Forced to tip in (not so fancy) restaurant... card payment...

[Forforkssake1]

Aibu to think it's so awkward when you pay a bill and the waitress stands there and hands you a card machine which asks if you'd like to leave a tip? The service was ok, the food was ok, but the glasses were dirty, and one of the meals came much later then the others and one of the sauces had congealed goop on it... because I have no backbone didn't want to make a scene I don't complain, and tipped 10%. Because I felt PRESSURED in to it. When did tipping become such a regular thing in the UK?

Aibu to think the should just up the cost of meals so you don't have to tip?!

When I was getting tips as a student I earned so little as to be under the thresholds for paying income tax.

I will never leave a cash tip as It's most likely supporting tax evasion. Taxes should be paid.

This reminds me of a headline a few years back that made me laugh: 'Ed Balls, a man who would demand a receipt from a busker'.

I certainly do hope that the waiters slip whatever I give them in their pocket and forget about it.

The machine thing where you're prompted for a tip is terribly awkward. I normally tip (always cash, if I have it) but on rare occasions where my nose is out of joint for horrendous service it's a painful song and dance.

I think tipping just gives businesses an excuse to pay their staff less. Waiting isn’t easy, I have done it.

I worked in a post restaurant as a teenager, I was paid a rubbish wage but used to take home £50 in tips on a bust night (usually a busy Friday or Saturday), if anyone asked for a pay rise we would be reminded how much we take home in tips. Businesses should pay their staff a better wage and stop pressurising people to tip when they have already paid a fortune for their meal.

I find it quite convenient as I don't always have change and if I'm happy with the service then I'd like to give something (especially if my 2 little ones have made a mess!)
However I also don't mind pressing the 'no' button if I'm not happy as I'm unlikely to be going back!

@jenny17 with having to combine then split all tips with other servers and wait staff I get about £15 on a 6 hour shift, and I work two a week which takes my earnings to a grand total of around £6200. This is the same for most of the people I work with.

If you don’t want to tip just don’t tip but don’t start accusing people of tax evasion

Crap server, no tip.

Quite right, I recall a US site about tipping, one guy said that if the service was poor he only left 10%. What's the American for 'They saw you coming'!
We were once given a bill with 10% already added 'for your convenience', OH commented on this and they offered to remove it to which he replied 'No, leave it, I was planning on 15%'.

Oliviastabler, What difference does it actually make how MUCH was spent on food and drink? It was delivered in the same way, on the same plates, at the same frequency?

Quantifying the amount spent is just smoke and mirrors; that's a restaurant owner's decision in setting the menu, not a diner's and there's no expectation (or shouldn't be) that tips should be pro-rata'ed. They're for service, nothing else.

I prefer to leave the tip as cash, as I think (though don't actually know) that it's more likely to go to my actual waiter/waitress.

OP - remember that the tip is for the wait staff as is a reflection of their service. The quality of the food has nothing to do with it - you should complain and ask for a discount if you're unhappy with the food.

Other servers and kitchen staff*

I never tip. Like others said, they will be at least on minimum wage, so why should they be tipped for doing their job when someone else in a min wage job doesn't get tipped?

Would you tip the person who scanned your shopping at the supermarket? No, well they are probably on minimum wage or thereabouts and they are just doing their job so why don't they get tipped?

Did she actually say anything or did you just feel you ought to press 'tip'?

I think you need to toughen up, to be blunt. I never tip on a card but leave cash for good service and a good experience. In this case, though, I'd have pointed out the dirty glasses, late meal and goopy sauce. It's not 'making a scene' and it is perfectly possible to point out things like this pleasantly and quietly.

I only tip in cash.
I have a couple of friends working in restaurants and the restaurant was keeping a big percentage of tips left on card (something around 30%), I do not want to tip the restaurant, but the waiter/waitress.

If i was to open a resturant I would put the tipping policy on the menu, something like '50%will go to server and 50% split between cooks and cleaning staff (just random fugues I haven't given this much thought).

One cafe I used to go to had a tip jar and the owner kept all the tips! She didn't even work in there! It's very cheeky

Whatever your views on tipping, if you're going to leave one in cash PLEASE don't just leave 63p in coppers mixed up with pocket fluff. It's beyond insulting for the server, best to leave nothing at all in that situation!

@wheelygo sorry if I offended you or anyone else but I didn't accuse anyone of tax evasion, however leaving a tip in cash to avoid tax would be most likely supporting tax evasion for anyone working full time as employers tax tips from card payments as part of paye but not cash tips.

One cafe I used to go to had a tip jar and the owner kept all the tips! She didn't even work in there! It's very cheeky

What are these people thinking?

however leaving a tip in cash to avoid tax would be most likely supporting tax evasion for anyone working full time as employers tax tips from card payments as part of paye but not cash tips.

I'm delighted for someone working hard on minimum wage to avoid paying tax.

10% in cash tipper here, sometimes more if exceptional.

I do often wonder, though, if people have an inbuilt 'ceiling' on tips. So, adding £10 to a £100 bill is fine but do you pay £40 on a £400 bill or £100 on a £1000 bill? I do, but most of my higher bills are work expenses and quite frankly they can afford it. When it's the 2 of us, I struggle to get DH to add 10% if that amounts to more than £20 (IYSWIM).

We always decline on the card and pay any tip we are giving in cash to the server. It really isn't a problem!

I always say no and leave cash (unless it's dire) ranging from £2 (Nando's) to £10 (slightly more high brow)

a bit ot but what has happened to frankie and bennys

it used to be good food great music now its not better than a mcdonalds-i only go with fmaily as they get 2for 1 and i think the food is shocking now

Apparently service charge isn't necessarily passed onto staff but tips have to passed onto staff as it's illegal not to.

Not sure if they still do it, it was 10 years ago

@DayManChampionOfTheSun it must have been nationwide at Frankie & Benny's because we had exactly the same thing. 20% of our section takings had to go to the kitchen - regardless of how much we got in tips that day. I remember a particularly long day filled with kids parties - where you had to work your arse off. And got £5 in tips, obviously didn't cover 20% of the days takings for my section, I had to add that on to my next shift.
Hideous place.

Sorry but I always press no. If I feel the service has been good (sadly a rare event in the UK), I'll leave a cash tip for the wait staff. More often than not, I'll leave nothing.