To not want to leave a tip ?

[cookieswirls]

Went for a meal tonight nothing fancy just pizza and my friend seemed mortified that I didn't leave a tip. I was paying for our meal and I generally don't leave tips. Ive never left a tip for anyone actually not taxi drivers, hairdressers, waiters is that mean of me ?

Pluto, you might manage without tipping in Oz but your NMW is what......... almost $20 an hour? Hardly comparable, is it?

I will tip for good service in restaurants but only because others do, I've already paid for the meal and service so it seems weird.

Taxi drivers and hair dressers earn plenty as it is and are just doing what they have been asked too. No different to a checkout operator and nobody tips them.

I do give gifts for those that go above and beyond though, so school staff, club leaders, nurses etc as a thank you.

You get taxed on the tip

Hmrc will guesstimate how much in tips they get unless a tax return is completed

So fill in a tax return and you wont be over taxed. In theory

Unless its a tronc system but thats a bit different, as is compulsary service charges

Supermoon, how on earth do you know you didn't?!

I agree with general consensus that if service is truly EXCELLENT and you WANT to tip service-provider, then why not?

If you don't wish to/can't afford or justify it, then don't. Simples.

As for people saying that if you can't afford to tip then you shouldn't indulge in the service, stop being so judgemental!!

Also, as some sensible posters have mentioned, in the U.K many people do shit jobs like retail where you have to work bloody hard for minimum wage. I myself lasted 3 days when I was like, fuck this for a laugh!

You do not get tips for some minimum wage jobs where you work so hard; why some jobs and not others, I've heard many times.

And like someone else recently stated, I also resent telling a cabbie to "keep the change" when my taxi fare is £8. Sorry, but that £2 may be nice for him for solely DOING HIS JOB, but for me that will go towards buying groceries. That taxi fare I probably couldn't really afford in the first place, and sorry, I'd very much like my change back, please.

Actually reading these posts have reminded me once I did give an unintended tip. The taxi driver said my fare was £9 so I gave £10 and that was that. He didn't offer me my change I just got out the taxi I was too embarrassed to ask for it but silly of me though. This was in London btw

If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to eat out.

I've never tipped in my whole life. I'm not going to start either.

sailaway, what if it's won't rather than can't? Perhaps the businesses should just be put er... out of business altogether then? No tips will be the 'tip of the iceberg' when there's no salary either.

Still, that'll teach the non-tippers, eh?

Crazy...

I will tip in restaurants and tip taxi drivers, hairdressers, beauticians, delivery drivers as it seems expected to do so. Although I do wonder at times why this has became the norm, I do tend to tip whether the service is good or not as I say many expect a tip for minimal service.

It's up to the customer to decide whether to tip or not. It's a way of showing appreciation for great service, great food, the waiter putting themselves out for you, etc. It's not (should not) be a way of topping up an employee's earnings. They have no right to a tip - else, why not just add it to the price of the meal?

Some cultures are different, in the US it seems more or less universal to tip, but in the UK it's more discretionary. Some people say they "always" tip, but then I can't believe that's true - the bus driver, the person at the supermarket checkout, the bin men, their doctor, everyone who provides any kind of service to them.

More likely they make a distinction between some types of service provider and others - restaurant waiters, yes, the market trader, no. Why? They're all providing a service and it's their job to do so. So why tip some people for doing their job, but not others?

I'm a tipper but not mega generous and I would never tip in a chain as I honestly don't think the tip goes to them.

Barbara... you said this... "Service in UK restaurants is generally quite mediocre and focused on upselling rather than an enjoyable experience". Have to say that is a load of tosh! I'm not sure what restaurants you're eating at, but I promise you there's some fantastic restaurants out there who give good service and wouldn't dream of upselling.

Someone has asked before but I really really want to know what non-tippers do about the 12.5% added on as service charge on bills? I had two fab meals out in central London recently and in both 12.5% was added. I was quite happy to pay because the meals were really worth it.

Whilst I'm happy to tip hairdressers (mine is cheap, he works hard and is the only one I trust with my hair) and in restaurants, I also give £10-20 to the bin men not just because I can put anything outside and they take it!

However. In the US the tipping absolutely does my head in. A pp mentioned how rude they can be if they hear you are English on occasions. One obnoxious Manager came over and told us the tip will be 20% before we'd even looked at the menu! The states need to sort out how they do all this tipping because to me it spoils a holiday. We once went in a buffet restaurant. All they did was show us to a table. Nothing else. We got our food, helped ourselves to drinks from machines, and they expected 20%. We snuck out and they chased us up the road! I'm prepared to tip waiting staff but not when they don't 'wait'!

I am laughing at the fighting back against social injustice by not tipping... I also wonder if some of the non tippers on here have actually not been a waitress, worked behind a bar, cleaned bedrooms etc...

Rousette What do you think all that 'do you want more drinks, extra sides, an extra chicken breast for only £1, can I show you the dessert menu even though you've left half the enormous main course we sold you' is?

That's not service, that's trying to get you to spend more than you intended to. As another poster says, they're not there constantly interrupting your conversations when you're trying to get the bill.

I do tip - around 10% for meals out, round up in cabs and a few quid extra at the hairdressers and beauticians.

However it is a good point that some folk are making around why tip when other minimum wage professions aren't able to supplement their income this way.

I guess to me it's because the people I tip have the ability to make the experience pleasant or not so much, in the case of going out to a restaurant, a good waiter/waitress makes all the difference to the experience and a bad one can spoil the enjoyment.

I have to say though that now when we go out for an expensive meal - say £100+ for the two of us, which we'll do for a special occasion say once a year - we'd tend to tip less as an overall percentage unless the service was absolutely fabulous as it's the same amount of work for the serving staff to open and pour a £30 bottle of wine as it is to do the same for a £15 one.

I'm genuinely by how many people on here don't tip - I'd be mortified if I was out with someone who didn't (although I wouldn't be rude enough to say so, I'd just discreetly add extra to make up for their stinginess).

It has always been customary to tip ten percent in England (not sure about the rest of the UK though) to hairdressers, taxi drivers and servers.

Hedgehog but it isn't customary to tip servers. I made the point earlier about breakfast waiting staff. These are routinely not tipped and it's not expected. In fact, I did want to tip breakfast staff in a hotel recently and was told they couldn't accept it. The distinctly average waiter the night before certainly expected a tip (but didn't deserve one).

There's nothing for you to be embarrassed about when others don't tip; they have their reasons, moreso than you do for tipping, in fact, given that you (and others) do so very arbitrarily.

Wow you guys are so mean! Spread the money around.

Spread my money around? Why should I? I've earnt it so I can spend it as I see fit. I will only tip exceptional service.

And there are people I'd far rather tip than waiters and hairdressers, but they tend to be people who do 'hidden' jobs.

I fail to see that "Can I bring you another drink?" or "Would you like to see the dessert menu?" is upselling. Basics of service, I would say.

Barbara I'm not being pedantic but unless it is a family diner type place or McDs, I honestly don't get this anywhere. We look at a menu, we order, we have what we want and that's it. BUT I'm not out with little kids anymore as mine are older so perhaps that's something to do with it, different type of restaurant. The most I get is... do you want the dessert menu and that's it

sailaway jinx!

'basics of service' - exactly! Nothing there to earn a tip.

Today 17:01 ElegantDream

Spread my money around? Why should I? I've earnt it so I can spend it as I see fit. I will only tip exceptional service.

Wow you sound so stingy. Me me me mine mine mine... nice