Do you tip? (in the UK)

[ender4]

Do you tip in restaurants in the UK?

Edited February 15 by ender4

[supermon]

Hell no

[choffer]

Normally yes, although the majority of places I go to regularly have long-since adopted the "optional" tip already added to the bill. 

Uber or black cab drivers get a tip/fare rounded up if they've been chatty or friendly (or sometimes just if they've not spent the entire trip blaring their own awful music, which seems to be a trend). 

[Seat68]

A few things about what I am about to say may ring some alarm bells.

When I go to the barbers, for a haircut, which is every 3 weeks, I always tip the barber. He must think all of his Christmases come at once. I am technically bald, he just makes me feel even more balder.

[Wainy316]

Less so in the age of the ‘service charge’ being added to the bill

[VILLAMARV]

MrsVM and  me both spent a lot of our formative years in the service industry, so we like to tip when someone's trying but we wont when it's chucked at you but it's more there to be lost rather than gained if you get me. I dont want tips going to the owner, the till or split with the chef either its for the waiting staff wh served me.

[ender4]

1 minute ago, Wainy316 said:

Less so in the age of the ‘service charge’ being added to the bill

Do you ever get the optional service charge removed, say if the food or service hasn't been good.

[Mark Albrighton]

Yes.

[Wainy316]

2 minutes ago, ender4 said:

Do you ever get the optional service charge removed, say if the food or service hasn't been good.

I never have but I would if I felt it was particularly bad.  I usually just glance at the bill, see it and then just think that I don’t need to tip.

Edited February 15 by Wainy316

[leemond2008]

nope

[Chindie]

This is less relevant to me now, but generally...

Restaurants - yes unless theres a service charge or if the service has been shite. I also don't subscribe to the 'percentage of the bill' thing - the tip is whatever I think is reasonable for the meal.

Barber - yes. Never much though, couple of quid.

Taxi - round up fare and keep change, unless I can tell they've taken the piss. I've more often than I care to remember been in taxis where I know they've taken a shitty route and in those cases they get the fare and thats it, regardless if it's a pain in the arse to sort out the change.

[Marka Ragnos]

Always, even if the food/service has been awful.

[mjmooney]

6 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said:

Always, even if the food/service has been awful.

And quite a big % I'm guessing in the US? 

[Stevo985]

Yes, most of the time.

I don't always tip when it's a go up to the counter and place your order, grab your own cutlery kind of deal.

But an actual restaurant where the waiter/waitress looks after you, takes your order etc etc then I always will.

 

Amount varies but 10% minimum unless they've been shit

 

Edit: I'd rarely tip extra if there was a service charge

Edited February 15 by Stevo985

[Marka Ragnos]

9 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

And quite a big % I'm guessing in the US? 

20%, anywhere I go on planet. Exceptions would be large parties where a 20% gratuity is included in bill, but even then, people give. Everyone's different, but I expect eye-rolling and entertainly snide service in Manhattan -- lots of out of work actors, etc. Doesn't change my tip, of course not. I'm not rewarding them to be nice to me. 

[sharkyvilla]

I don't think I've ever had service bad enough I refused to tip.  I don't think I've ever gone above 10% though.  The one grey area for me is when I get a curry delivered, it's just a takeaway so its sole business purpose is to make the food and deliver it, so I think I've already paid for the service.  I always tip the barber even though it takes two weeks for it to look remotely decent but I like the fact he chats a bit about football and nothing else, just gets on with it.

[Panto_Villan]

I almost always tip 10% unless there’s a service charge.

Although I increasingly find that people just hand me the card machine with the no-tip amount already entered, and in that situation I can’t be bothered to get them to go back and change the amount so I can give a tip (I don’t usually carry much cash).

[sharkyvilla]

Also I was on holiday last week in Tenerife and joined family who were already out there.  My step mum, who I get along with but is absolute murder when it comes to restaurants, is from Yorkshire and tight as the proverbial, we went to a restaurant they'd already been to twice before I went out and I could tell the waitresses absolutely hated her.  No doubt she didn't tip and made her opinions well known on the previous visits.  Unsurprisingly our food took an hour to come out and I don't blame them.

[mjmooney]

We're very much into the area of Very British Problems, and social awkwardness here. I find the whole tipping process a minefield of embarrassment. 

If I'm going to tip (say in a restaurant), my preferred method is to leave cash on the table, thus avoiding any actual eye contact or interaction with the waiter. But I may leave nothing if the service was poor, or - even if it was outstanding - I don't have a suitable amount of cash on me (increasingly likely, these days). Better is 'servis compris', with the 10% (never more, that's insane) automatically added to the bill. Here, the reverse is true - I will always pay without quibbling, even if the service was terrible. Avoid confrontation at all costs. 

Then there's the worst one of the lot - the payment machine presented to you at the table, where you have to choose - or refuse - a percentage/amount... with the waiter standing there looking at you. Horror! 

And that's just restaurants. Handing over cash, or getting into the payment machine minefield, is even worse with hairdressers or other services, like taxi drivers, etc. This is where I like Uber - no human interaction required, just automatic card payment and optional tip via the app. 

I hate the whole custom. Just pay people a decent wage for doing their jobs. 

Edited February 15 by mjmooney

[Mr_Dogg]

Unless the service is really exceptional, I mean really doing something special, why does anyone tip? Is it out of pity for people doing low paid jobs?

The US is different where paying people a minimum wage is like resurrecting chairman Mao.