Tipping Etiquette

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Replies

  • victal
    victal Posts: 1,375 Member
    Don't eat yellow snow :noway:
  • Madame_Goldbricker
    Madame_Goldbricker Posts: 1,625 Member
    Oh! Also adding in to derail this completely. Its pretty common practise to tip your postman at Christmas in the UK.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,400 Member
    I live in Italy and tipping is minimal since a fee is already included in your bill---pane e coperto. If we have a large group we tip more (1€ a head). When my husband and I go out for pizza and the bill is around 26€ he leaves 3€ as a tip.
  • missdibs1
    missdibs1 Posts: 1,092 Member
    I think it's rude to tip all but your own cows

    h78F284E1

    Someone left the house like this? OMG
  • ThisCharmingFellow
    ThisCharmingFellow Posts: 132 Member
    In the UK tipping is generally reserved for food delivery folk, taxi drivers, hair dressers. If you go out for a meal and they bring the bill to the table you generally round it up to tip. There isn't a set 10-20% or anything. If you pay at the bar or till or whatnot some places have a tips pot you can chuck a quid or two in. Restaurants some do pre state that they include a tip within the overall charge already.

    It just depends really. Bottom line some people tip some don't but its not expected as such.

    Lots of places add a 12.5% service charge these days. Of course this is optional but lots of people out there won't ask them to remove it.
  • Solly123
    Solly123 Posts: 162 Member
    We don't normally tip in Ireland. You'd tip a taxi driver, hairdresser, food delivery person etc, but in bars, restaurants - you don't normally leave a tip (restaurant you'd round up the bill as a tip - not a % of the bill)

    But when I go on holidays to the US, tipping always has me in a panic.

    I spent a fantastic night in a local bar with loads of friends in the US. Great night, loads of drink, food etc had by all. Next day, speaking to my friend (who is a barman at the bar) I realised that I hadn't left a tip all night. I nearly died with embarrassment.. He didn't mention it, but I suddenly remembered I was in the US - not at home. I insisted on going back that night and leaving a large tip, with my apologies to the bar staff.

    They were great about it really. It is a Irish bar and they said they know that the Irish visitors just don't remember to tip. But usually they are in before they fly home and leave a bulk tip to cover the stay!! Lol.. At least I wasn't the only Irish person to forget to leave a tip in that bar.

    I must remember to find out what is the actual tipping etiquette before I head over on my next holiday!!
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    In the US I tip, for sit down full service, I tip 20% unless something goes horribly wrong. When I take out of a sit down full service restaurant I'll tip $2-$3 because the person who hands you your order usually had to prep and complete your "dish" so I tip them for that because generally it's either one of the bar tenders or one of the servers who had to take time from their customers to do this (at least that's how it was when I waited tables). I do not tip at take out restaurants, fast food restaurants, when the person who is waiting on me prioritizes me to the bottom of the list because I'm not eating in, at starbucks, for ice cream, or any where else where the person is making at least minimum wage without tips.

    When I travel to the UK I only tip at full service and it's usually just a pound on the table. Out at the pub, at the end of the evening I'll buy the bar tender a half a pint or a pint if I haven't had to spend too much time standing at the bar waiting for service.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    I tip automatically around 20%-25% usually, and much more if I'm taking up the table chatting with friends for a long time...but I am honestly fed up with servers (including personal friends and acquaintances I've had) griping about "terrible tips" which seems to be a popular complaint. If people are stiffing you and/or leaving under 10% fine, but I do not think my $9 sandwich & soup warrants an $11 tip to round it to twenty bucks. It makes me think less of the servers who complain rather than the people who "tip badly" at 15%.

    I also think there is a generation gap. My family members in their 60s and 70s aren't cheap or rude but truly still think 10% is the norm. They're not being mean. They just don't understand.

    At most places picking up takeout (which I rarely do in the first place) I'll drop a couple of ones in their jar or add $2-3 to the payment line if I use a debit card. If I ever had a reason to order a huge amount of food I'd tip them accordingly. At more casual places where they *only* do takeout I don't tip them unless something extraordinary was done to provide extra service. At a place like Starbucks or Chipotle I usually stick any loose change in the jar.
  • Noogynoogs
    Noogynoogs Posts: 1,028 Member
    I only tip if I enjoyed the food. Anyway a lot of places add th tip in with the price.
  • futuresize8
    futuresize8 Posts: 476 Member
    I will very often tip when I get carry out, especially from the independent places we frequent.

    I also tip about a dollar per drink at the bar, and more for exceptional, friendly service.

    For dining in, we tip between 20-25% for good service. I will do 10-15% for mediocre service. "What?!" you say? I know that in our state, people make less than minimum wage and rely on tips for survival. I'm not trying to intentionally stiff anyone. So, I tip less, hoping they know the difference between a good tip and a bleh tip and that they'll put two and two together.

    There is a person we are friends with who is a notorious undertipper, and I think it's classless. My husband and I have added more to our own tip to compensate when we've all dined together.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Never tipped a take away in the UK or seen it expected either.
    To start with, the food might be terrible :).

    Some people will tip delivery guys if they bring it to you - and it's rather common for them to slowly dig about in their pocket for change hoping you'll say "don't worry about the change".
  • somefitsomefat
    somefitsomefat Posts: 445 Member
    I think it's silly to tip if you're picking up. The price of the meal covers the cooking and the 10 feet worth of walking whoever hands it to me probably has to do. I pretty much always tip if I sit down to eat unless the service is insanely bad (server never comes around, grossly wrong order, rude, etc). I do wish the US would move away from tipping a bit. It's become a little bit more begging than anything else. It's become so standard people expect it for everything. Seriously, I have to give a bartender a dollar each time to flick the top off my beer? I can understand if they're spending 5 minutes making some elaborate drink but a beer top? That goes double if it's a twist off. And let's not even get me started on self service frozen yogurt places that have a tip jar by the register. I just made my own f-ing yogurt and you want a tip??????
  • CMB1979
    CMB1979 Posts: 588 Member
    SO happy I don't have to tip here in Korea. I was a waiter at a Chick-fil-a dwarf house in Georgia, USA. Most days, I didn't make minimum wage even with tips included. The biggest tip I ever got was about $6 on a $150 bill for the CEO's family who was visiting and wanted a buffet style dinner. Jerks!
  • kjarvo
    kjarvo Posts: 235 Member
    Lots of places add a 12.5% service charge these days. Of course this is optional but lots of people out there won't ask them to remove it.

    I always ask to remove it out of principal. Even if I leave the same amount (which I never do to be fair). I hate the 'do you want to leave a tip' when you pay by card too. A tip should never be expected. You are already paying for the service in the price of the food and it's their job.
  • rezrighter
    rezrighter Posts: 18
    It is not expected for you to tip when picking up carryout in the US, but I always leave $2-3 just because someone took the time to prepare and package it for me. I do the same as you for dining in. 20% unless service was very bad for no good reason. If my server was inattentive, he/she was probably bogged down with a lot of customers, so I still tip well. If the restaurant was near empty and my server was still inattentive, I leave 15%. And for drivers who deliver my food, I leave $4-5, no matter the cost of my food.

    Wow, you are a big tipper. I will leave a 15% tip rounded up to the nearest dollar for good service, 10% for bad, 20%+ reserved just for awsome service. Don't usually leave a tip for pickup due to the fact I was not waited on, which is what tips are intended for, a show of gratitude for services rendered. When taking-out the cook is already getting paid and will not see the tip anyway.

    At least thats my opinion.

    O, btw, like to point out a lot of places in the US are including a 15% up charge in the cost of the food to account for the tip, so you might need to read the fine print on the menu to see if the place you are at is doing that.
  • kjarvo
    kjarvo Posts: 235 Member
    At a place like Starbucks or Chipotle I usually stick any loose change in the jar.

    I'd NEVER tip at Starbucks, I try to boycott it for their tax evasion in the UK. Giving tips allows them to underpay their employees. It's not up to you to subsidise their employees wages and this is how they make these ridiculous profits.
    If people stopped tipping for everything, employers would start having to pay a proper wage.
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,793 Member
    Oh! Also adding in to derail this completely. Its pretty common practise to tip your postman at Christmas in the UK.

    Stuff like that is cool. I try to remember to give something to my trash dudes. My postman is a prick, so nothing for him.

    My wife makes trays of goodies. Homemade cookies, candies, etc. Her and my daughter spend a week cooking and putting them together. We pass them out during the Holiday season. Mail Carrier, Gas Station Attendant, Co-workers. People we come into contact during the year on a regular basis.

    While I do tip (approx 20%) it is starting to irk me. Not just in restaurants. It seems like everywhere you turn these days, someone has placed a "Tip Jar". My personal opinion is that if you are relying on the generosity of others to eek out a living, get another job.

    Maybe I should put a tip jar on my desk.
  • healthytanya1
    healthytanya1 Posts: 198 Member
    At a sit down place I tip 20-25%
    Take out 10-15%
    At a bar or coffee shop $1 a drink.... $0.50 is even ok

    This is US standard anything less and you are cheap. Go pick up some groceries at the store. Cook your own food. Do you own dishes and stay home. People are providing you a service so you should tip accordingly. That's how our culture is in the US. With that said I do think its messed up that our government says its ok to pay less than min wage and count on customers to make up the difference. A tip should be a bonus to someones wages not most of their paycheck.

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