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Original poster

Will you continue to tip in cafe's now prices are going up?

60 replies

CheeryTulip · 09/07/2022 13:11

My local cafe used to have a separate jar for tips, it has now added a screen to the card machine that says 'Leave a tip 10% or 15% or no?' And you have to choose - whilst the assistant stands before you & can see what you're doing. A standard lunch in there with drink is £14 (up from 12). I will no longer be able to go as it's just too expensive and I hate the added pressure of being watched while I decline to tip. I know people will probably pile on telling me I'm being unreasonable. But that cafe has just lost my business at a time when they need it more than ever surely? How do you feel about tipping?

OP posts:

BlueStarfish · 09/07/2022 16:03

I like to leave a tip for meals, if the service was bad I'll tip less, but I don't like to tip for a cup of tea.

GoodThinkingMax · 09/07/2022 16:14

Well, you are being unreasonable. If you can’t afford to give a bit of a tip, you can’t afford to eat out.

SingingInParadise · 09/07/2022 16:20

GoodThinkingMax · 09/07/2022 16:14

Well, you are being unreasonable. If you can’t afford to give a bit of a tip, you can’t afford to eat out.

Lol
it has never been the case that everyone is leaving a tip every time.
a tip isn’t compulsory and has never been.

skyeisthelimit · 09/07/2022 16:21

There is no law that you need to leave a tip and YANBU if you don't leave a tip. Carry on eating out and just don't leave a tip. There is no obligation to tip. There is no way you should stop eating out, the price of food is high enough already and priced to cover their overheads including wages.

I am sure that they would rather have your £14 than not have it as they will soon go out of business if everyone stops eating there.

You will get comments on here telling you that you should leave a tip, you can't afford to eat out if you can't afford a tip blah blah blah. Just ignore them. We don't all live in the same world with the same income.

I always select no as I won't be pressured into leaving a tip and don't always leave one, it depends on how many in the party and what the total bill is etc and most importantly what the service was like. If I do leave one, it will be left on the table or given to the staff depending on the venue.

I don't buy into the "it's a low paid job" thing because it is NMW the same as most shop staff round here and I don't tip the girl in the local bakery or butchers or whatever.

and yes, I have been waitress and bar staff in the past and tips are great, but they should not be expected, they are just a nice bonus of the job

Snugglepumpkin · 09/07/2022 16:22

No.

Why are cafe staff supposed to get tipped but supermarket checkout staff are not?

I might tip in a proper restaurant if the staff are excellent, but nobody gets a tip for just existing in the same building where I drink a cup of coffee.

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 09/07/2022 16:28

I don't tip anyone and haven't for years because I never know who I'm tipping.

For example, is the kitchen porter also getting a share of the tip? The chef's? The bartender who made the drinks? The person who sat us down or the one who took the food order? What about the food runner?

I'd hope they all got a share but sometimes they don't and I don't agree with it at all. Sometimes the supervisors dont get the tips either because they earn £1 more an hour and have added stress and responsibilities, but come out with less money than floor staff.

I also don't tip in shops, most of whom are on the same wage as waiting staff.

Tipping subsidises the wages which is wrong. People should be paid appropriately. Or if you can't afford to pay staff more, find meaningful perks that retains those who can afford to be paid the wage

daffodilandtulip · 09/07/2022 16:28

When I was a nurse you had to declare to the manager if you had received so much as a chocolate bar, and it was seen as doing something naughty to accept a gift.

Not only is eating out crazily expensive now, but you often order via an app and pour your own drinks etc. Not sure why people expect a bonus for doing their job.

Heroicallyl0st · 09/07/2022 16:32

KweenieBeanz · 09/07/2022 13:46

I've never understood why some occupations are deemed deserving of a tip but not others. In the UK we have a minimum wage so tips shouldn't be needed on top surely, and why is a waitress more deserving of a tip than the (also poorly paid) care worker who looks after your elderly mum?

Yes exactly this for me. I feel uncomfortable tipping for this reason and feel businesses should value their staff enough to pay them properly and price their goods/service accordingly.

I don’t feel bad about pressing no on a card machine.

I do tip 10% cash in a restaurant if the waiter/ess has gone out of their way to be helpful just as a thank you.

BlueStarfish · 09/07/2022 16:41

It's one thing to tip a waiter in cash, it's another to tip by card when the boss is at the till. Do staff really get that money?

TyneTortoise · 09/07/2022 16:43

KweenieBeanz · 09/07/2022 13:46

Exactly.
In the U.S there’s provision for foodservice workers to be paid less but really… why In the U.K.?

There’s a fine line between giving an extra token of appreciation for excellent service… and it being expected.

It’s the business’ job to pay its staff. Not mine. I just pay for whatever I buy.

Draincover · 09/07/2022 16:46

I worked as a kp, and tips were supposed to be shared with the entire staff. Never received anything. We had the most awkward hours. Stayed to clean and scrub the kitchen till lock up. The service staff swanned about doing FA really. But they did have the misfortune of tending to the public. I hate tipping, but if the food is good make a point of thanking the kitchen. Service experience has been pretty mediocre in this country in my experience.

TheGoodEnoughWife · 09/07/2022 16:58

GoodThinkingMax · 09/07/2022 16:14

Well, you are being unreasonable. If you can’t afford to give a bit of a tip, you can’t afford to eat out.

What utter crap and a nasty thing to say. Would we prefer people that could just afford to pay the actual bill to stay at home and do nothing?

Someone on minimum wage shouldn't be expected to tip someone else on min wage.

As someone has said other minimum wage people don't get a tip. Why should restaurant staff get one?

Tweeeezer · 09/07/2022 16:59

Sadly, I won’t be able to afford to go into cafes at all! Tip or no tip!

PresidentByeThen · 09/07/2022 17:03

I've stopped tipping, i think the system for too long it has been used by employers to justify poor wages.

Having said that, I cringe like fuck when it comes to bill paying time, and usually try to run off to the loo- I hate actively not tipping!

TheWayoftheLeaf · 09/07/2022 17:56

GoodThinkingMax · 09/07/2022 16:14

Well, you are being unreasonable. If you can’t afford to give a bit of a tip, you can’t afford to eat out.

Course they can.

If they have £15 and their food is £10 and their drink £15 they can afford the meal. Tips aren't needed.

Draincover · 10/07/2022 10:49

We went out for a meal at the weekend, probably the first time in two years, and the bill was over £30 for two very simple mains and no drinks, no deserts. Sadly we can't afford to eat out any more, let alone tip.

coffeecupsandfairylights · 10/07/2022 10:54

I never tipped to begin with🤷🏻‍♀️

I got slammed for that on here last time I said it but I think it's a really bizarre expectation.

GodisaBC · 10/07/2022 10:55

I tip if I go to a restaurant for lunch or in an evening.
If I go to a cafe for coffee I don’t tip.

Maireas · 10/07/2022 11:01

I find it awkward with the hairdresser. She is the Style Director and charges me £75 for a cut and style. What do people think, would you tip her?

Maireas · 10/07/2022 11:04

I find it a social minefield. Would you tip the pharmacy assistant that delivers your prescription? The Deliveroo driver?

LadyKenya · 10/07/2022 11:05

Rafting2022 · 09/07/2022 15:31

No-one is obliged to pay the 15% service charge that some places add on without asking. Just tell them to remove it. It’s beyond rude.

This. Nobody has to pay this. I decide if I wish to tip or not.

BlueStarfish · 10/07/2022 11:16

I know I don't have to tip but I feel like crap having to say it out loud "I'm sorry I don't want to pay extra" which is always followed by "Didn't you like the service? Wasn't it good? If the service was good you should pay. If you didn't like the waiter you can complain to the manager" and then I have to explain myself and I fell like a prick in public in front of a bunch of strangers.
Even though I know it's not compulsory, it's been happening more to have the extra tacked on and I notice the bill's higher than it should because they've already pressed "yes" to the charges. I don't like the "sneakiness".

alphapie · 10/07/2022 11:16

I never tipped in cafes to begin with. So no change for me, restaurants I still tip even if prices go up though

UmbrellaTerm · 10/07/2022 11:19

I don’t tip in cafes unless I’ve had an unusually wonderful experience.

So no change there for me.

caringcarer · 10/07/2022 11:21

I always tip when served in restaurants when I can just leave cash on table and pay by card. I don't tip at all when there is only that option of a card payment of £10 or £15.

Same as I would happily have donated £10 to Blue for Bob charity but only options to donate were £20, £50, £100.

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