what rules do you follow when givng a tip

steeljack · 03-02-2008, 01:48

Not sure if there has been a thread on this before , but as a sidebar from the Old Mother Redcap thread , it got me to wondering what do you think is a satisfactory tip to leave in a restaurant or any other place for that matter , do you leave a percentage of the total bill ? or just the change, if you get a taxi home after a night out how much do you give the cabbie over the top of the meter fare ? .
Do you tend to give more when you are abroad on holiday because it's 'expected' there and you don't want a foriegn waiter chasing you down the street yelling at you ?
If you pick up a coffee to go at a take away and there is a tip jar on the counter, do you put anything in it ?
One thing which confused me when I was last in the UK was it seemed a lot of places serving "pub-grub" expected/required payment when the food was ordered , so do you tip these servers?

lettie · 03-02-2008, 08:40

In a restaurant 10% is acceptable unless there is a service charge already added to the bill then a tip is not expected. I never tip for take out coffee and if a taxi comes to £3.50 I may round up to the nearest quid. I tend to tip the same abroad as I do at home although, in some countries, tips are not expected. I remember getting very good service in New Zealand a few years ago and left a tip, this was not expected and the restaurant staff were so pleased that they gave me a free drink..

glasgow guy · 03-02-2008, 09:30

the best tip I ever gave was 'dont eat yellow snow'....

MargaretR · 03-02-2008, 09:31

I always tip taxi drivers 'over the top' at 40 -50%.
I rarely use taxis but when I do it is because I need one desperately.
The big tip policy ensures that I am remembered, and get one fast next time.

In restaurants I give 20% if the food and service have been good. If it hasn't, I don't tip at all, and tell them why!
I operate that same policy with hotel staff in UK- but on trips abroad I pay up and keep shtum, because I want to get home unscathed

jaysay · 03-02-2008, 12:19

My tip is always fair snow for white table cloths

seriously usually gve 10% but I do object to places that include a service charge, then you don' have a choise, and its usually these places that give poor sevice. As for taxies, I have used them a lot since I gave up driving if the fare is £2.50 I give £3

Bonnyboy · 03-02-2008, 12:28

I round a tip up to the nearest quid for taxis and me barber. Don’t go out for a meal as a rule, if I did, then the tip would be dependant upon the service. In a bar, I tell the bar staff to “get one for yourself” it seems to improve their eyesight when you go to the bar for the next round of drinks.

cashman · 03-02-2008, 12:50

tip for good service in restarants here n abroad, usually more abroad cos in most cases,service is better.always in taxis anywhere cos i know its a crap job,

SPUGGIE J · 03-02-2008, 13:33

Round up when using a taxi (know plenty at home). Leave a tip based on the standard of service ie politeness speed of service even helpfulness. Agree though that the service charge is a bit of a kick in the head because those serving you dont benifit seeing it as a tip but as part of the make up of their wages. So how would that work on minimum wage earning staff and would some jobsworth want to tax it if it could be proved as income?

West Ender · 03-02-2008, 14:43

I will tip 10% for good service in a restaurant, more if the service is exceptional - both here and abroad. I don't like places that add a service charge but haven't yet had the courage to tell them to deduct it from my bill.

Why should anyone expect a tip anyway, much less impose one in the form of service charge? The whole point of their existence, be it restaurant, pub, taxi, hairdresser etc., is to serve you. The waiter in a restaurant is there to bring your food, serve it on your plate if it's silver service, put a whiff of black pepper on it from a ridiculously large pepper mill if it's Italian/Greek/Turkish. If he didn't do it, it would be a cafeteria and he wouldn't have a job. The same goes for taxi drivers, it's their job to drive you from A to B, and hairdressers are there to cut your hair.

Having said all that I would never not tip - because I'm too conventional - unless the service was bad. In that case I would tell them so - but I wouldn't wait until the end of my meal.

cmonstanley · 03-02-2008, 14:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by glasgow guy

the best tip I ever gave was 'dont eat yellow snow'....

ha ha.i never tip because i am tight and why should i tip most people are on minimium wage now or should be...tips are from when waiters and waitresses were on about 1.50 an hour and tips were used to subsidise their wage so the greedy owners could maximise their profit...

Sara · 03-02-2008, 15:38

Like many people i usually round local taxi fares up to the nearest £1. If i have travelled furter it's usually rounded up to the nearest £5 or £10. Restaurants: if out with husband and we have had good service, food etc we usually tip £5. I always ask the waitress/waiter do they get to keep the tips, if they don't we don't tip. I have refused to pay service charge before now.

blazey · 03-02-2008, 15:39

My boyfriends really cheap when it comes to leaving a tip when he's taken me out for a meal and I find it embarassing so I always throw in a quid or two. I once tipped a taxi driver at some ridiculous time of night and the boyfriend didnt think I should've done. I'd hate to be a taxi driver at night so I think its just nice to give them a bit extra.

I dont have a specific 10% rule or anything like that, I just add a bit more dependant on how much I have got and how good the service was, normally based upon friendliness of the service, especially when going for a meal because the waiter/waitress isn't the one who's cooked the meal, but if its presented to me in a friendly way then they deserve a tip regardless.

I'm only a student so I've not got much money to just give away, but I think that tipping is necessary, especially if you intend on using the same service again, because like Margeret says, it gives them more reason to remember you and keep up the quality.

Gayle · 03-02-2008, 15:41

I usually aim for around the 10% mark but tend to do it by rounding up or using whole numbers so it's not an accurate science - for example, i went to the hairdressers yesterday and it came to £24.00 - I put £2 in the tub so not quite 10%. On other occassions I'll put £3 in so it's more.

In restaurants I tend to calculate the bill plus 10% then round up to the nearest £5. I get really annoyed by places that include the tip. I don't know how they can be allowed to do that, surely it's not legal. I have only once deducted the tip from the bill because the service wasn't up to scratch - I can be harsh sometimes!

Taxis tend to get rounded up to the nearest £5 unless the fare is £5 exact in which case I'll add another £1.

So very random tip giving structure.