To think we should all stop tipping now?

I always try and tip. Living wage is shite. I thought we tipped for individual extended personal service.

IE hairdressers, restaurants, taxis. Not shop assistants.

I have no issue tipping if I think it is going directly to the person that has given me great service or gone above and beyond

I hate the way it is creeping in and the way whilst paying by card in a pub for a pint whilst stood at the bar it automatically asks for “ gratuity “

went out for Sunday lunch at a decent gastro pub last weekend

food was great service a bit meh and had to remind them twice to bring drinks and coffee only to be confronted with the car machine suggesting 10 , 15 or 20 % tip
I added 10% our total bill for 3 courses was circa £150

I won’t be going back , long gone are the days of slipping someone a red one for looking after you

That is minimum wage for his age
It will go up to £8.60 on 1st April. So your son will be better off.

He gets minimumwage for an over 18 but under 21.

We’re all different but personally I’ve worked in customer service (waitressing) and I was tipped sometimes , but I never felt entitled to it or felt any type of negativity towards the customers who never.

Btw I am always polite and cordial to customer service workers and pay for my bill.

That is what they’re entitled to - mutual respect and me paying for my food and customer service which is included in the bill. I don’t need to pay extra to say thank you. I use my words for that.

I have to say I found customers far more rude and stressful working in a call centre (while also living in a grotty flatshare) than waitressing . People are so emboldened through a phone - and call centre staff don’t get tips. It seems some people are “appreciating” one type of service industry workers over the other?

Also TAs are not getting tips and sometimes doing very hard work involving being regularly hit and spat on by kids.

Such workers ? What/who are you on about do you mean shop assistants or carers or wait staff or maybe hairdressers how many of them do you tip?

My son is 19yo and works part time in a cinema chain. He gets £7.40ph. I don't understand minimum wage or how it works?!

Also people claiming that serving staff are just bringing you a plate of food, is completely ignoring that they're also clearing away your plates, wiping down your kids high chair and all the messy food, after being on their feet all day, not eating themselves and not getting home until you're in bed. The work is unsociable hours and means they're missing out from plenty of their own nice times to make yours pleasant.

YABU. The national minimum wage is not a decent living wage, despite the government's best attempts to rebrand it. If it was, the state wouldn't need to provide benefit top ups.

(There is a strong argument that benefit top ups for working people are nationalised subsidies paid by the taxpayer to protect the profits of exploitative private company employers, but that debate is probably for another thread).

I am relatively poor income-wise but I always tip where appropriate, because I know from experience how much lower paid workers appreciate the gesture.

I tip. Although minimum wage might be better than the £4 an hour it used to be, the youngest people don't get what they'd get as an older worker.. which makes no sense when they probably have higher rent and bills to pay. Restaurant staff tend to be younger so I do tip. I can remember how grateful I was for tips as a younger person and if you can afford £80 for a family meal it seems tight to then not afford a tip too. But it's personal choice. I don't tip everywhere and tends to be dinner rather than lunch and I don't tip if they don't take the order.

I’m very happy to continue tipping, but I’ve worked in several industries where tipping was the norm, so I’m biased. A lot of these jobs are skilled by the way, but obviously not in a way you value.
I also know what staff think about customers who don’t ever tip, or don’t appreciate the horrible hours, split shifts, or how awful customers can be.
If you saw how hard one Ukrainian KP I once knew worked, living in a shit shared house, slogging away 6 days a week, and sending every penny home to his family you might re think.
The new minimum wage means someone in a shared house with rent of an average £600 a month, has to work over 52 hours a month before they even buy a pint of milk.

I tip 10% in this country ( hairdresser, wait staff, hairdresser, uber )
I tip 20% in USA
Always have and always will. I earn a lot of money and can easily afford to.

I no longer tip.
Others can do whatever they choose.

Tipping culture is bloody weird. When I was younger I worked in retail (mainly furniture, flooring and white goods) and I'd spend hours with certain customers but on the very rare occasion we were offered a tip we weren't allowed to accept it, yet everyone (including me) will happily tip a waiter for carrying some plates over to the table. How did we decide what customer service deserves a tip and what doesn't?

Having said that I will continue to tip, as tipping culture is so deeply ingrained in me that I would feel horrible and rude not to do so unless the service had been actively dreadful. I would love it if the culture did change, but unfortunately I won't be the one leading the revolution 😂

Yes. I stopped tipping after covid
I am not well paid enough to sub other people any more.
Our industry used to be a lot higher than minimum wage. Now not so much. Last time NMW went up we had to put the new graduate wages up. First time I have ever seen that have to happen for people with a degree in science.

Therefore tipping such workers is no longer necessary or appropriate, so I won’t be tipping anyone anywhere from now on. AIBU?

Yes YABU. If it’s your personal preference not to tip these “such workers” then that’s absolutely fine. But don’t try to tell other people that they shouldn’t tip, it’s extremely condescending.

I’ll still tip if I feel it is appropriate, it is and always has been down to personal choice.

The minimum wage rise is still an absolute drop in the ocean compared to the increased cost of living. I don’t begrudge any minimum wage employee getting a raise.

I never tip

I follow my mum's rule of tipping anyone who touches my body (not HCPs) so hairdresser, waxing (bikini line) and the occasional massage. I would tip a facialist if I could afford to go to a facialist. I also tip in restaurants for excellent service.

I do not tip when I have to download/find the menu on, order from and pay on an app. I am also offended when the app tries to add on a service charge!

The reason I tip the hair person/s is if they do a decent job and same re cab drivers. I've met cab drivers where the car smells and they are not polite or minium greet - so no tips. I wont tip just for the sake everyone does it

When we eat out, we will tip if good service if not, no tip

YANBU. I very rarely tip, only occasionally when I have had exceptional service and feel that adding a bit extra is worth the overall price.

I went to stacks pancake franchise and was told I HAD to pay 5% on my bill for till service. So at this point I hadn’t had any service

when I asked for it to be taken off they said they couldn’t…

that’s illegal right? Isn’t service charge voluntary?

No, you're not unreasonable to choose not to tip. Tipping is a choice.

You are being unreasonable to think that £11.44/hr is "fair and reasonable" for someone to live on. This doesn't represent any obligation for others to 'top up' wages via tipping, but it also doesn't mean that wages are where they should be. Everyone should have the right to put a roof over their heads and food on their table. NMW just doesn't cut it in a lot of cases and has nothing to do with how hard somebody works.

That’s the trouble isn’t it, why are some roles deemed tippable and others not, it’s so weird.

If the service is great in a restaurant I’ll tip, but I’ve noticed lately more & more there’s a % tip option on the card machine even if I’ve ordered at a bar/counter! I mean what would I be tipping there, it’s not even table service.