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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not tip (in the UK?)

104 replies

makemineachardonnay · 31/08/2012 17:52

I've just been reading the tipping in America thread with interest, and it got me thinking about tips here in the UK.
Do you tip? I don't. Even if I think the service was lovely. They're getting paid to do their job, and if the argument is that they don't get paid much so it tops up their wages, then surely that's their employers fault - they should pay them more.
Which they're never going to do, are they, if the customers are going to pay their staff for them.
Eating out is a lot of money to people at the moment (well, it is here anyway!) so to have to pay out even more is sometimes hard.
As for hairdressers?! It wouldn't even occur to me. They get paid for the job they do.
Surely I'm not the only one who doesn't tip?
Never posted an AIBU so don't be too mean. Grin

OP posts:
GoingBackToSchool · 03/09/2012 15:48

I always tip when I go out. Having recently left my job as a waitress I know how horrible the job can be and how mean people can be. I know that people say that they get paid for what they do, but in the restaurant that I worked in this just wasn't true. Obviously we got paid minimum wage, but imo injuring yourself(eg burns in the kitchen-more chefs than waitresses obv but they paid the same anyway), and physically running around a restaurant for 8 hours straight with no break(incl loo break/fresh air) and sweating your arse off is not worth £3.68(which is what some of our waitresses are on). I took a waitressing job, not a 'work your body into the ground' job.
So yeah, I tip cos I know how hard the waiting staff/chefs work and I appreciate it :)

LST · 03/09/2012 15:51

I never tip as such. If there is like 50p change I leave that in the tray when we eat out. Other than that no I don't ever.

I used to work behind a bar and only ever got the occasional slime ball offer to buy me a drink followed by a wink Envy

headfairy · 03/09/2012 15:52

I don't really unless someone has gone out of their way to help me or to offer enhanced service. A hairdresser doing their job and charging me £130 for cut and colour IMO doesn't need a tip on top of that.

squoosh · 03/09/2012 15:55

I tip

Waiters/waitresses (unless they've been awful)
Taxi drivers (unless they've been a rude twat, as they sometimes are)
Hairdressers
Takeaway delivery drivers

If there's a 16 year old doing table service in a busy pub on a Saturday night I'll tip them too as it means I don't need to stand and queue at the bar. This may be just an Irish thing as they don't seem to have lounge staff in UK pubs.

GetOrfAKAMrsUsainBolt · 03/09/2012 15:58

I tip in restaurants - about 10 - 15%, I would feel terrible not to.

I haven't tipped a hairdresser for ages, I never go to the same place twice anyway (just ring round at the last minute when I decide my hair needs doing so go wherever fits me in).

vezzie · 03/09/2012 16:03

I cut my hair last night, it looks great but I'm fuming that I didn't tip myself, tightfisted cunt

Catandthecream · 03/09/2012 16:04

By my choice I would only tip for great service, it would be 10%. As DH usually pays he always tips,again 10%.

I actually think most service in shockingly bad in the UK and can't believe tips are the norm. Only because I can compare to New Zealand where no one tips and service is always with a smile.....

Never tip hairdressers and would round a cab fare up to the pound.

CherryBlossom27 · 03/09/2012 16:04

I tip if I'm eating out in a restaurant, but it's not a lot to be honest, e.g. If the meal was £17.00 I'd leave a £20.00 note and not wait for change. I wouldn't tip in a buffet restaurant or cafe, and I wouldn't tip on top of a service charge. I also wouldnt tip for slow service or food that I could have cooked better myself at home as if I'm eating out it's a treat and I want it to be special.

I've never tipped a hairdresser as they are extortionate in my area already and I only get my hair cut every 6 months :(

I'll tip a taxi driver if they've been pleasant, but again, more in a "keep the change" way.

I have worked in a restaurant myself and a couple of cafes waitressing and washing up and generally most people tipped a pound or two but not huge amounts.

mayorquimby · 03/09/2012 16:08

Don't ever tip as surely I'm already paying for their excellent service through the profit margin that pays their wage

QueenofPlaids · 03/09/2012 16:08

I tip in restaurants and table service cafes, but not in e.g Costa Coffee type establishments. If you think you might go back, I always think it's best to tip. I don't tip if the food / service is awful but I usually make that pretty clear when settling up.

I occasionally tip delivery people and I have been known to tip taxi drivers but not as a rule.

I definitely don't tip my hairdresser or beautician as they are £££

I've been questioned about tipping only twice - once by a cunt of a taxi driver & another time by a waiter who just assumed he didn't need to bring my change. I made him bring it and left nothing. Sad thing is I would have left more than the change as the service was actually pretty good, but I couldn't believe the cheek Grin

scentednappyhag · 03/09/2012 16:09

I tip well in restaurants if the service was good (or if I fancy the waitress Grin), and always offer to buy bar staff a drink if they're helpful and polite.
I haven't been to a hairdressers in years though!

MissPerception · 03/09/2012 16:15

I don't tip - it seems such an old fashioned thing and really when we go to a restaurant we pay for a meal to be served, I don't want to pay extra.

It all leaves a bad taste, this tipping malarky.

SauvignonBlanche · 03/09/2012 16:16

I used to be a waitress, years ago, and always tip unless the service is crap.
I hate that 'I pay your wages' mentality that is usually reserved for public servants.

MoaningMingeWhingesAgain · 03/09/2012 16:22

I tip on a totally judgemental basis. I used to tip my hairdresser when it was £18, in a keep the change way, now it is £20 anyway so it feels awkward Blush

I usually give the takeaway delivery chap an extra £1, if we get a chinese, but I don't tip for pizza delivery because it's a massive rip off anyway.

I tip in pubs/restaurants if the service was superb or if my children made a mess . I nearly always tip in Pizza Hut because I think they are badly paid, I only haven't when the service was noticeably crap.

There, clear as mud Grin

everlong · 03/09/2012 16:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bubalou · 03/09/2012 16:24

I always tip in restaurants, unless maybe once i think when the restaurant wasn't even busy and our waitress was horrendous, rude, lazy and basically ignored us our whole meal!

I was a minimum wage waitress when I was getting through college and my tips would be what allowed me to put petrol in my car. I couldn't have survived without them. I do however think they should be earnt.

I do think it's just tight not to tip - not my opinion.

It doesn't have to be much but always between 10-20%.

When me & DH go to our favourite restaurant with our 2 friends the tip is usually about £20. The service is fabulous and in fairness the meal usually costs about £200 so that's only 10%.

It's up to the individual I suppose, I can't hate people for not tipping, but trust me, even if it's £2 your waitress / waitor will be very grateful.

bubalou · 03/09/2012 16:24

Excuse that - I meant that I do think it's tight not to tip.

BackforGood · 03/09/2012 16:28

I don't tend to - I can't see why people doing a certain 3 or 4 jobs should expect people to give them money when they encounter them, when all the other people who do work for low wages, don't Confused.
I'm more likely to for youngsters that I know will be on under £4 an hour, but for adults, there is a minimum wage, which is the going rate for the job. If they were being paid the min. wage in dozens of other jobs they wouldn't expect people to keep coming up and slipping a couple of quid in their pocket, would they ?

KellyElly · 03/09/2012 16:31

I always tip in a restautant (unlesss the service was crap or service charge has been added already) and I usually tip taxi drivers and round up the money to pizza, chinese deliveries (if paying in cash). I don't tip anyone else.

FelicitywasSarca · 03/09/2012 16:45

I tip but I don't tip by % as I don't understand the logic there.

In different restaurants ordering the same number of courses he bill could be anywhere between 40-150 quid. If the food is expensive overpriced the waiting staff aren't working harder than those in a cheaper place. So I tip what I think is reasonable for their time/service. (also have you added up how much a 15% tip on every table a waiter/ress serves in an evening in an expensive restaurant actually is? I think that's disproportionate when they ARE already being paid).

MountainsInMinutes · 04/09/2012 00:40

A waitress here...

Most people actually do tip; I would say about 30 % of customers leave 10%, very few leave more, it's usually less (say 5%), and occasionally nothing... Not getting a tip is rare enough for us to notice and wonder why, particularly if it was a big table of seemingly happy people.

I think it's disingenuous to compare waiting staff to other employees on the min. wage who you have a small encounter with... Eating out when the service is slow and the food is awful is truly depressing; with kids, it can add to the stress rather than be the treat it was supposed to be. You leave the restaurant much poorer, and having to make up for it to the kids... : / In other jobs it perhaps matter a bit less how good the transaction is. I don't mind the grumpy receptionists at my son's school office. : p ...And unfortunately, in all the restaurants I have worked in that pooled the tips to redistribute it, the service was always poorer than in those where each waiter had their own tables, and got to keep their own tips. I don't know what the system is in Aus. and NZ, but yes, I had noticed that they are not used to tipping : D

It goes without saying that we don't expect tips if we know service or food have been substandard...

sashh · 04/09/2012 04:07

there was certainly some kind of loophole which meant that waiting staff were paid less than minimum wage, on the grounds that the difference would be made up in tips.

That has been to the courts and employers HAVE to pay minimum wage, they cannot deduct tips.

TroublesomeEx · 04/09/2012 06:42

I've only tipped the hairdresser once, when she did a fab job with DS's hair. Most of the time hair cuts are satisfactory, on this occasion it was excellent.

I never tip taxi drivers. Ever.

I don't tip in restaurants as a rule. If they make an extra effort with the service, or make the children feel as important as the adults, that sort of thing, then I do.

RuleBritannia · 04/09/2012 06:45

I don't tip at all unless the service was out of this world because they all have jobs and have more income than I do.

LucieMay · 04/09/2012 07:25

I pay my hairdresser a small fortune, no tip there. I specifically go there because she does a brilliant job and will willingly pay her high prices, but I ain't paying no more!