Do you usually Tip on top of the bill when you eat out?

I’d probably round up unless the service charge is included - but as there is now the National Minimum Wage and my husband who’s a chef is on it (like many others) I’m not inclined to be generous. You’re supporting the restaurant by giving them your custom far better to do that than not go at all!

I always tip 10% at table service restaurants, rounded up to the nearest round-ish number. If there's a service charge I just pay that. My parents, in their 70s, have always done the same.

I quite like service charges being added as it takes the guesswork out, but I live in fear that it will become the "new normal" to tip on top of a service charge. Please let's not start doing that.

Allergens was one example, again NOT everywhere is equal.

Chain restaurants are not brilliant for a lot of the things - qr code, no table service, allergens etc

however by not tipping the server who interacts, clears up after your child (Wagamama are always doing that) gives you a really great experience then you are not valuing that service any more than the qr coded restaurants. Those are places that are trying to limit the amount of staff they have, which ultimately will and does make the service poorer in general.

if service is included - don’t add it, if service is included and it was shit, don’t pay it - you can determine your own tip.

in the OPs case the friends obviously thought the service was good so couldn’t fathom why you wouldn’t pay it!

I do find myself adjusting service charges on meals where the bottle of wine comes out and the only interaction the server has is to twist the top off….. but as I say I adjust accordingly :)

This.

Although I once got thrown out of, and banned from, a restaurant in London for refusing to tip! The food and service was dreadful, so i wasn't concerned.

Gosh, everyone I know in Scotland tips.
I was a waitress as a student in Glasgow I made loads of tips.
My Aussie cousins left tips when they visited this year.

Maybe it is a generation thing.

If you’ve paid just for your share then that’s fine. However, if you’ve gone out in a group of three, the bill was £55 and your friends each paid £20 (so their share plus a small tip) and you’ve then put the balance on your card, then you’re a CF and you stole from a waiter in order to get away with paying less than your share. I’ve been out with someone who did that before and made a mental note never to let them pay last again. If I go out with them I make sure that I lose my purse in my bag and only manage to fish it out after they’ve paid their share. They don’t have to tip but I’m not letting them steal my tip from the waiter.

If a service charge has been added no, if it hasn't it depends on type of meal eg if you order on an app, no if they take order and deliver politely a small tip, if they dance attendance all evening filling glasses, substantial

I always tip and so do the people I eat with.

The service I've had in Green King has always been 10x the service I have had in Wetherspoons!

(I tip in spoons if they've been attentive. It's about 50/50. I've done a stint working for spoons and I know what they are expected to do - more don't do it than do.)

I tip unless it was bad service. Sometimes it's a couple of quid, sometimes 10%.

I've worked in those jobs, I know how much of a difference a small tip makes.

£55 for 4 people IS really cheap. I couldn't not tip, we do absolutely every time. Usually £5, £10 or £20 depending on the price of the meal.

If I get brought the food and there's an option - yes. It's a shitty job and one I've done. They deserve better pay. I hate the concept of tipping. It's shite. But it is the one we have

Or just go to Japanese restaurants where they will give you the money back if you tip.

I don't leave a tip on anything or anywhere. There's no need.

The last time I went to pizza hut (about 3 months ago) the only interaction I had with wait staff was when they brought the food over. That was it
I'm not tipping for that.

Do you also tip in Weather spoons? Greene King?

This is why there is usually a service charge added for groups even if not for everyone.

I have a relative who doesn't tip in groups and will actually reduce his contribution by the amount of tip that others leave so as there is no tip at all for the waiter. Needless to say I avoid going to restaurants with him now.

If there is a service charge added then I wouldn't expect anyone to tip on top of that except in exceptional circumstances. But if there isn't then I'd expect my friends to tip 10%. If they don't do this I'd avoid eating out with them again.

I am in Scotland and this is not true.

I always tip at least 10% as does everyone I know.

A question for the people who say they tip for good service, what are you counting as 'good service' because it's something that's quite rare in my experience.

Things that are 'bad service' that seem to be fairly standard in a lot of restaurants, both independents and chains

Giving you a crap table because it suits them - on top of other diners, near the toilets etc.

Asking you what you want to drink when you've barely sat down.

Disappearing for ages when it's clear you want to order or pay.

Not bringing change back when you've paid in cash because they're hoping it's a tip even if you've put in say 3 x £20 notes for a £45 bill.

Not having a clue who ordered what when they bring it to the table

Interrupting your conversation or waiting until you've put food in your mouth to do the 'check back' but then panicking and no knowing what to do if you say anything other than being satisfied with the food.

Failing to bring the right drink despite being asked three times and lying about what the drink they've brought actually is.

Clearly just going through the motions/upselling when you still have food and drink/haven't finished your main so are unlikely to want a dessert.

And that's without getting onto taking forever for food to arrive, half the menu being unavailable or it coming out at very different times or being badly cooked or not what you ordered.

Given op hasnt returned, do you think she was just kicking the hornets nest?

Yes, we always do unless it’s terrible service.

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I always tip unless the service or food was bad. When out with friends we calculate the amount we put in to include a tip.

I always tip a minimum of 10% (unless the service charge is included or the service was terrible) - even though I work minimum wage jobs myself. It's not a race to the bottom. I also tip the change to taxi drivers. Will often tip bar staff 'one for yourself' if I've been in a pub all night - and am happy if they take it as a drink or as money. I cut my own hair, so I don't tip my hairdresser (she's not very good!).

I have a 'friend' who is such a cheapskate she will pick up the tip if I leave one (I always leave in cash as it's more likely to go to the serving staff). It's just so miserly. And yes, I do judge people who don't tip. I know from being self employed that it's rarely the genuinely hard-up who are reluctant to part with their cash.

But I tithe to charity too (a leftover from being a Reformed Baptist), as experience has shown me that you get out of life what you give, not what you cling on to, one way or another.

What goes around comes around!
do you need directions to pedants corner? No, I’m sure you’re a regular. Do you like the spelling?

Unless service is added at a decent rate, we always tip around 20%. It’s just part of the cost of eating out.

I tip if the service and food have been very good.