To stop tipping?

[DavAtTheCampaignForMoreBankHolidays]

Like ever?

Everything is already so expensive and sometimes the people Im paying earn more than I do.

I know some people will say that if I cant afford to tip the hairdresser, I cant afford to go there and maybe that's true. But when my cut and colour is already £160, an extra 10% is a lot.

Last time I ate out, the server showed us to the table, then pointed out the QR code to order, then disappeared until she bought our food and pointed out the QR code to pay. We didnt see her again. Then when we paid, the app had the cheek to ask for a 20% tip!

@LighthouseTeaCup what do you do in the scenario where restaurants have already added the service charge to the bill before they bring it to you? This happens so much in London especially and I really resent it. You can request for it to be removed but I feel too awkward and embarrassed to do that.

That's only happened once or twice to me - we must be eating out in different circles 🤣 Yes, I asked for the service charge to be removed. Bloody cheek. The restaurant is relying on our embarrassment here. They're the problem, not us!

Poor waiting staff

I would love to know what % of people are still tipping in restaurants.

We rarely eat out now but when we do, adding 10% when burgers are nearly £20 and a pint of beer £8 is a lot. Last time the 4 of us went out for a modest meal I tipped a 17 year old more than my 18 year old's hourly wage. And we were just one of many tables that night. I know they will share the tips with other staff but still, is that 17 year old absolutely raking it in? Am I being a sap paying more than I have to for expensive food?

My particular bugbear is when I ask about gluten free options and they point me at a QR code. I do not want to spend 10 mins antisocially staring at my phone trying to download essentially a big picture with no wifi. Or looking up their WiFi code and tapping it into my phone. Just tell me what you serve that I can eat.

The minimum wage and its increases means this is no longer strictly accurate. Hospitality workers are no longer paid worse than others on minimum wage wage.

We went into a pub the other day, for lunch.
You go to the bar to order, and are given an alarm -type thing, to go and collect the food from the bar.

You pay after placing the order, so before any food has arrived. There was a 10% service charge included in the price of the food, in small print at the bottom of the menu.
I was asked on the card payer to give a 12% tip. So, no table service, you collect your own food, pay a service charge, and are STILL asked to tip BEFORE any food has been consumed. We waited 40 minutes for the food, which was perfectly edible but not amazing.
I was quite happy not to have tipped, in those circumstances but it was uncomfortable to refuse the tip in front of the bar staff taking my payment.

My hairdresser, I don't tip...but always drop into the shops beforehand and buy 2 boxes of nice biscuits or chocolates.
That way, the person helping me on with my gown, who makes me a coffee, washes my hair and gives me a nice scalp massage, also gets some recognition.

I keep hearing that people in hair salons tip "the girl that washes my hair" and I always wonder how/when they do it. Once they are done and up with the towel wrapped around their head, they give a two-pound coin to the girl and proceed to the hairdresser's chair? Or do they do it before they lean into the sink? Or they seek out the girl once finished and paying at the till?

All of those ways work, or I give it to my hairdresser and ask her to give it the lady who washed my hair if she’s now busy.

Somehow I cannot imagine handing this girl money once I am raising from the sink. Just feels so unnatural. She is working there and I am paying the bill. It's like I am giving alms to the poor.

I am a tipper, bin cleaner, regular postie at Christmas but absolutely take service charge off a round of drinks especially the price of a pint

i put an online order for some soft drinks. I was asked if I wanted to tip the people who put the drinks in the box! That’s a proper no from me

Yeah this is so cringe

we ask for it to be removed too. Never had a problem with the wait staff, but management have been a bit iffy. They are hoping you won't ask for it to be removed. And of course most people don't, hence it continues

Took Dd to the hairdresser last week as I had credit there from a pre-booked appointment last year that got cancelled. I usually really like being there - they have a drinks menu and home made cakes and they feel welcoming. This time however it was dire. They didn't take my coat, didn't offer either me or dd a drink, had taken away the water fountain too, no cakes, snacks and magazines were all over 5 months old! I know it sounds ridiculously petty but for a £30 teen haircut in a nice salon I did expect at least a water! I didn't tip at the end because frankly we got more from the Turkish guy in town when he did her hair 6 months ago at half the price. I do not understand where this American practice of tipping has come for - we have a minimum wage in this country and if they don't do something above what is expected I just pay for the service they provide.

I used tip but I stopped a few years ago.
When I go out with friends, one of them invariably looks at the bill and suggests we round it up or add an extra 10 pounds, then pays the whole bill which means I'm left transferring half the tip she wanted to pay.
I'm not in the slightest bit worried how it makes me look. I'm more annoyed that I end up paying more than I need to.
With a different friend who likes to split the bill and pay half each, again it can be a problem because she adds the tip before halving the bill. I'm presuming she does this deliberately because previously she always tipped in cash (and she still uses cash) and left it on the table and then looked expectantly at me to add to it which I politely said no to.
So it bothers me quite a lot.

I don't tip. I don't see why restaurant staff feel so entitled to more money that they just try and bill you for it without even asking.

If anyone deserves a tip it's the poor soul manning the self checkouts at the supermarket on the weekend.

I had a similar experience recently except teen's wash and haircut cost 70 pounds. It was my first time at the salon and they brought me a mobile payment machine which gave the option to tip 10%, 20% or 25%.
I ended up tipping 10% because the hair stylist stood there looking expectantly but I absolutely won't the next time.

We are going on a cruise next year. They want £550 added to the bill. I am going to take cash and pay as we are served. I will take the service charge off. We don't drink alcohol so we shouldn't have to tip the bar staff. We won't use the casino, so we shouldn't have to tip the casino staff. I would rather reward the staff that do help us.

Are you sure you can do this?
Its a long time since I was on a cruise but I think the service charge wasn't voluntary AND we ended up leaving money in the room for housekeeping when we left.

I've been told by the cruise line that I can go to the guest services on the last sea day and get them taken off.

I know which friends tip and those who don’t and I would never expect those who don’t want to tip to pay towards it. Generally I either have some cash which I’ll leave or we split the bill and I pay last and add whatever I want to pay onto my share. I wouldn’t ever make someone pay more than they wanted to.

No. The restaurant staff serving you do not bill you for it without even asking, because that's a decision taken by people much higher up, on their behalf, and probably without asking them if they even have an opinion on it, much less given a choice about it.
And probably done because it boosts their overall turnover on paper.

I don't think tips should be expected, and disagree with an automatic service charge, whether I'm a customer or the staff serving. And it's just as awkward and embarrassing for the staff when someone asks you to remove it, not for the actual removing it because I will happily and politely do so, but when they ask with the attitude like you're solely responsible for the tipping culture in the UK, the disparity between who people tip and who they don't and the increasing trend of adding an automatic service charge by businesses.

Tips do make a difference to my life, they give a boost not just financially but also in terms of moral, because you know you've done a good job of looking after someone if they tip, but in all honesty I'd forgo the tips and have a little less for not being treated like something someone just stepped in or blamed for a culture I have had absolutely no control over.

Most of us have worked in the service or retail industry at some point in our lives. I do find that the expectations of people working in them changed since the 90's, when getting a tip was almost unheard of unless you had a large party or a corporate event. It seems crazy that in a cost of living crisis people can't understand extra money simply isn't around to tip for most people. Sadly those at the bottom of the food chain might notice this because they've had expectations of it regularly being added in? As we know, minimum wage protects those at the bottom but really the corporations could afford to raise wages rather than taking more from customers. I won't go to Bills for example because 2 people having mains and a smoothie came to £75 with the added service charge. I'd actively avoid chains like this so I can't see it helps either the staff or the corporation to be so greedy.

tipping originally stemmed from low paid workers getting their wage boosted. Nowadays with minimum wage theirs no difference between a waiter and a carer or a shelf stacker or a delivery driver. So now I will tip for good service but not routinely

Only tip if you can afford to be extra generous and if the service earnt it by being exceptional.
A person doing their job well enough is as well paid as you.

Op it’s fine not to tip in the UK. I have never tipped, and don’t think tipping is actually fair as there is no reason why someone in a restaurant should get tipped when plenty of other jobs pay minimum wage and people work just as hard. I used to work as a bra fitter and didn’t get tipped, nor did I expect to me.

Many hairdressers are more well off than the person tipping them.

And I also hate it when a tip is added to the bill, like in Gordon Ramsey’s burger place where you still have to get up to use the drinks machine.