Tipping

[expat]

It would seem that Brits have no idea about tipping Brits in the dark about tipping

What are you thoughts about it. For example, leaving a tip in Japan is as bad as not leaving a tip in the US. However, is a tip an automatic right or does it have to be earned?
In the US for example, the general rule is, if someone in the 'tipping capital of the world' provides a service, they should receive a tip. But what constitutes "service". Being paid to bring my meal to the table, hardly a "service". Friendly, smiling, chatty, ensuring the cook does not put celery in my salad, they are the things that ensure a tip.

On the other hand during my last trip to the US (not having a dig at all, just an example) my wife and I stopped at a Deny's. I have to say I like Deny's. You get a picture book as a menu and what is in the picture arrives on your plate. No like Mc Donald's. You see the picture of that jucy looking burger oozing with salad and sauce with meat hanging over the roll. Then reality turns up. Limp salad and a burger that has shrunk on a roll the size of a quarter. Anyway back on track. Whist in said Deny's the "service" was dreadful, and that is being kind. The waitress was surly, just about threw our plates at us and pretty much ignored everyone. The bill came and I paid. As I got to the door, the manager approached me and informed me, maybe as a Brit on holiday I did not know (I am very sure I have visited more countries than this guy had visited States), but it was "customary" to tip the waitress in the US. As I had had quite enough of said waitress, I was in the mood to explain why I had not left a tip. He was a bit taken back and we left.
So is a tip an automatic right, as some people feel, or is it as I feel, an extra that must be earned. I am not asking for a magic show for my kids or a BJ with the coffee, just what I have put above.

Matt (Going to North Carolina next week, so put the word out, a tight Brit who makes waitresses jump through hoops is on the way over )

[Hagar]

Tipping is now becoming more common in the UK. If I was convinced that the person I intend the tip for actually gets it I would feel happier about leaving a tip.

I'm quite happy to go along with traditions of countries I visit. I'll leave a tip unless the service is particularly bad. What annoys me is a common practice in US holiday destinations like Orlando, Florida. If they realise you're a Brit they add a "service charge" to the bill so check your bill carefully to avoid paying twice.

[ozzy72]

If I feel I've had a good service then I tip. Oddly enough in Iceland it is considered rude to tip...
Once in Hungary I had a woman try and demand a tip after saying many not nice things about foreigners being in HER country (I was with some English friends so we were yabbering away in our heathen lingo) so I turned round and in Hungarian announced I didn't pay for abuse! She nearly shat herself in shock that I'd understood her

[Sir_Crashalot]

I rarely give a tip.

Carlo

[TigerAl]

I'm told that the waiters/waitresses in the U.S. have to pay taxes on their tips and the IRS makes an assumption that they get around 10% - (usual tip around 10% - 15%).

So no wonder the service is usually so good and the staff get a bit freaky when the tip is lower ... they're potentially being taxed for 'non-earnings'.

[eno]

I'm told that the waiters/waitresses in the U.S. have to pay taxes on their tips....

It is the same here in the UK tips are subject to tax .... but only if you tell the Revenue and Customs

Never add a tip onto your credit/debit card bill here in the UK as the employer is legally allowed to keep it. Another widespread practice in the UK is that the employee is paid at less than minimum wage and the employer uses the tips to make the wage up to the minimum.
Another thing to look out for is Service Charges, they are, as the name implies for service ....... if you are unhappy with the service you have received then you can remove the Service Charge from the bill.

If I tip someone who has served me I give cash and I make sure that they put it in their pocket ....... not into some central pot as they have to do at my wife's workplace. The pot at my wife's pub is regularly raided by the boss to make up shortfalls in the till....... it's never put back if the till is over.

[Apex]

In general, a tip is earned through good & proper service.

[Craig.]

As others I'll tip when the service shows they've earned it. How much I tip depends on how good the service was. If the service was better than expected I'll always tip a little more. I know how hard customer service can be at the best of times, let alone some of the things waitresses and waiters have to put up with. So the extra effort is always appreciated and repayed.

[Steve M]

I grew up in the US so I always tip something. If the service is bad, small tip, good service gets them 20% or more. Service people can have bad days to. If i frequent a place often, I tip well and they remember that the next time.

[Hagar]

I grew up in the US so I always tip something. If the service is bad, small tip, good service gets them 20% or more. Service people can have bad days to. If i frequent a place often, I tip well and they remember that the next time.

20% tip? You must be made of money. LOL

Being an ignorant Brit unaccustomed to this weird tradition I asked my well-travelled brother's advice on tipping before my first trip to the US. He told me that the usual tip was 10% but if I didn't intend going back to the establishment it didn't really matter. Pretty sound advice I thought.

[Steve M]

I grew up in the US so I always tip something. If the service is bad, small tip, good service gets them 20% or more. Service people can have bad days to. If i frequent a place often, I tip well and they remember that the next time.

20% tip? You must be made of money. LOL

Being an ignorant Brit unaccustomed to this weird tradition I asked my well-travelled brother's advice on tipping before my first trip to the US. He told me that the usual tip was 10% but if I didn't intend going back to the establishment it didn't really matter. Pretty sound advice I thought.

Yes 10% was the amount back when I lived there. Nowdays the tips range towards 20%. As far as not tipping at all is personal choice. In my case, tipping is instilled into my character by local traditions as I grew up. If I don't tip something, I just feel guilty as I leave the establishment.

[Mobius]

A lot of wait staff make most of their money on tips here in the US at least.  So I'll usually tip 15-20% unless I've had extremely bad service, but I don't usually go over 20% or under 15% just because it's an extra $.50 on a $10 meal, and if I'm already spending that much on a meal then it's not a huge jump from $11.50 to $12.00, especially if we had good service.

[Hagar]

A lot of wait staff make most of their money on tips here in the US at least.

That is increasingly the case in the UK now. Another bad idea imported from the US.* IMHO

It always struck me that if restaurants charged realistic prices & paid their staff a decent wage there would be no need for this rather outdated custom. I wouldn't mind so much if I thought the staff the tips are intended for actually got the money. I believe that in a lot of cases they don't see a penny of it, especially if the tip is added to a credit card bill.

*Before anyone takes offence, I'm not having a dig at the US. I'm sure they have plenty of good ideas. It just seems that we always import the bad ones.

[ShaneG_old]

I have a $5 tip rule.

My server has the opportunity to make a $5 tip. For every mistake, it costs them a dollar.

Exemplary service earns more.

I've given a $5 tip for a $10 meal.

[Steve M]

A lot of wait staff make most of their money on tips here in the US at least.

That is increasingly the case in the UK now. Another bad idea imported from the US.* IMHO

It always struck me that if restaurants charged realistic prices & paid their staff a decent wage there would be no need for this rather outdated custom. I wouldn't mind so much if I thought the staff the tips are intended for actually got the money. I believe that in a lot of cases they don't see a penny of it, especially if the tip is added to a credit card bill.

*Before anyone takes offence, I'm not having a dig at the US. I'm sure they have plenty of good ideas. It just seems that we always import the bad ones.

I agree with you Doug, When we buy a pair of shoes or even real estate, anything else, one wouldn't dream of tipping. It is just a pain in the wallet. The one thing tips do, however, is motivate a low paid service worker to try harder. Tips seem to make a statement about the customer more than the service these days.