Tipping.

I understand about your waitress granddaughters Nanadana but what about the glass collector, the bottle washer, the cleaner yes what about the cleaner they ususally go into a pub restaurant or offices etc very early morning or late in the evening to have it all neat and clean for the next day but no one even thanks them What about porters in hospital trundling up and down miles of corridors each day
People tip a taxi driver but never consider a bus driver or a fire engine driver who may have just saved a life

This is why I don’t tip because it’s so unequal so unbalanced and I believe thoughtless and a bit hurtful

Most do it because it’s the ‘done thing’

BlueBelle

I understand about your waitress granddaughters Nanadana but what about the glass collector, the bottle washer, the cleaner yes what about the cleaner they ususally go into a pub restaurant or offices etc very early morning or late in the evening to have it all neat and clean for the next day but no one even thanks them What about porters in hospital trundling up and down miles of corridors each day
People tip a taxi driver but never consider a bus driver or a fire engine driver who may have just saved a life

This is why I don’t tip because it’s so unequal so unbalanced and I believe thoughtless and a bit hurtful

Most do it because it’s the ‘done thing’

In most restaurants/cafes/eateries all tips are pooled and divided between kitchen staff and front of house.

I totally disagree with tipping. I think that it encourages employers to maintain the lowest wages that they can get away with legally. It infuriates me when a service charge is added on to a bill. I know that it is discretionary but it can be uncomfortable asking for it to be removed.

GrannyGravy13

BlueBelle

I understand about your waitress granddaughters Nanadana but what about the glass collector, the bottle washer, the cleaner yes what about the cleaner they ususally go into a pub restaurant or offices etc very early morning or late in the evening to have it all neat and clean for the next day but no one even thanks them What about porters in hospital trundling up and down miles of corridors each day
People tip a taxi driver but never consider a bus driver or a fire engine driver who may have just saved a life

This is why I don’t tip because it’s so unequal so unbalanced and I believe thoughtless and a bit hurtful

Most do it because it’s the ‘done thing’

In most restaurants/cafes/eateries all tips are pooled and divided between kitchen staff and front of house.

Yes, GrannyGravy, that's exactly how it works in both cafes where my Granddaughters work. All tips are pooled. As for the comment that tipping is somehow "hurtful", sorry, but that's just plain silly. Somebody looking to provoke an argument? Wasting their time if they are.

In restaurants it will depend on whether gratuities are already added, but we might tip anyway if service has been exceptionally good.

I do tip the hairdresser, and at Christmas we always tip postman, milkman, bin men, and paper lady. Taxis (non Uber) usually, not that we take many.

Visgirl we tipped our paperboy back in the 70s we still see him and even now he says we were the best tippers £5 xmas and an egg for Easter.

Hetty58

What I really don't agree with (as a retired teacher) is the recent trend to give an end-of-year gift to teachers. We are well paid professionals, so it's quite an insult - and we're not allowed to accept them, anyway. Instead, a little note or card would be appropriate.

I’m surprised that teachers would consider a small token of appreciation an insult. My children are in their mid 40s and it was always something we did at the end of term. They have continued to do so for teachers of my 4 grandchildren over the years and it’s common practice . I think if it was unacceptable or offensive we’d have been informed at some point over the past 40 years.

We’ve been away recently and asked at the restaurants if the tips were pooled, we were told they were, but we gave a cash tip rather than what was added onto the bill. It was the same but we thought that the staff are more likely to receive it. I don’t tip my hairdresser as she is self employed and her rates should cover
We are tippers though and a Christmas box at Christmas.

I use taxis a lot and always round up the bill to nearest 50p/£.
Meaning a tip of roughly 60/80p.
However using Uber occasionally I will give the driver £1.
My GD never tips an Uber driver saying it isn’t expected, does anyone know if this is true?

I tip the hairdresser,I don't go as often as I did and know quite a few others who have cut back . We tip the window cleaner and the courier at Christmas but we never have the same postie twice so don't bother. We also tip the waitress if out for a meal and not the establishment.
Many years ago on holiday with my parents in Munich, the lady in charge of the toilets was asking for a tip before she let anyone in. Two English ladies in our party barged passed her, she got her own back and locked them in until they passed the amount she wanted under the door. I can still remember the looks my mother gave me not to giggle, though she did herself when she retold the story.

It's usual to tip waiters and hairdressers here in Germany. I've never really thought about it. I would like to tip hotel chamber maids ) are they still called that?)but I'm not sure how to go about it. If you leave a tip (e.g.) on the pillow, they won't take it because they are afraid of being accused of stealing. If you hand it in at the desk, there's no guarantee they'll get it. Although the desk staff sometimes deserve a tip too if they've gone the extra mile for you.

I don't mind tipping anyone as long as they say thank you or at least smile.

I tip too.

I tip the hairdresser £5. More if it's a really amazing job. I take the view that my hourly rate is far in excess of service workers and consequently I try to pay it forward.

However, if I get terrible treatment, I don't tip. Bad service. No tip.

I am surprised at the idea of not tipping if the stylist owns the saloon, mine does and it makes no difference to me, I do still tip. I have noticed though, that the bill is nearly 20% higher than this time last year and adding a tip makes it into a 3 figure amount. I do appreciate energy bills are much higher this year but it is still scary.

Low wages are propped up by our benefits system. So in effect, some benefits are a subsidy to big business.

The only way out of this, is to stop voting in greedy capitalist governments. Far, far out of the reach of the average service worker to influence this. So not fair to punch people on a low income for the behaviour/decisions of the top 1% wealthiest people in the world.

Not punch!!!! Punish.

My niece who lives in America says the British are known for not tipping. The reason the US tips so much is that the waiting staff are often working for nothing and rely on tips. The philosophy is food is reasonably cheap and so eating out is reasonably priced, it's up to you how good you judge the service to be and if it is exceptional you will tip more. It's believed to encourage better service. It isn't something I'm entirely comfortable with, but that's how it works. Brits of course just think they are getting a cheap meal.

I tip for service I think is good, people who go out of their way to help and people who are friendly. Taxis, hairdressers, waiters, porters any of them.

I don’t tip all the time. Like Dickens and Bluebelle I don’t agree with it. It’s an outdated custom, originally brought in to increase promptitude meaning to ensure good service. Not at the end of the service, at the beginning to ensure good service. The timing has changed. People are paid minimum wages today, and it would easily be possible for a person to tip who earned less than the person they were tipping.

I do give my hairdresser extra. That’s because she owns the business but charges far less than other hairdressers. I pay £45 for a colour, cut, and blow dry. Other salons charge £100 and more. I always give her more than what she asks because she’s worth it.

Who on earth would tip for a coffee? Complete madness!

We went out for lunch recently with a small group; the restaurant wanted a non-refundable £10 deposit per person . One of our party had an accident and couldn't go but even though they let the restaurant know a couple of days previously, they had to forfeit the £10. There was also a 10% service charge. Did we leave a tip? Certainly not.
We shan't be going there again.

My niece who lives in America says the British are known for not tipping. The reason the US tips so much is that the waiting staff are often working for nothing and rely on tips

Yes, true Glorianny, one of my DD worked for an American firm for a few months when she was travelling; the pay was abysmal but the tips were excellent! She saved enough to fund the rest of a gap year.

When we tried to tip a waitress in Australia she was embarrassed said no tipping was allowed. The pay rates are good over there, minimum wage is higher than in the UK plus holiday, sick pay and pension contributions are paid even for casual workers.

Callistemon21

^My niece who lives in America says the British are known for not tipping. The reason the US tips so much is that the waiting staff are often working for nothing and rely on tips^

Yes, true Glorianny, one of my DD worked for an American firm for a few months when she was travelling; the pay was abysmal but the tips were excellent! She saved enough to fund the rest of a gap year.

When we tried to tip a waitress in Australia she was embarrassed said no tipping was allowed. The pay rates are good over there, minimum wage is higher than in the UK plus holiday, sick pay and pension contributions are paid even for casual workers.

It's funny isn't it, completely different systems. College students in the US work in the most prestigious holiday resorts and earn enough in tips to support themselves.
We seem as usual to be somewhere in the middle.
I think we may be heading more towards the US way

The reason the US tips so much is that the waiting staff are often working for nothing and rely on tips.

I think this is immoral.

Why should anyone work for nothing and rely on hand-outs.

It's a horrible form of Capitalism, having to rely on someone's good will, someone you are waiting on - like a servant.

I'm sure someone might reassure me that the system works fine - I know mine is a minority view anyway... but I know that if I was a low-skilled individual trying to make a living, I'd hate having to be dependent on the generosity of others in order to survive. Do such people pocket enough money to buy a house, and private medical insurance - or do they just get by? Might be OK for a student living at home with mum and dad, but how, for example does a single-parent manage? There's obviously no money if you're off sick, or your child is unwell.

I hope we don't go down that route. I know the hospitality industry doesn't pay well, but at least it's recognised that if you sell your labour, you are entitled to be paid for it.

I agree that it's wrong but I'm not at all sure what happens with full-time permanent jobs.

I tipped the lady who painted my toenails today in her own home. I’ve used her for years, probably only twice a year as it’s shellac, at £10 a bargain.

Callistemon21

I agree that it's wrong but I'm not at all sure what happens with full-time permanent jobs.

I think that's a different kettle of fish. From what I recall being told by an American business colleague some years ago now when we were talking about the differences between our two cultures - there are full-time jobs which not only pay the standard rate (whatever that is) but also offer health insurance as part of the package. Though I do wonder how widespread this is.

The thing I have against tipping is that it harks back to the medieval master-serf dynamic!

... and how the heck can anyone budget on tips!

Of course - I tip. It's the done thing, and I'd feel mean not doing it knowing how some struggle on low wages. But in principle I'll never accept that it's right. If you're in the business and can't pay a reasonable wage to those who work for you, you've failed at business as far as I'm concerned!