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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Exact 10% tip

169 replies

piginboots · 04/02/2017 20:41

Dp and I went out for dinner this evening. Food and service both good, nothing outstanding but no complaints either. Meal came to £33.20 and we agreed that I'd pay (by card), he would tip (in cash). He tipped £3.32 exactly. Imo this is rude and he should have rounded up. He (obviously) disagrees. Who is being unreasonable?

OP posts:
user1478860582 · 04/02/2017 22:00

Oh trainspotting are you one of those people who can pick a fight in an empty room?

ImperialBlether · 04/02/2017 22:04

There's a massive difference between clicking "Add 10%" and rooting through your pockets for the exact money.

TheCustomaryMethod · 04/02/2017 22:06

It is odd that, in this context, £3.32 looks far meaner than £3.00!

I don't think it would seem penny-pinching if it had been added to the bill via the card reader - I suppose it's that the effort of counting out 32p in change makes it look as though a point is being made.

I usually tip 10% but will sometimes round down rather than up.

RedSauce · 04/02/2017 22:09

I don't see the problem tbh. If the normal amount is 10%, you'd only round up if paying with cash because it's awkward to give exact change. That's not an issue when paying with card so just type in the exact amount. No issue.

Mrsmadevans · 04/02/2017 22:14

Ruddy hell op he is a right tightwad ! Make him pay all the time and you do the tipping lol

CommunionHelp · 04/02/2017 22:14

He's obviously happy to tip, but to make it so exact looks unavoidably penny pinchy and slightly odd. By that I mean that I've never seen anyone do it before.

Having no money is a separate issue to being tight, which is a massively unattractive trait.

Revenant · 04/02/2017 22:20

not tipping is acceptable in the uk
I disagree.

ImperialBlether · 04/02/2017 22:28

I disagree, too!

RedSauce · 04/02/2017 22:31

It's normal to tip 10%, rounding up is only a case of convenience. So tipping 10% exactly on a card is not "tight" in the slightest.

TheCustomaryMethod · 04/02/2017 22:36

RedSauce - in the OP's case, it was a cash tip:

we agreed that I'd pay (by card), he would tip (in cash)

Megatherium · 04/02/2017 22:39

Weird, because it's only on MN that I come across people who don't tip.

Likewise. I can't ever remember going out with anyone for a meal - whether it's friends, work colleagues, or just people I've met casually on, say, guided holidays - when anyone refused to tip, with the obvious exception of occasions when there was bad service.

MyWineTime · 04/02/2017 22:43

I doubt that most waiting staff would even realise that it had been counted out to make 10%, they would just assume it was some loose change that had been left.

ChangeTime · 04/02/2017 22:47

The OP partners will be delighted, not only did he manage to wind up his DP but he has wound up MumsNet too. 😉

KungFuEric · 04/02/2017 22:47

I think a lot depends on the dining experience and the level of service offered. Having worked in different levels of hospitality I would say there's a 50/50 split between non tippers and those that do as a general overview.

I don't think there's anything wrong with not paying a tip, particularly if the service has been less than good.

sandragreen · 04/02/2017 22:48

I think this would freak me out a bit but I am not sure why......

It's definitely the 32p that's the issue. I would be panicking that all the labels on his cans of beans had to face front.

melj1213 · 04/02/2017 22:53

I think it's the specificity of going ot the effort of finding 32p just so it was exactly 10% that makes it feel a bit like he's trying to make some sort of strange point.

If my friends and I go out, we tend to pay cash, so we will leave whatever coins come back and usually take out coppers and throw in maybe an extra pound coin or 50p instead (depending on the specific total involved). If we pay by card, we will all throw in a pound or whatever change we have, but we try to keep it to 50/20ps because it's just easier.

I was a waitress all the way through high school & University, any tips I got were always appreciated, but if someone was going to got to the point of putting in an odd amount of change like 32p just to make it exactly a 10% tip, we'd probably talk about it amongst ourselves - not in a negative way more in a "Seriously, who is that specific, weird" way.

ArcheryAnnie · 04/02/2017 22:55

I'd think it was stingy and weird. I usually tip more at the 15% end of the 10%-15% spectrum anyway, and to count out pennies makes you look bonkers.

So yes, round up.

Gabilan · 04/02/2017 22:57

Could be coincidence. I've had similar happen. Shake out loose change and it's near as dammit 10% to the penny. I'm not keen on the whole "more generous than thou" tipping culture. I'll tip if the service is good. If it's so-so I don't.

Meffy · 04/02/2017 23:08

We've just been to Giraffe. They automatically add 10% to their bill for service charge..... so we paid the bill .
If they hadn't the bill was £50.90 without service ... we would have left the £60 in cash .... instead we paid in the card the exact amount they asked including the service!

Sara107 · 04/02/2017 23:13

Imperialblether, unlikely as it may seem, my mil will tip with pennies. Literally. Left on the table, a few coppers and maybe a silver or two. The tip might amount to 15 or 20 pence.

RustyPaperclip · 04/02/2017 23:16

I would have at least given £4, if not a fiver. There has only been one occasion when I refused to tip and that was when we had to ask for a bottle of wine 5 times during our meal and it still didn't arrive until we had finished and then we had to drink it at the bar. Even then I felt bad for not tipping Blush

I have friends who refuse to tip but I have worked as a waitress and appreciate the extra money can make a big difference

RedSauce · 05/02/2017 00:46

Oh I've just seen that he tipped in cash, not on card. Misread the OP, sorry!! In that case yes he's very weird!!

OlennasWimple · 05/02/2017 00:54

As pp have said, it's the precise 32p that is odd - even £3.40 with some pound coins and two 20p pieces would have been less odd.

I always tip, but TBH sometimes resent the tipping culture in the US (20% is standard, which significantly ups the cost of things like a hair cut ).

FrozeninSummer · 05/02/2017 04:14

Don't think it's tight at all...At least he tips. When I was a waitress we'd be lucky to get tips from 50% of customers. However agree it's the 32p that's a little bit odd....We always tip and aim for around 10% but it will often depend on what change we have whether wed have rounded up or down. In your circumstances, if I didn't have £3.50 or £4 I'd have probably tipped £3 rather than £3.32.

FrozeninSummer · 05/02/2017 04:17

mega I imagine that's because people probably act differently when out with friends etc, as part of a big group etc and don't want to look bad in front of friends.
On their own or as part of a couple it may be different. Not saying your friends are tight wads just illustrating that it's not necessarily a fair indicator.