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

If service is added I wouldn't tip but I do otherwise if it's a proper restaurant and we've had a good experience.

Always - unless the service was diabolical

If there is a service charge added, I leave it at that

If not, then between 10-15%

I see it as just one of those things where service is paid for separately from the food - food cost is per the menu, service is on top and depends on the quality of service provided

Always. Typically 20% unless the service is poor. As you may have guessed, I'm in the US, but whenever I come home to the UK I tip the same. I once left a 20% tip on the best Indian meal I'd ever had (it was one of those "three courses for £20 on a Wednesday" places) and the waiter came back to check that I really meant it!

I always tip and would have the same reaction as your friends if one of my friends refused to tip, unless the service was really bad of course.

@MissPobjoysPonies I realise that, but I was responding to a comment that was talking generally.
And while it may not be an QR code that gives allergen info, it probably won't be the waiter. It will be a book. DH has an anaphylactic allergy and we've never had a waiter who has known the allergen info by heart. Which is fine. I wouldn't expect them to - I think they're required to have it written down somewhere anyway, and I think DH would rather rely on a menu than someone's memory.
It's just that it's silly to say that being a waiter is harder because they must know all the allergy information.

I do tip, just rounded up to nearest few quid I suppose though I'd rather not. I never pay service charge though and find it bloody cheeky when it's added on. More and more common these days and they think people won't notice. I even had service charge added on to a cup of coffee the other day!

I’m mid fifties and I have always tipped in restaurants - where the heck were these non-tippers living that they think leaving a tip is an American habit that ‘crept in’? My parents are in their 80s and always tip.

If you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to eat out. My Dad taught me that. He also said:
”Never trust a cheap tipper. If they’re stingy when they think they can get away with it, you can do better.”

He had a point. Mr Pink is not a goal.

NB - The service charge is generally split between front of house and kitchen staff.

gotmyknickersinatwist, cool gif but what's your point? Where is your concern for the other minimum wage staff who are not tipped? Relying on a gratuity to cover your bills isn't ideal, is it?

Everytime these threads come up I think of care workers/nursing staff and others who provide services that by rights, ought to be far better paid and aren't. They don't even get tips and there's no Mumsnet thread breast-beating about that.

If and when I do receive exceptional service then I very much make a point of (quietly) appreciating it. I leave the rest of the noisy shrapnel tipping to the bosom hoickers here.

Not all restaurants are equal and not all menus are qr codes.

I live in Scotland too and was not brought up to tip unless getting exceptional service although I sometimes do tip depending on service but certainly not always.

if you rely on tips then you need to get a job that earns more

This scene always plays in my head when these threads come up 😁

Parsimony is not an attractive quality

It's about time restaurants/cafes, etc. calculate the cost of the food, including service and any other amount they want to charge - and put that as the cost of the food on the menu. Upfront, so customers know exactly what they're paying.

Perhaps then the ones worth their salt would pay their staff what they think they're worth and the establishments that don't will fall by the wayside. Everybody wins.

This.

Always tip, assuming everything is ok. If you can afford to eat out you can afford to tip.

Yup now they add it I give nothing more.

Always.

Always.

I agree. Once the new law comes in at least there's clarity. I suspect that a lot of those who think they are tipping their waiter are actually lining the pockets of the restaurant owner.

AND they have to look after their customers for, sometimes, hours on end.
I don't usually tip if I'm getting a coffee at a counter, but I always tip at least 10% if my table has been well looked after for the whole time I've been in the cafe/restaurant/bar.
I get why people make the argument about minimum wage-earning retail staff etc. but retail staff aren't running around looking after their patrons for an hour or two or three.

I disagree with tipping on principle, especially considering its very dubious history, but it has made its way to the UK/Ireland.
It should never be necessary for staff to make up wages with tips, but so long as employers are above-board and paying at least minimum wage, it's considered a perk of the job.

I went to the barbers last week, cost £8 and I gave them a tenner, they were well happy.
Food if paying cash yes, if card no because it feels awkward...

... and they will do what exactly? Perform their jobs badly? Spit in the food? Be rude and obnoxious? You're really not helping their cause.

I give really good tips to the people who perform services for me - waxing, nails, hair, PT, it means a lot to them and they deserve it. I don't 'pull faces' at people who don't tip them and think that face-pullers are just odd-bods generally.

I live in Glasgow and I barely know anyone who doesn't tip- one friend in my group doesn't and it's very noticeable- we tipbar staff, hairdressers, delivery drivers etc as well as waiting staff. I do think tipping has cut down a bit though with most people not having cash on them.