Im British and Dont understand tipping

[D.P.]

because minimum wage is less?

Not everywhere, many states min wage is close to $10.

The tipping is important because if someone does provide good customer service then their take home pay is cut. The problem with countries that have little tipping is you get served by zombies who don't give a flying fig about your experience. In countries like America they at least pretend to care and try to ensure you are happy.

 

[D.P.]

No minimum wage in America so a lot of pay comes from tips.

Wrong, there is a federal minimum wage and many states impose minimum wages that are higher, $7-10

 

[marc2003]

i used to tip my barber but that's only because he was dirt cheap in the first place. i can't ever remember tipping anyone else.

tips were very welcome when i was a paperboy though. i remember collecting over 100 quid one christmas - a princely sum when you're 12.

 

[Columbo]

I just consider it the norm, being a nice & polite customer.

Having worked in hospitality part time for a while on and off, between travelling and being an older student, I just know how absolutely dire being a waiter or waitress is for the majority of the time.

Also, minium wage really is not that much especially for young people, so I often sympathise.

I went to Handmade Burger recently with a friend, and as per usual, left a small tip on the table as I left. I will frequently tip waiting staff that deal with a big group of me and my friends very well too (£10-£20).

How dire the job is is totally irrelevant. I don't suppose you've ever slung the cleaner of a public loo some cash after you've taken a dump have you, or the the traffic attendant who is dropping parking tickets on windscreens?

Never tipped and never will.

 

[Freefaller]

If somebody goes the extra mile in terms of service then they get a tip from me. Otherwise no. They get paid a wage.

I don't get tips for making the operating equipment extra clean, so why should somebody get extra money off me for bringing me a sandwich.

Agreed. I often ask for the service charge to be removed as well. Unless we are a large group of people when service is more of an effort... But then again it is their job. I guess it doesn't pay well and it sucks but why should I feel guilt tripped into tipping because they aren't earning a good wage if they haven't gone above and beyond their duty?

 

[Tombo]

Not true, there is a minimum wage and in some states its actually very high.

In Seattle for example it's $15 an hour! Yet you are still expected to tip...

That is one state, it is not $15 in the majority.

 

[Efour]

Jesus... Anyone lived in Seattle? Whats the cost of living like ?
Sounds more pricey than Sweden.

 

[garak112]

My sister works in a bar in South London and complains when she doesn't get tips. She is doing one of the easiest jobs going and there would be scores of people willing to replace her, why she thinks she deserves more than minimum wage for pouring a pint is beyond me.

 

[Duke]

Because their employer pays them **** all. They survive on tips. It'll be the same in this country before too long. We'll be working, volunteering, for free (this is what Cameron wants) and we'll survive on charity, i.e. tips.

Of course, the employer will not only be making money from providing the goods and services, but also taking a % of the tips too. Employees lose out again. Rich get richer. Poor get poorer. It's the future.

u mad

 

[Glaucus]

Tipping is a much better way.
American service is great because off it. Uk service is absolutely rubbish. Get rid of minimum wage for service sector and make tipping normal (not that we ever would do it, and even if we did, no one would tip).

As for tipping here, only if it's excellent service and goes beyond what you would expect.

 

[[TW]Fox]

The entire concept is ridiculous - you shouldn't do a good job in the hope of extra money, you should do a good job because that is what you are paid to do. I've worked customer facing minimum wage jobs and I put effort into what I did because that is what I was paid to do, never received nor expected tips.

Do you tip the person who packs your bags at Tesco?
Do you tip the chap who empties your bin?
Do you tip the guy who keeps the street clean for you?
Do you tip the parcel guy?
Do you tip the guy in the shop who spends 20 minutes explaining the product range to you?
Do you tip the car salesman?

Obviously not, so why tip somebody who brings you food in a restaurant or conveys you from A to B?

I do not tip in this country unless the service is absolutely exceptional and clearly above what would be expected. The very notion that somebody deserves 10% of your bill because they came over and wrote down what you wanted and then brought it to you 30 minutes later is bizarre - if anything should we not tip the chef instead? He's the one that actually made it. 10% of the cost of a meal for carrying it from A to B, it's madness.

As for tipping taxi drivers, is £10 to do 5 miles in a high mileage Mondeo not already enough for them?

The same thing applies in the US - the myth that everyone in a restaurant in the US earns a dollar an hour and therefore needs your tip is ridiculous, it's a myth. However annoyingly it's a cultural thing in the US therefore I always tip in the US simply because it's not really my place to ignore the culture when I'm just a visitor.

But over here, no, you can't have 10% of my bill just because you smiled.

 

[Rich_L]

If the employee only received fixed pay from the employer irrespective of performance then their only incentive (beyond pride, advancement etc) is keep the employer happy, in other words do the bare minimum not to engender a complaint. The service in the UK in the last 2 weeks has reminded me that generally it is pretty average at best.

Tipping introduces a direct financial relationship and incentive between the employee and customer to provide better than the minimum service, and as a result the service should be significantly better - example being the US!

The entire concept is ridiculous - you shouldn't do a good job in the hope of extra money, you should do a good job because that is what you are paid to do.

Tbf if you apply that concept to employment generally then you'd best hope for a good employer otherwise you'll never get a payrise in your life

 

[[TW]Fox]

If the employee only received fixed pay from the employer irrespective of performance then their only incentive (beyond pride, advancement etc) is keep the employer happy, in other words do the bare minimum not to engender a complaint. The service in the UK in the last 2 weeks has reminded me that generally it is pretty average at best.

Tipping introduces a direct financial relationship and incentive between the employee and customer to provide better than the minimum service, and as a result the service should be significantly better - example being the US!

To be honest though, so what? It's not as if taking an order and bringing food requires the most exceptional level of customer service talent, is it? The area where the effort is required in that transaction is back in the kitchen anyway, who generally receive no tip. Good job the chef doesn't have as bad an attitude towards his job as the front-line staff!

The whole percentage thing is nonsense.

The effort and interaction from the waiter is exactly the same whether you order a glass of house water and a sandwich or a glass of champagne and a chateaubriand, yet using the nonsense percentage tip concept the waiter receives a huge amount more money for the second order despite the fact his level of effort and interaction in both examples is identical. How does that make sense?

Tbf if you apply that concept to employment generally then you'd best hope for a good employer otherwise you'll never get a payrise in your life

Where else in employment is the customer expected to give you the pay rise?

 

[RoboCod]

^ what Fox said - SO WHAT? I don't go to a restaurant to sit there high and mighty ready to judge the waitress on her table service, then chomping to cast the vote on how much we tip the poor girl. It's not Xfactor.

JUST BRING ME MY FOOD ALREADY PEASANT!

But seriously, I don't overpay the mechanic if he does a good job of fitting my tyres and smiled when he returned my car to me. "Great service pal"

 

[Rich_L]

What difference does it make where the pay rise comes from? That was the whole point I was making, in a customer service industry it's makes a huge amount of sense to establish a customer-employee direct financial relationship.

I dunno, it really doesn't seem that complicated - dangle a carrot for good service and weirdly enough you get better service. It's just performance-related pay but coming directly from the customer. :shrug:

The percentage thing might be nonsense but then that applies to loads of industries which invoice and operate based on a percentage of profits or whatever - you'll get bigger cuts and smaller cuts it'll likely average out over the week/month/year at a certain amount.

 

[mattyg]

The entire concept is ridiculous - you shouldn't do a good job in the hope of extra money, you should do a good job because that is what you are paid to do. I've worked customer facing minimum wage jobs and I put effort into what I did because that is what I was paid to do, never received nor expected tips.

Do you tip the person who packs your bags at Tesco? No as thats what they get paid for and the manner they pack my bags doesn't impact on my experience of shopping
Do you tip the chap who empties your bin? No as thats what he gets paid for and they make so much noise it wakes me up
Do you tip the guy who keeps the street clean for you?No thats what he gets paid for and I have no interaction with him
Do you tip the parcel guy? No he gets paid to do a job and he does it correctly but still has a crap attitude
Do you tip the guy in the shop who spends 20 minutes explaining the product range to you? No as a salesperson thats his job
Do you tip the car salesman?Definitely not he's most probably spent the last hour or so trying to sell me carp I don't want or need

Obviously not, so why tip somebody who brings you food in a restaurant or conveys you from A to B?They get paid to bring your food. However the interaction you have with them can have an effect on how good your whole meal experience is. If all they did was bring your food and chuck it on the table and walk away then fine don't tip I wouldn't. however if they enhance my eating experience in their restaurant then YES i will tip

I do not tip in this country unless the service is absolutely exceptional and clearly above what would be expected. The very notion that somebody deserves 10% of your bill because they came over and wrote down what you wanted and then brought it to you 30 minutes later is bizarre - if anything should we not tip the chef instead? He's the one that actually made it. 10% of the cost of a meal for carrying it from A to B, it's madness.

As for tipping taxi drivers, is £10 to do 5 miles in a high mileage Mondeo not already enough for them?

The same thing applies in the US - the myth that everyone in a restaurant in the US earns a dollar an hour and therefore needs your tip is ridiculous, it's a myth. However annoyingly it's a cultural thing in the US therefore I always tip in the US simply because it's not really my place to ignore the culture when I'm just a visitor.

But over here, no, you can't have 10% of my bill just because you smiled.

 

[Glaucus]

What difference does it make where the pay rise comes from? That was the whole point I was making, in a customer service industry it's makes a huge amount of sense to establish a customer-employee direct financial relationship.

I dunno, it really doesn't seem that complicated - dangle a carrot for good service and weirdly enough you get better service. It's just performance-related pay but coming directly from the customer. :shrug:

.

No no. It's so much better being forced to pay and receive rubbish service.

Of course tipping makes sense and service indeed is far far better. I would rather choose tip based on service, than be forced to pay a fixed rate like the uk.

 

[mattyg]

How about engineers? Should they get a tip for a building staying up? Why the service industry think they should be rewarded for providing the service they should be providing is beyond me...

But they DO get tips. Just not in an immediate monetary way.

Its about reputation.

Something that will be very hard to trade off in the hospitality industry

 

[mattyg]

The American system is unfathomable. Basically the employee gets little/nothing from the company she provides with her labour, and so the clients of said company have to pay staff wages?

Erm please tell me your not a business owner if you can't get your head around the fact the in EVERY industry CLIENTS PAY THE STAFF WAGES


Charities may be the exception

 

[Mockingbird]

I've literally never tipped anyone at a bar. Probably because they charge so bloody much for a pint round here.

Only place I ever tipped a barman was New York, visiting my sister and we went to her local. She told me to tip 20% which seemed excessive, but lo and behold every 5th drink is on the house, plus they were genuinely nice people to chat with. Tipping in a UK pub seems insane to me, unless you're in a big group that are making a lot of noise/fuss and you can see it wearing them down, in which case "and one for yourself" towards the end of the evening seems quite reasonable to me.

Otherwise, as many have said, restaurants 10% for good service, less or none for shoddy service (or if the food wasn't as good as the price suggested), more if particularly good service; taxis round up if it gets you out quicker, barber keeps the change.