customary in America because servers/lounge staff are minimum wage or damn close it, so they need the tips to earn a decent living and the incentive is there for them to go O.T.T. with their 'service' (geddit?). Whereas for example in Ireland where tipping is not as prevalent, it's because they aren't minimum wage. They don't need the tip but consequently because the incentive isn't there to work for it, the service is generally not on the same level as in a place where they are working towards it.It does become a PITA having to tip at a bar for every **** beer you buy though. Maybe (to avoid that) that's also why they do tabs more prominently over there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 The tip for every beer you buy isn't necessary Brian. I buy a round and tip like $5 and you are remembered. You get served quicker when you go to the bar. Then when I've had a few rounds I'll tip another $5 and so on. I think it's a great way to ensure you get great service. Nothing does my head in more in London and Dublin than waiting to be served. I'd be happy to pay for quick service. I regularly visit my local restaurants and bars and in America I'd be assured of excellent service as a regular and would be more than happy to tip accordingly. The system doesn't work the same in Europe though. It's not consistent in its culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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