do you tip?

[theman]

just wondering.if it's been done before i apologise and will ask for the thread deleted. just wondering what the general consensus is in the uk and among other poster.

I tip in resturaunts and hair saloons. The amount I tip is usually directly related to the service I recieved.

The lady does my hair gets $15-20 tip because I get my hair colored weaved...(takes a long time)
But when my boys get thier hair done it is usually $2 per haircut.

Bell hops $1 a bag...

My dp is always chuffed when he finds a country that doesn't have tipping as part of the culture as well. I suppose it does make it easier for everyone then.

PenelopePitstops, that's all very to say about bar staff but what about all the other jobs that don't get tips.

When i worked in dp's bakery all the staff have to deal with customers everyday, most of which are rude to you and look down on you because they think your just a shop girl. Plus the shop gets very busy so you run around like a blue ass fly constantly doing things. The rolls are all made to order so you get the office workers come in, most who so up their own ass with self importance, watching you make their rolls up and talking to you like a divvy if you don't put enough filling in (god forbid). Some say's i used to just wanna shut the door and tell them to all bugger off. But you can't do that, you have to just grin a bear it.

Many shop staff get treated this way and shop staff don't get tipped either.

Always tip 10% in restaurants, tip taxi drivers, sometimes tip the hairdresser if I have change.

US tipping is ridiculous, in Las Vegas it cost us huge amounts of money just to get checked in, you had to tip the guy who took your car, then a different one who took your luggage to the front desk, then another one to take your luggage up to your room. The worst was getting a taxi, there was a queue of taxis outside the hotel, at least 10 of them, yet you had to tip some guy at least a dollar to "get" you a taxi that was already there.

Then we stayed in a really upmarket resort in the Rockies it was DB&B and was already costing about $500 a day. We had saved up for it as it was our honeymoon, every single bloody person we came in contact with expected money. At breakfast although it was inclusive, they gave us a bill for an 18% tip, likewise for dinner. They provided envelopes so on a daily basis we could tip the cleaner $10, the concierge another $10 and front desk another one.

Discussed this with some Americans, they just don't get it and go oh its just a buck or a couple of bucks. I'm not against tipping as such but I like to think I am getting something for it.

so.... theman - are you are regular customer anywhere where tipping would be the norm? If so what kind of service do you get?

Rookiemum - what I don't understand is why porters take your luggage to your room (and wait for a tip) but you have to carry it down to check out. I'd gladly tip them some loose change if they fetched my cases for me.

tip hairdressers about a fiver.

Restaurant staff about 10-15%, but always in cash, not on card, as I believe the restaurants use tips to make up the minimum wage for the staff (or is this an urban myth?) In any case, if it's true at least the staff can then just put the cash in their pocket.

Years of waitressing as a teenager mean I am always nice to waiting staff!!

I think that those telling theman that he is being "narrow minded" are being ridiculous. It is not a social responsibility to subsidise the wages of bar staff and waiters. By working solely on the facts that these staff are low paid, you assume so much. You do not know anything about the person serving you. Maybe they are a student, working to earn drinking money for their round the world fuck about gap year. To assume that they are all living on the poverty line and therefore deserve your charity whether or not they do a good job stinks.

I am not saying that if we all stop tipping then it will naturally follow that restaurants will up wages, but as long as it is just accepted rule that waiters pay is low because you get tips, then there is no reason to pay them any more.

A tip should be for good service, not as a standard. Tipping a barkeep for getting you a pint (it's hardly hard work) is ridiculous. Tipping a hairdresser for a £30 haircut!

All this crap about them "choosing to serve you" is just that, crap. They are paid to serve you, it is their job. They are not doing you a favour.

Just to add, if I get good service in a restaurant, I do tip. But good service. Miserable staff and a long wait should not mean a tip should be given.

And when exactly is a tip "expected"?

I don't tip at a carvery resturant. Is that wrong?

No!

They don't even wait on you at those!

Yes...waiting staff in restaurants..10-15% i guess
Taxi drivers
Hairdressers
workmen...ie decorators, removal men etc

and then i tip the following at xmas

refuse collectors
postman
online shopping man

Yes I always tip if I pleased with the service. If I am not, the only tip they get is to do something about their lousy service!

Bookwormtailmum, I always ring down reception and get the porter to come and take our bags and that is one occasion I don't mind tipping at all.

just had a quick skim through this thread, i am a taxi driver and I would say that I get tipped 8 out of 10 times.

I would also like to point out that I am not a robbing FUCKER, in fact as I have only been doing it for a couple of months I always double check with the passenger if they are happy with the way I am going and if they think it is the shortest route. I would feel mortified if I felt I was ripping anyone off, had a couple of dodgy moments when have gone the wrong way and knocked money off the fare.

My brother is a chef and is saving his tips at the moment to pay for his wedding. The tips are very important for him to be able to afford the little luxuries in life that his pay just wouldn't cover.

I always tip in restaurants if I was happy with the meal and the service, and the hairdresser. Would normally round up the taxi fare.

I don't see a tip as a part of the employees wages, it shows my appreciation of the good service.

If I am happy .... YES. I have been out with dhs family members and also our friends and have had to encourage them to tip. V embarrassing

Basically, tipping is just customary.
It is the way the service industry works. Theman, I would suggest that insetad of looking at it as a secondary charge for the service you have received you could look at it as a normal part of the cost of your meal (for example) which you can choose to withhold if you are not happy. Surely that is better than being charged for it up front and having no recourse if the waiter is shirty?

BTW I tipped a supermarket delivery guy once and he looked very confused - haven't done it since.

If i had a good time i tip but only because i know what site wages most waitresses/waiters get payed as i used to be one for a very long time and a tip makes you kind of feel appreciated.

Blimey I'm, tight. I would never have thought of tipping Sainsburys delivery man!

I would tip milk man at christmas if we had one, or the bin men if they did a good job but they don't, and are generally rude.

The only tips I ever give are after a decently served meal, or if I take my children to my hairdressers.

I am from Oz, and we don't tip there (generally, I hear it's becoming more common...)

I've been in the UK for several years now, so am getting better at tipping - I tip when I go out for a meal, and I tip the taxi driver.

I don't tip the hairdresser. I know I should but I don't know how. Do I pay the girl who washes my hair? Or just the one who "does" my hair? I have thought about adding a tip to the credit card voucher but there is no space for a tip. I have been going there for a few years, never tipped, so it's kind of embarrassing!

mm2bys, I'm froem Oz too and in Sydney tippping is just as standard as it is here on London!

Good point though - how do you tip your hairdresser? No space on cc slip, so do you hand cash to the guy at reception?

Hi SweetyDarling, I am from Brisbane. Has it always been that way? I have been here since 1998 and I don't remember tipping much at all there.

When we first got here we went to Turkey, and there was a little boy doing "shoe-shines". We told him no, and then he wanted to guess where we were from - he went through a whole range of countries, US, UK, Poland, New Zealand, etc, and when he eventually got to Australia he rolled his eyes and said "oh, poor person". Made us think we (Aussies) must have a reputation for being poor tippers!

As I said though, we've been here coming up 9 years, and we've only spent a few weeks back in Australia since then (not in Sydney) but it does seem like tipping is becoming more common-place (even in Bris Vegas!)