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Yet another tipping thread.

(46 Posts)
Usedtobeblonde Sun 07-Sept-25 11:00:02

Two members of my family are spending a couple of days in Plymouth.
As we all like a G&T I suggested they may like a tour of the Gin Distillery which my H and I did many years ago.
When I checked the website the tours cost from £15 to £45 depending on length and depth of the subject.
Then randomly a question arose on the site as to tipping the guide.
It was suggested 20%.
Now if a tour consists of 12 or even 20 participants that is quite a tip.
But my main query is would it occur to you to tip after you have paid a fee for the tour and it will inevitably finish in their retail shop where you will probably buy a bottle of their rather pricy gin?
Am I just a “tight person”

Abnuyc123 Sun 07-Sept-25 11:02:45

Personally I hate the whole tipping ethos. Individuals should be paid properly for their work, therefore making tipping irrelevant.

pably15 Sun 07-Sept-25 11:06:11

no way £45 for a tour and then a tip, tipping's getting a bit ridiculous.

Crossstitchfan Sun 07-Sept-25 11:06:53

A 20% tip??? Are these people for real? I think asking for tips, or adding them to the bill, is an imposition. I honestly think tipping should be stopped. There is a price on everything, and that should be the price, the whole price, and nothing but the price!
Seriously, how did this tipping lark start? It’s embarrassing for both sides.

rafichagran Sun 07-Sept-25 11:13:24

I would tip. If you pay £15 it's only £3.00 and if it goes to the staff I am glad to do it.
To staff, that may not be well paid, this makes a difference.

Mt61 Sun 07-Sept-25 11:16:21

How many working people on here get tips? No one ever tipped us.
Like I’ve said before, my hairdresser drives a fancy, electric 4 x 4.
I always tipped the plasterer, stopped when I found out he lives in a big fancy house.
No you aren’t blinking tight! I have to say though, I am becoming much more tighter.

Usedtobeblonde Sun 07-Sept-25 11:17:13

I am so happy to be among those who thinks it has all gone too far.
Just pay people to do their job.
I read somewhere, it may have been on here, that someone was asked to tip when buying an ice cream from a street vendor.

Usedtobeblonde Sun 07-Sept-25 11:20:07

Rafichagran.
Not much.
12 people on the tour, £36.
That guide may do 6 tours a day.
The company don’t have to pay them at all at that rate.

PaynesGrey Sun 07-Sept-25 11:21:28

I doubt very much if that £15 or £45 per person is being paid to the tour guide. And I doubt they get paid per head. They might only be paid minimum wage - £12.21 for an hour’s work irrespecive of the size of the group. If you think they have done a good job, a £3 tip isn’t excessive. A G&T in a pub can cost between £5 to £10 depending on location.

rafichagran Sun 07-Sept-25 11:58:38

I don't care if people don't tip. I know that I do. I get a good service I tip. Good luck if they make good money.
I don't know why it annoys people as its not obligatory and if you don't want to do it dont.

Aveline Sun 07-Sept-25 12:33:44

It's the Americanisation of tipping that irritates me. Over here people are paid at least the minimum wage. I don't mind adding a little to the bill in a restaurant if the service has been noticeably good. That's it though. 20% is really pushing it.

GrannyIvy Sun 07-Sept-25 13:09:15

I only tip for excellent service with a smile. I don’t think a tip should happen automatically. I don’t tip my hairdresser as he owns the business. It is becoming the norm now for restaurants to add 10% to their bill and I will always pay this unless there was a problem with service or food.

It was suggested on a recent holiday we tip the tour guide 20% we didn’t she was awful very lazy and unhelpful and many others didn’t tip her either!!

Crossstitchfan Sun 07-Sept-25 13:12:13

rafichagran

I would tip. If you pay £15 it's only £3.00 and if it goes to the staff I am glad to do it.
To staff, that may not be well paid, this makes a difference.

I agree up to a point, but I think some places pay their staff less because they know that tips will top them up. It’s mean!

Aveline Sun 07-Sept-25 13:13:27

That's not legal though. There's a minimum wage.

ClicketyClick Sun 07-Sept-25 13:55:35

:12Crossstitchfan

rafichagran

I would tip. If you pay £15 it's only £3.00 and if it goes to the staff I am glad to do it.
To staff, that may not be well paid, this makes a difference.

I agree up to a point, but I think some places pay their staff less because they know that tips will top them up. It’s mean!

I will tip if given good service at an amount I feel is acceptable. I've also read about staff having to rely on tips because they are being paid so little. In these scenarios if we didn't tip then either the business owner will have no option but to pay the going rate or risk losing the staff to A better paid job. In a job years ago and we all had to hand over our tips to the boss at the end of our shifts.

BlueBelle Sun 07-Sept-25 14:06:09

I do not tip
I am not mean quite the reverse but I think it’s an unfair, very unfair process and we either tip everyone who serves us in any way from the shop assistant through to the bus driver and road cleaner or we tip no one and that’s my way of seeing it

Shelflife Sun 07-Sept-25 14:12:31

Tipping after paying for a guided tour -
I don't think so !!!

sodapop Sun 07-Sept-25 15:28:59

Agree Shelflife this whole thing is getting ridiculous. The only time I would tip anyone would be if they went over and above what was expected to help me.

Mum1959 Sun 07-Sept-25 15:55:43

Tipping should be your own decision not suggested by anyone else

Aveline Sun 07-Sept-25 16:02:40

ckicketyclick staff shouldn't have to rely on tips. There is a minimum wage here. Maybe you're in America?

Rosie51 Sun 07-Sept-25 16:10:46

I do tip in restaurants etc, and am sucked into the higher rates when visiting my Canadian family. When I think about it though, why don't I tip the supermarket assistant, the clothing store assistant, the bus driver or the train driver, the dustbin people, the postman/woman each time they deliver mail? The list is endless. And another thought, why is it always a percentage? Did the waiter/waitress really work harder to deliver my £40 meal to me than if I'd ordered the cheaper £15 one?

Kate1949 Sun 07-Sept-25 16:17:45

In Venice this year we had a sandwich and a drink in a cafe. When we were paying the server said 'You must tip me three euro'. We would have left a tip anyway but what a cheek.

Mollygo Sun 07-Sept-25 17:24:58

rafichagran

I don't care if people don't tip. I know that I do. I get a good service I tip. Good luck if they make good money.
I don't know why it annoys people as its not obligatory and if you don't want to do it dont.

The not obligatory and the what percentage is becoming a real problem, though it hasn’t gone as far as it has in the US yet.
On a cruise, it’s suggested that we tip the coach driver and the guide. I do try to have some GB £ or Euros on hand if I feel the guide has done a really good job, but the moment obligation creeps in, it puts me off. And why tip the driver? If it’s a reputable firm, surely he’s paid well enough.

Getting off the coach and watching Americans handing out handfuls of coins or even sometimes a note makes me feel a bit mean, but then they’re making up for my lack of contribution.

rafichagran Sun 07-Sept-25 19:28:09

Mum1959

Tipping should be your own decision not suggested by anyone else

Absolutly right. I don't make it a problem, do it if you want too, don't if you it's not right.

rafichagran Sun 07-Sept-25 19:28:54

think it's not right.