Do you tip? Or wear a pashmina?

[marthamoo]

I think people fall into two categories: those who can and those who can't. It's like wearing a pashmina: you either chuck it artlessly over your shoulder and it looks fab, or no matter how hard you try you look like you should be trying to flog bunches of lucky heather.

I can't wear a pashmina and I can't tip. I went to the hairdressers today and had, as well as my normal cut, my hair coloured for the first time (normally do it myself). Who do I tip? And how much? The bloke who cuts it owns the salon - and I read somewhere you don't tip the owner. Should I have tipped the colourist? And what about the girl who washes your hair? In the event, I nearly fainted at how much it cost, paid by card, and scuttled out of the door without tipping anyone. Am I a bad person? Do they slag me off as soon as I am out the door?

I DO tip in restaurants, and I do tip taxi drivers. I don't tip the dustbin men at Christmas time. I have never said to a person serving behind a bar "and one for yourself" and am not even sure what they do if you do that - do they have an actual drink, or add the price of a drink onto your round of drinks? And if they do that do they add on the price of half a shandy or a double brandy? And don't you feel like a complete t*sser going "and one for yourself, my fine wench!"

I feel I am completely gauche when it comes to tipping - and I particularly hate it at the hairdresser's as I really don't know what to do so end up not tipping at all.

What does everyone else do?

I never tip at the hairdressers because it's so bl00dy expensive anyway!

I never tip at the hairdressers cos there's no obvious way to do it. If there was a box on the counter where you pay with TIPS written on it I could cope with that but if I've got to physically hand over money to a person: it just feels really crude. It would certainly feel crude to hand over coins and call me mean but a fiver's too much. And I'm never really sure how to tip a taxi driver: if it comes to £4.60 I obviously care not for my 40 pence change: but on the other hand it sounds petty and mean to say "keep the change". how do you tip taxis?

when I worked in a pub, one for yourself just meant 20p (and from my point of view, the 20p was far more desirable than a free drink, given that I wasn't allowed anything alcoholic whilst working, but could freely grab coffee or softs anyway without paying!). The hairdresser thing is always tricky - I usually tried to tip the hairwasher and stylist, but sometimes it was all so dear I just didn't bother. Being at home on maternity leave and wanting to grow my hair, giving up on hairdressers has been a very easy economy . And I have never tried wearing a pashmina so don't know ifd I would carry one off stylishly. Anyone else feel uncomfortable tipping on the debit card rather than with change - I am never convinced if the tip goes on the card that it will go to the serving staff.

I do tip hairdressers and I think they share it between the one who washes your hair and the stylist - do the usual 10%.

I'll say 'and your own' to bar staff if it's been a big complicated order/it's Christmas/I'm feeling very jolly. They usually only take 20p or 50p - I know I only took 20p when I was a barmaid.

But I've never owned a pashmina.

What's a pashmina?
I usually tip something, btw.

For taxis I just say "give me £x back" having already worked out the tip bit

Oh, and I never tip on a debit card, always write a line through it and then leave a cash tip.

I tip when i don't even have the money to, it is programmed in me, even if the service or haircut was crap. But i don't suit a pashmina, or for that matter anything ladylike, i feel like a drag queen.

I've never worn a pashmina in my life and think I'd look stupid in one but I do tip. At the hairdresser I tip at least 10%, sometimes 15%, depending on how much I like my hair, ditto at a restaurant (usually 12.5% ish), but only if the service has been any good. I always tip in cash at the hairdresser after paying by card and say 'thanks, this is for you' so I'd usually tip a tenner-ish, maybe more. Never occurred to me to feel embarrassed about it though, should I?! I've often said to a bar person 'would you like a drink?' and they mainly seem to take it but I don't mind if they take the money instead. I don't know why I do that actually, I think it's a habit I picked up from my Dad, years ago. Mainly I tip to reward good service (although there is an argument that says the consumer shouldn't have to subsidise employers who pay their staff a pittance plus we should have a higher minimum wage, better service anyway etc etc but hey, it's another thread!) and also because my Dad once said to me 'don't forget to tip the cab driver darling, the poor must stick together.' He was working all night in a restaurant at the time as well as teaching during the day. I've done a lot of shitty waitressing jobs in my time so I usually tip if the service has been good in a restaurant - recently ds has taken to asking me towards the end of a meal whether I'm going to tip so we've started talking about why it's inappropriate to talk about if the waitress can hear you

I don't tip bin men though and wouldn't have any idea how to tip a porter in a hotel, although I have tipped porters at airports. I don't know why, the hotel thing seems awkward to me although I'm completely OK with handing over cash in other circumstances. If you're going to tip a cab, hatter, just give them the extra cash, so, say, 6 quid if the fare's 4.60 and you wanted to give them a 1.40 tip, that's over 30% though! But just give it to them and go, they won't force it back on you! Interested to see what other people do here.

Ohh ks me too!

I have actually pulled of the act of discreet tipping,but only in the US.

I tip my hairdresser,but as the salon is a few doors away,I usually have a dry cut,or go in with already washed hair,she is the only person in the salon I need to tip.

Never take taxis so don't know how that is done.

We tip in table service restaurants and that's about it. And then I have started to stop tipping if I feel the service wasn't up to scratch as I sometimes felt we were tpping just for the sake of it , rather than for getting decent service. We normally tip about 10% in a restaurant.

I never tip hairdressers, at bars, rarely in taxis (possibly on long trip I might tell the driver to keep the change, but never tip at night days out, etc). I have never tipped people like dustbin men or post mand either. Used to give papergirl a tip at Christmas though.

marthamoo you do make me laugh

actually there was a piece about this in paper on sunday, apparently at the hairdressers you should tip everyone apart from the owner. I think this is only easy to do if they have little tins on the front desk with their names on (which they do at mine) so you can give hair washers couple of quid without feeling like some ageing aunt pressing money into the young 'uns hand.

in a bar it's supposed to be 20p but the number of bar staff that take the actual price of a drink and once you've said "and your own" it's difficult to say "well err.. actually I meant 20p" without looking like a total weirdo. Consequently I only ever say it in our local because I know that's what they do.

I tip cab drivers - although what I mean by 'tipping' them is usually just rounding up to the next pound or maybe adding an extra 50p, so not much really! I also tip in restaurants, 10% for 'ordinary' service, 15%-plus for really good service. I won't tip if the service has been genuinely bad, and am also never afraid to ask for money off the bill if appropriate

But I wouldn't tip binmen, bar people etc. And I hate tipping in the hairdresser just because it's so difficult - a tips box would be a great idea there. It's all a bit arbitrary, I suppose - I don't know why I tip some and not others.

And, yes, I have worn a pashmina (black) but I'm pretty sure it made me look like Zorro (and not in a good way).

oh and I always tip in taxis, just an automatic thing.

Also I tipped our cleaner £5 at christmas and she never came back...whether that was because of the tip or the house I'll never know.

I never tip - do not go any where it would be required except our local chinese restaurant where they do it for you on the bill-nice people that they are-

Tipping is not a happening thing in Nz where I am from, but was always in habit of saying keep the change exp to cabbies.
Over here, I was stunned when I started seeing DP - he tips regularly and well... it still catches me out.
I do not even know what purpose a pashmina serves, I've never tipped a hairdresser, but I do buy her wine at xmas as far as I am concerned £75.00 for a dye job cut and blow dry, however nice it is, does not need tipping!
I do regularly tip my BIg Issue seller though, he is fantastic lad!

i just can't do tipping. i would trip over or drop the money etc etc!! the only way i can tip is if in a restaurant/cafe (and the waitress/er has been friendly)and i leave money on the table but can't actually give the money to a real live person

my sister who is much quieter than me has the ability to tip really easily and naturally.

part of me thinks though that if you pay for something then good friendly service is to be expected and you shouldn't have to pay more for it.

I am so glad I'm not the only one who doesn't tip their hairdresser! That's the most awkward one for me.

CountessDracula leant me a pashmina and I took it to be dry cleaned yesterday and the woman didnt know what one was and had to ring her boss because it wasnt in the price list! made me smile anyway

I own 10 lovely pashminas - but I did buy them all for less than 300quid on a trip to Mumbai. I just loop them round my neck a la Trinny.
Taxi's - hand note to driver and say "Can you take six pounds please" (for a £5.00 to £5.90 fare)
Hairdressers - I cope with the stylist as they usually come up to the till with you so I hand them a fiver and say thank you, but I do always feel very bad about not tipping the junior, but can never work out how to do it properly.
In a bar - who said it's "meant" to be 20p katierocket? When I used to work in bars it was considered normal to take the price of a half of lager. Some places we'd take that amount o cash out of the till and add it to a communal tip jar, some we'd have the drink after closing.

ks -my FIL does do that. I was so impressed by his subtlety the first time I met him (dinner at the Savoy River rooms) and the £20 note slipped to the maitre'd got us a table by the window

well ok, it's not written in law - guess I live in a cheap place! What I mean is - I would expect bar person to take anywhere between
20-80p but certainly not over £1+

Oh no - you're supposed to tip takeaway deliverers? Something else to agonise over....

always tip at restaurants unless the service is spectacularly bad. Am crap at tipping hairdressers, i find the whole experience excruciating and as I'm crap at carrying cash (hangover from student days of putting 3.99 at the co-op on a credit card). that said i had a fantastic hairdresser in Cardiff who cut DD's hair for free so i used to take her in a bottle of wine/chocs the visit after she cut DD's hair IYSWIM.

I do tell Taxi drivers to keep the change but that's it. On hols in USA we never get it right and end up getting surly about "the bloody employers should pay their staff properly". Our friends were actually accosted by the owner of a guesthouse they stayed at in Maine; they were getting to their car and he started ranting and raving at them for failing to leave a tip for him in their room. Think that sort of attitude to tipping is pretty horrible.

have never worn a pashmina.