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?!

Dp and i went to lunch.Paid by card,and was asked if we would like to leave a tip on the card.We said no,server none too happy.

Except we where going to leave a cash tip,but we didnt.

As someone who worked as a waitress whilst at school I will never compromise someones food if I know they are not a tipper. However, if you arrive at the same time as another table I can guarantee that I will bring their menus, take their order, prepare their drinks and be more attentive than to you. I would never be rude but if I know it's a fruitless endeavour why would I go the extra mile rather than just doing my job.

I hate tipping as I want to know exactly what I am paying so I can budget for it.

That said, my mother worked as a waitress and really relied on tips to survive.

I tip ten per cent but would rather not.

@mrsgollach companies don’t pay tax on tips paid by card. Service is separated out on the pdq totals and on the tills software

The culture of tipping in restaurants is bizarre, unfair and unjustifable (at least in the UK) for all sorts of reasons:

a) Why should the waiting staff should be tipped but not the kitchen staff... Yes, some places split it out, but this is often not the case, but the feeling (as confirmed on here) is that it’s a extra for ‘service’ and shouldn’t depend on food quality

b) why is the expectation that the quality of service proportional to the cost of the meal (ie the socially accepted 10%)? It makes no sense. Are waiters in fancy restaurants that charge £100 per head five times more worthy than one that charges £20?

c) in what other area of life would we think it reasonable for someone’s pay (and tipping is factored in to remuneration decisions - I.e. no need to pay more than NMW as they’ll be getting tips) to be determined on the whim of the customer? Imagine if we paid teachers or nurses less than they do currently on the basis that they will make up their pay from parent/patient?

I do still sometimes tip as I feel a social obligation in many circumstsnces, which i admit is hypocrisy and cowardice, but I strongly dislike the practice. I think most of us do it because we don’t want to feel or be seen as skinflints.... but we’re just perpetuating a regressive and unfair practice. Generosity is good, but surely it’s far better to express that through giving the £10 or whatever you tip, to a charity instead.

The sooner the custom for tipping does out the better!.... with the possible exception of wanting to reward truly exceptional service

@Oakenbeach
A. I can't speak for all restaurants but the one I work in pays chefs between £8 and £9.50 an hour, and a small percentage of card tips, whereas servers receive minimum wage.
B. Generally a larger bill would have required more work. Serving a table of 20 is far harder work than serving a table of 2. Similarly, running 6 or 7 rounds of drinks to a table of 4 is hard work.
C. It is not a requirement to tip. I have worked in hospitality for nine years, and previously in retail, which was an absolute breeze in comparison. Unfortunately people who come into restaurants can be pricks and often look down on restaurant staff. I have had glasses thrown at me and cleaned up actual shit from toilets more times than I care to count, neither of which are in my actual job description. Servers can go "above and beyond" for customers (when circumstances allow) and offer personalised service in more ways than NHS or teaching allow. For example, we have regulars whose names and favourite drinks we know. We can buy them drinks or give away free desserts on birthdays (which we remember the dates of). We can prioritise food orders for people in a hurry. We can open specific sections of the restaurant to certain people who require quiet areas, even if it is massively inconvenient for us etc.

I don’t ever leave a tip on card machine and unless service had been absolutely terrible I usually leave 10% in cash - I know a lot of restaurant workers earn minimum wage and rely on tips to make up their wage. Agree with another comment it’s not a new thing to tip!!

I have to say, I never ever tip. You wouldn’t tip a checkout/shop assistant, a bus driver, nor a nurse (which I am ) so why is it always expected that a tip is left in a restaurant/coffee shop. People get paid to do their jobs and professionalism, respect and a good service should be taught by employers to employees that it is part of their role regardless - otherwise, they should be out of a job.

Tipping has always been a thing, at least in my lifetime and I’m not terribly young! However just click no. If I want to leave a tip (i’ll usually leave something unless it’s been really awful - Frankie and bennys, I’m talking about you- the amount depends on how good the service) it will always be in cash

@unihorn

A) Chefs probably should be paid more than waiting staff due to the training required. But you reinforce my point that tips are going mainly (if not wholly) to serving staff and that’s hardly fair.

B) of course waiting on 20 people is harder work than 2 people, but that’s not my point. Rather, serving a £55 lobster Thermidor and a £25 glass of Bordeaux is no more worthy (or at least not 5 times as worthy!) as serving a £12 Lasagne and a £4 glass of the house red..... yet the 10% ‘rule’ applies regardless. Ridiculous!

C) If servers genuinely go above and beyond then I have no issue in tipping for exceptional service... but that’s not the culture. The culture is to tip unless service is really bad, and even then people feel like they should tip. The more people feel waiting staff are at their mercy regarding their pay (ie the portion they get from tips), the more likely they are to feel superior and be unreasonable imo.

Just say no!

Unihorn, you sound very dedicated and I know that your service would earn you good tips, certainly from me. I go to a not-very-local Harvester because the staff there are excellent. I tip them, bring chocolates for Christmas and just generally really, really make them feel appreciated (because they are).

I'm sorry to read that you receive so much abuse from some in your job. That's unacceptable and it would have to be some kind of thick troll of a customer that throws anything at you. I'm angry that your management isn't stepping in to get those kind of morons thrown out - because they should be supporting you, making you feel valued and how the hell can you feel that when it's clear that they don't prioritise your safety and wellbeing? I would stick up for you if I saw a customer abusing you because I know that you're hamstrung with what you can and can't say. Your management is responsible for handling the shoddy treatment of you and your team. Every bit of it.

I've said this on another thread but I can't think of a tip that would make accepting this sort of behaviour 'okay'. It just wouldn't. How can money from appreciative customers make up for being abused by troll customers? Appreciative customers will be appreciative of you regardless.

Regarding the level of tips increasing exponentially with the bill. That is hogwash really because a cover set of 2 can easily rack up £200+ depending on what they order. They're still two people.

A service charge for larger parties is fair enough, the demands of a larger party will divert serving staff more frequently - and for longer - but that's separate from tipping and I think some people don't understand this.

I will always tip for good service. Always. But not mediocre/average service. I expect people to do their jobs, I have to do mine.

I had drinks recently in a local cocktail bar, no food. We asked for a certain beer on the menu and were told it wasn't available, and they recommended another, which we agreed to. Then came back and told us that one also was unavailable, but recommended another and said that one would be on the house. The bill came with an additional 15% charge for staff!! I thought that was pretty steep and it didn't sound like it was compulsory, it was added to the bill and I also think it was mentioned in the menu.

Waitress here. You 100% don't have to leave card gratuity or pay service charge. It's not compulsory. Tips are nice but they shouldn't be expected and they shouldn't be used to top up wages--which loads of places do. If you don't want to pay service charge ask for it to be taken off, you cant be refused.

If you tip due to discomfort but are unhappy with the meal/experience then be sure to write a tripadvisor review about what you did/didn't like - that'll have more of an influence over the restaurant's future quality than anything else.