To ask IF you leave a server a tip.....

[username77668899]

To ask them (especially with card machines) how much of it they personally get. If you like to tip for exceptional service when you eat out, due to the recent change in the law regarding tips please ask your server if they actually get a decent amount of the money you leave. I'm not here for a debate, I simply want people to know that some companies are distributing it evenly between all staff - which to be honest is grossly unfair when managers and chefs aren't the ones on minimum wage 🙂

Hahahaha the tips I am now losing and my reviews say otherwise but unless you have anything else constructive to add i won't be replying to you again. My thread is not a personal attack on you 🙂

Honestly, I don’t think customers should be the ones to police this. If companies have unfair policies, staff need to complain.

A couple of years ago we had a horrendous week, traveled and ended up having in a chain restaurant- food was okay but not fantastic. The waitress was fabulous and that changed all our moods. DD asked if she gets the tip and she said she gets half and the kitchen gets half.

This bugged me so I sent a card with a £10. I just hope she didn’t have to share that.

I have a couple of friends that do this, very well meaning, but I think sometimes the staff can't answer honestly. If anything they'll be inclined to encourage a cash tip on top.
If in doubt deduct the service and leave cash tip of at least 12.5% for your specific server.
I always tip. Even if the food is crap, if the servers handle it graciously, it's not their fault if the kitchen sucks.

It's go nothing to do with me. But you seem to think you have an extremely difficult job, so that suggests you're not great, or you'd find it easier.

Restaurant owner here. We don't add service charges. We ask that any tips given as cash. If taken by card 20% goes to the tax man.

All tips are shared between FOH and Kitchen porters only. It might mean less than they would like but no arguments!

If you saw the arguments over tips that I have you would understand why!

However customers complain because they want to tips via card

BTW all our staff are above minimum wage. I am the owner and running costs are high, just myself take a lot less than my staff.

We aren't a chain but we try to be fair.

The restaurant trade is dire right now. Income to the restaurant might look high but the running costs are higher!

Also IMO Kitchen porters work damn hard! A lot harder than the waiting staff!

Yeah I know it’s not what the thread is debating but I agree! Next time I go to the US I may just hire a self catering apartment or a hotel suite with some cooking facilities so I can reduce how much I go out to eat. It was awful last time. Once I went to a food hall and ordered something at the counter and it asked me for a tip on the screen.

I declined and when the counter guy came back with my food he looked at the receipt which had came out and glared at me. Absolutely ridiculous. I wasn’t even eating inside there.

Re. The tips being split I think everyone should get a fair split. Not just the servers!

I’ve worked as a waitress and also in kitchen porter type roles.

Admittedly I haven’t waitressed for just over 10 years. We used to keep our cash and card tips individually however we would have to pay the kitchen plate money. This plate money was a charge essentially from each waitress to the kitchen for every cover. We would also give supporting staff some money at the end of the night. Really disagree with the previous poster saying the waiting staff are not working as hard as the kitchen staff. At my old place of work the waitresses didn’t get a break at all if working busy weekends, all other staff did!

I share all our tips in a kind of pro rata way for our staff. We share them out quarterly so it feels like a good amount, although we're only a cafe rather than a restaurant so not huge amounts. Everyone is on the same wage so it's only fair that's it's split between front and back of house staff.

It's very rare we get a card tip but if we do I just take the cash out of the till and them don't ring through the next cash payment for the same amount.

Basically, all the staff get a pro rata share of all tips that are left, whether it be cash or card, generally around £750 a quarter in total. Personally, I always tip in cash

Next time I go to the US I may just hire a self catering apartment or a hotel suite with some cooking facilities so I can reduce how much I go out to eat

That might help with the eating out, @Daytrips, but it won't save you ffrom the airport taxi driver, the doorman, the guide on any trip you take, the person who services your room, any food deliveries ...

FWIW I'm not keen either, but in the US if it moves they tip it, so I just suck it up when there

Sadly true ! Tipping certainly is everywhere in the US but I’ll cut down on deliveries and eating out as that’s mainly where my requests for tips came from.

The main other source was Uber but that’s through the app after the journey has ended and felt like less pressure. I have a lot of friends there so thankfully often they’d drive me places but actually I found Uber cheaper than where I live in the UK and the drivers super helpful , so I didn’t mind tipping.

I used to live there so I tend to be quite adventurous and organise my own activities which don’t involve tour guides. But I did a cooking class that cost about $150 and I was glad that none of the Americans in my class tipped either, it was nice and all but I feel we had paid enough. I prefer higher priced activities with no tips than more lower priced with a $20 tip expectation.

Edit: it was Lyft not Uber!

Sounds like a plan, @Daytrips
And yes, I live there myself half the year and still have to sort out which "hat" I'm wearing each time I arrive ... which doesn't stop my American friends saying I'm too British and my British ones saying I've turned into an American!!

Most places charge 15% service charge. It's just an additional charge it's not for good service.

I would prefer for the tips to be shared equally amongst all staff tbh.

Fellow restaurant owner here.

You do not need to be giving 20% of the tips to HMRC, Tips are exempt of VAT. You just need to split them out from your takings (most card machines do it automatically on the end of night report) and account for them separately.

From gov.uk website
4. VAT
Tips are outside the scope of VAT when genuinely freely given. This is regardless of whether:
• the customer requires the amount to be included on the bill
• payment is made by cheque or credit or debit card
• the amount is passed to employees
Restaurant service charges are part of the consideration for the underlying supply of the meals if customers are required to pay them. This means they are standard rated.
If customers have a genuine option as to whether to pay the service charges, it is accepted that they are not a consideration (even if the amounts appear on the invoice). This means they fall outside the scope of VAT.
HTH

And for the record, KPs Pot wash, kitchen assistant are equally deserving of tips as servers/waiting staff. Sadly OP if you can't see that I suspect you're not much of a team player generally.

I’m only a little jealous 😂 I’d love to spend half the year in the US! I was there a month this year and absolutely loved it.

I’d spend October-March there if I could.

I think distributing the tips is fairer as I see no difference in value between the person have to wash up my plates to the person cleaning the table. I am however struggling with the increasing expectations on tipping, and the creaping percentage of the forced discretionary service charges. So many other minimum wage roles just don't get tipped at all so there is now a big discrepancy of expectations of treatment between sectors.

Yeah the whole thing is unfair. I used to work in call centre roles, relentless calls not one minute to myself , shouty customers, timed toilet breaks which was fun on my periods . Waitressing or kitchen porter work wasn’t a walk in the park but much preferred it to call centre and even clothes retail work.

Why was one rewarded with tips and the other wasn’t?

If someone didn’t tip me I never used to be annoyed, apart from the fact I’m not entitled to any more than my wages - for all I know they could be earning similar to me and not getting tips, so actually getting less overall.

And I’m talking about this in the Uk context btw, we all know America has a weird messed up system where some staff in certain states rely on tips to make up MW So that’s another discussion completely.

Tbh I usually don’t tip. Especially if I’m eating alone and have just had a quick stop at a lunch place and ordered a couple of things.

My very thick hair takes ages to do so my hairdresser kind adds on her own tip as I know she charges me more than the standard prices so I guess that’s her tip?! 😂

I go to quite a fancy expensive nail salon that I like and I prepay. There seems to be less of a tipping culture there.I’d rather do that than go to a cheaper one and have to tip.

I used to have a brilliant cleaner that did an amazing job for such a good price and I chose to tip. Also have a regular DIY guy who is lovely and I choose to tip. But usually I won’t.

@Thunderpunt it still had to have income tax paid on it and had to be shown on the payslip!

https://www.gov.uk/tips-at-work/tips-and-tax#:~:text=You%20have%20to%20pay%20Income,are%20managed%20at%20your%20workplace