Tipping.

Good points Dickens. I hate tipping - but I do (not my window-cleaner, dustmen at christmas etc as I'm just not organised enough to remember when they'll be coming & be in, but anything I'm paying anyway, taxis, hairdresser, waiting staff).I get really anxious about it too - agonise over tipping too little or tipping more than they would've expected. For goodness sake charge a bit more in the first place & pass it onto the staff - then everyone knows what's expected. It's a silly game as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks Nandana i m certainly not looking for an argument
I m expressing an opinion, just because it doesn’t fit with yours doesn’t make it any less valid

valdali

Good points Dickens. I hate tipping - but I do (not my window-cleaner, dustmen at christmas etc as I'm just not organised enough to remember when they'll be coming & be in, but anything I'm paying anyway, taxis, hairdresser, waiting staff).I get really anxious about it too - agonise over tipping too little or tipping more than they would've expected. For goodness sake charge a bit more in the first place & pass it onto the staff - then everyone knows what's expected. It's a silly game as far as I'm concerned.

Yes, trying to work out what to give - or checking if 'gratuities' are already included on the bill... worried you'll be thought mean - or an over-generous fool. It's a pain in the neck!

We are tipping people basically who do low-wage and often menial work. Though not always of course. A fully-trained professional hairdresser - or the chiropodist who visits my partner at home... he tips her - why?! She refused at first - her fee covers all her costs and allows for a profit... but he insisted and so she graciously accepts.

MissChateline

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.

Yes, I agree.

Yes I tip….not a lot, just a pound. I think I should increase it to £2

Dickens is right Vintagenonna - most of the US has no minimum wage.
In restaurants and cafés staff rely on the tip.
20% is fair if service is as you would expect. More if good. Just "factor it in" when you go out to eat.

So I just checked and there is a Federal minimum wage just over 2 dollars, but states set their own. There's then a complicated thing taking tips into account www.paycor.com/resource-center/articles/minimum-wage-tipped-employees-by-state/#:~:text=Federal%20law%20sets%20the%20minimum,state%20minimum%20wage%20before%20tips.

Two dollars? 😲

Australia, by contrast, where tipping is disapproved of:
From 1 July 2022, the national minimum wage is $21.38 per hour or $812.60 per 38 hour week (before tax).
Casual employees covered by the national minimum wage also get at least a 25% casual loading

Callistemon21 Wed 03-May-23 23:07:21
Two dollars? 😲

... that was my reaction, too.

But I read it somewhere on the 'net a few hours ago, also.

I've never been to the USA, so just out of curiosity, what happens if you don't tip?

Blondiescot

I've never been to the USA, so just out of curiosity, what happens if you don't tip?

We had incredibly bad service one time in the USA, DH didn’t tip and the waiter was extremely abusive, shouting and swearing despite having two young children with us

Thanks, GrannyGravy13, I suspected something like that might be the case.

Sometimes I do, depends how much I have in my purse and what sort of service I've received. But I always leave something for the room maids. It must be such hard work changing all those beds and cleaning bathrooms everyday, picking up after others for a minimum wage. All too aware lots of hotel staff have to save every spare penny to give their kids a holiday

We lived in America at one point and were amazed how big the tips left were.

We went out for a "greasy spoon" beeakfast with new friends shortly after we arrived there - and they left ten dollars

But as they said then, we can afford to go out for breakfast- maybe they can too. I couldn't believe the appalling wages.

As others have said, we pay the wages of many workers through government top-ups because the business owner pays the minimum they can get away with.

A Morrisons worker was telling me only this week that they had a pay rise - it turns out this was only in line with the minimum wage changes in April. They said all the other supermarkets pay more and they were trying to get a union organised to lobby for better wages.

This subject crops up regularly on here doesn't it ?. I totally agree with BlueBelle
Tipping is ridiculous, outdated and unfair. The only time I would pay a bit extra would be if someone went over and above what they were required to do.
It's time we were charged what the job is worth and tipping not encouraged. I believe this is the case in Japan.

I tip my hairdresser, she goes above and beyond to do a good job on my hair and is a single Mum.I probably tip more than she expects but she deserves it and I only go a few times a year.I also tip waiting staff if there’s been good service, they don’t earn a lot either.Rarely get a taxi but would leave a small tip if they are pleasant.
Used to tip the binmen, Window cleaner paper delivery boy and milkman, but binmen now earn good money and don’t have the other services now, milk from the shop, no papers and clean own windows when I remember to do it.

Grannynannywanny

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.

A few years ago I was a Christmas temp in M&S. because I was quick on the till I was put on the returns desk after Christmas. That was an eye opening experience!
There were ques of people returning their “unwanted” gifts, many of which were still in the wrapping paper. A large group of the returnees were teachers with a carrier bag of stuff from the children. They were often disappointed when we wouldn’t refund an Item because it was from another shop.
It just seemed such a waste, it occurred to me that the parents would have been better clubbing together to give them a voucher for something they actually wanted.

Blondiescot

I've never been to the USA, so just out of curiosity, what happens if you don't tip?

They get very nasty and throw your receipt at you, or they disappear with your change, if paying in cash, and don’t bring it back. Actually both these things happened to us, not because we didn’t tip, but because we didn’t tip enough! And the second example, we didn’t get a chance to tip, she simply didn’t return with the change, effectively stealing our money. We had to speak to the manager to get our money back, and after that, no we didn’t tip her.

Hairdressers have, understandably, massively hiked their prices since lock down. During that time we moved, so looking for a new hairdresser I hot footed it down to my local salon couldn't believe what they quoted, probably double what I was paying for what I was having done and that was in West London However, I shopped around and found a satisfactory local hairdresser and now have my foils done every 5 weeks, I've upped that time span since I dropped my base colour and embracing the grey blending with the highlights. She did say, that appointments for such things have fallen off a bit since the cost of living hike and is thankful to have regular appointments such as mine. To get to the point, I tip her more than I would have done at Christmas, and I gave her some $ notes that we still had when she took her children off to the US at Easter, but other than that I don't, I did prior to Covid but I have massively upped my spend on hairdressing on more regular appointments and I spend quite a lot when I go.

As for restaurants, some such as Cote take 12.5% service charge so they take the option away of leaving a gratuity but we would if that wasn't the case, particularly when we've had good service, similarly if we take a taxi to the airport again we would tip.

I tip my hairdresser even though it`s his business,i also tip the postman at Christmas.
Used to tip the binmen,but they don`t bring the bins back,they leave them in the parking bays.

Nobody tip their milk boys? Ours are out in Scottish weather hail rain and snow before school every day except christmas day and New years day so I tip them every week just 50 or 75 pence but I give them £30 each at christmas.
The courier who delivers gets wine and chocolates sometimes nice bath products and foot creams ,she's been coming here for almost 15 years .The hairdresser, waiters ,taxi drivers etc I've alway tipped ,never less than 10%
.I did less than minimum wage jobs when I was young .I started working at 12 and I well remember how appreciative I was of the wee boost it made to my meagre wages .

Milk boys? People delivering milk have been extinct for decades in my neck of the woods!

Milk boys/men that takes me back donkeys years, I think I decided the milkman wasn't a viable option for me, when there were disputes over my bill, which didn't tally with regular notes in the bottle of "no milk today please" when those were regularly charged for. Now you mention it GSM, can't remember the last time I saw a milk float.

The tipping culture was one of the first things that struck me when I went to work in USA for a year back in the 1990s. There are very few employment protection laws there (in comparison with UK and Europe) and employers can more or less do what they want and pay what they want. Fortunately I was paid a very good salary so I just learned to go with the flow. Here in the UK I only tip for exceptional service,

We always tipped the milkwoman and the paperboy and girls but havent seen any for years.
I remember my DC being very happy with their Christmas tips when they did paper rounds.