To think people should tip waiting staff?

[StudentMummy92]

Title says it all really.. providing good service is given of course.

But you will be inundated with tightwads with convoluted “reasons” as to why they don’t tip.

Do you tip bus drivers or roadsweepers or people who collect the trolleys at Asda or the postman or the assistant at the newsagent or the binmen (every time, not just a fiver at Christmas)....?

I hope you do tip them all - otherwise, what's your convoluted reason for being such a tightwad?

Tipping should be entirely discretionary. And the very last people who should be pressured, judged or made to feel guilty about tipping are OTHER NMW workers, some of whom will have far more unpleasant tasks to deal with.

I don’t get the need to tip to be honest. I tip if the service is particularly good otherwise I don’t see why I should pay extra. The staff are paid at least minimum wage same as some people I know who also deal with difficult people eg cleaners in schools and call centres or shop staff...

Doesn’t this custom of tipping come from a culture where waiting staff are paid less than other jobs?

The more threads I read on this subject, the less likely I feel inclined to tip waiting staff, mostly due to the massive sense of entitlement that comes across

I feel the same. But then I remind myself that posters on MN are hardly normal representative and many of those commenting may not ever have waitressed.

@easyandy101 well to me you're in the minority. Nobody who I know working in retail gets tips, and I don't know anyone who'd even think to tip the staff in a retail environment either 🤷‍♀️ doesn't seem to be the done thing here.

Tipping is generally for a personal service. My bus driver is not serving me personally- pretty dumb argument

Vulpine so a carer wiping someone's bum? More personal than bringing food to a table, I would say.

No and neither would i tip my dentist or doctor

I'm a server in the uk being tipped should only be when you get really good service, not just the bare minimum. I'd often not get breaks during a 14 hour shift as theres no staff, that wouldn't happen in a chain or supermarket. Minimum wage is not enough for amount I do.

Well, your dentist and doctor aren't on minimum wage. A care assistant probably is though.

fluffedup that's between your employer and you though. It's not the customer's responsibility.

@gingerRH
I agree thet nodbody deserves a tip more than another just for their job title/industry, .
as i work as a waiter i try to give the best expèrience to my customers as possible, it is in fact my job(and should not automaticly expect a tip). if said peron finds it neccasary to tip me i am more than happy to accept it, however my treatment will not and should not be any different to somone who tips me and someone who does not, it is a personal choice of the client.

i should also point out that i work in spain where the minimum wage is much lower than gthe uk, and there is no obligatory tips in any of the places i have worked.
i agree completely in not tipping a waiter who just does bare minimum, and also there are a lot of bad and rude waiters out there and i would be offended to be obliged to tip.

Nope

I'd often not get breaks during a 14 hour shift as theres no staff, that wouldn't happen in a chain or supermarket. Minimum wage is not enough for amount I do.

How is this an argument for tipping? This is a 'your employer is shite' statement. Nothing more.

Exactly @snowybaubles

How is this an argument for tipping? This is a 'your employer is shite' statement. Nothing more.

Indeed, and it’s passing responsibility to customers to do the employer’s job!

healthcare work is much more rewarding in other ways

You are the most ridiculous person I've seen on MN and that's saying a lot. 'Rewarding in other ways' doesn't pay anyone's bills. And because for some reason you are obsessed with the idea that your job is harder than retail because you spend 2 hours helping someone care workers often spend 12+ caring for a person who can also be difficult and that job is much harder than food service.

You have no idea and are coming across as completely entitled and naive.

Depends. I rarely eat out here, unless you count McDonald's.

I tend to tip my hairdresser who goes that extra mile. ( has opened up on days off or opened early for a special occasion, )
We occasionally tip here.
On holiday ( usually Spain Lanzarote and such) we rarely don't tip. I usually leave something for the cleaner or whoever does room if staying where it included.
Before I married 30+ years ago and lived rural , the bin man ,postie and milkman were all tipped at Christmas..
It just depends on where you live .

Tipping is generally for a personal service. My bus driver is not serving me personally- pretty dumb argument

Even if he lowered the floor at the entrance for you? Helped you get a pram on or off? Advised you on which stop is closest for where you're going?

Your binmen ARE serving you personally, though - they come to the edge of YOUR house, empty YOUR bin for YOU and then bring it back from the lorry.

As a PP said, there can't be many more personal services than those provided by a carer. Also, nursery workers may have to change your children's nappies and deal with 'accidents' - how is that less personal than bringing food and taking your empty plates away?

I'm not saying that waiters and waitresses aren't providing a valuable service, I just don't understand why they, along with hairdressers and taxi drivers, should get tips and other people who serve you in different ways and aren't on high salaries shouldn't.

It's very entitled to think that you should by rights be given more money for bringing food from a kitchen to a table when you wouldn't dream of giving more money to somebody at Screwfix for bringing the goods you've ordered from several drawers or shelves to the counter. What's the difference?

healthcare work is much more rewarding in other ways

That must be why people are queuing up to volunteer to wipe bums, mop up blood, touch fungus-encrusted toenails and stick their faces into people's halitoxic mouths for no pay, then....

It’s a convention to tip wait staff. The fact other jobs are also service jobs / low paid/ hideous is neither here nor there. Irrelevant.

It would be embarrassing to be out for a meal with people that don’t tip. But it’s never happened to me ever so always surprised there are so many are non tippers as have never come across one myself.

It’s a convention to tip wait staff.

So? It used to be convention for women to deflect to men for everything. It used to be convention for women working to be unheard of. It used to be convention to treat the mentally ill with little to no careZ

Convention isn’t a legitimate reason to do anything.

They get paid for their job same as anyone else. They are no more or less deserving than others. Pleasant, good service should be the expected norm, not something you should be paid extra for.

In the case of the OP, as she has revealed, she is unhappy and apparently feels under appreciated for waiting tables. That is something she needs to fix herself, not expect it to be masked over by other people’s money.

always surprised there are so many are non tippers as have never come across one myself.

The question the OP asked was SHOULD people tip waiting staff. Those answering that people shouldn't are not necessarily saying that they themselves don't. I personally DO tend to tip, as I know it's expected; but I still think that it shouldn't be expected.

Plenty of people do things to keep the peace that they don't necessarily agree with. It's hardly the time or the place to have this lengthy same discussion with the server and give my well thought-out reasons as to why I'm not tipping - practically speaking, my choices are either to tip and keep the peace or not to tip and be automatically assumed to be a tightwad.

I also don't understand why the convention is a certain percentage of the total bill. Does it take more skill or effort to bring a lobster to a table than a bowl of soup? If the justification for this is that wealthier people or those out for a very special occasion (ordering more expensive dishes), can afford to pay more, then that just proves that it's a handout and not a just reward for services rendered.

always surprised there are so many are non tippers as have never come across one myself.

I've never come across a tipper, in the UK anyway.

DH tips waiters, taxi drivers and hairdressers. If the service is bad we don't tip.
I don't tip the binmen, Iv already paid to have my bins emptied