discretionary service charge

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Pretty sure you get paid to do a job. Why would i give you more money than you are being paid just for doing your job. I don't tip my bus driver. I don't tip my postman. Why would i tip a waiter? (unless of course it's a huge group of people ordering a large amount of dishes and drinks and the waiter is being fantastic)
For the record i worked in a pub for 1 month and received one 'tip' in the form of a 'keep the change and buy yourself a pint' type of job. That was in my last night working and is probably why i got it. Never expected tips as i was being paid.

Bus drivers are on set contracts with guaranteed hours and often have unions representing them, the jobs are only usually open to people over the age of 21 due to insurance purposes and pay significantly more than minimum wage, waitressing is a much more hectic job often with much fewer hours, I.e peek service times 6pm - 9pm and done by students or foreign workers who may have no other income, postmen get paid extra money by direct marketing companies to deliver leaflets etc and do often get tipped by customers around Christmas, places like McDonald's and burger king the staff are given a meal allowance per shift.
 
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[TW]Fox;20927324 said:
So do the people who stack the shelves in Sainsburys for you and serve you in HMV.

Yet you dont tip them.

You could do a shelf stacker job half drunk from the night before, unshaven smelly etc and it's likely no one will care, you could train a chimp to do that job, as a waiter in London it would most likely be more hassle to commute in via tube etc plus you have to make much more of an effort with appearance and hygiene as customers paying £50+ a head will rightly complain if the service is any way below par, will dave buying his Sainsburys basic loo roll complain?, unlikely. besides most retail workers get staff discounts worth a few quid anyway or extra for weekend and bank holidays, benefits of large companies, small restaruants can't afford this due to high rents.
 
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You could do a shelf stacker job half drunk from the night before, unshaven smelly etc and it's likely no one will care, you could train a chimp to do that job, as a waiter in London it would most likely be more hassle to commute in via tube etc plus you have to make much more of an effort with appearance and hygiene as customers paying £50+ a head will rightly complain if the service is any way below par, will dave buying his Sainsburys basic loo roll complain?, unlikely. besides most retail workers get staff discounts worth a few quid anyway or extra for weekend and bank holidays, benefits of large companies, small restaruants can't afford this due to high rents.

You seem to be under the impression that people only tip waiters in top London resturants?
 
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I always get service charges removed then as I leave hand a cash tip to my waiter / waitress if the service was good.

Screw service charges, don't care if I am in a group or with my girlfriend I will make sure they are not on my bill.
 
Soldato
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You could do a shelf stacker job half drunk from the night before, unshaven smelly etc and it's likely no one will care, you could train a chimp to do that job, as a waiter in London it would most likely be more hassle to commute in via tube etc plus you have to make much more of an effort with appearance and hygiene as customers paying £50+ a head will rightly complain if the service is any way below par, will dave buying his Sainsburys basic loo roll complain?, unlikely. besides most retail workers get staff discounts worth a few quid anyway or extra for weekend and bank holidays, benefits of large companies, small restaruants can't afford this due to high rents.

The first part of your post is based on?
 

Deleted member 651465

D

Deleted member 651465

The worst are those prompts on the chip and pin card machines.

"your bill: £67.23"
"press green to confirm amount"
"press green to tip, red to decline"

At this point you know the waiter/waitress is giving you the eyes.

It's like a sick joke, or as I like to call it: entrapment :p
 
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I always get service charges removed then as I leave hand a cash tip to my waiter / waitress if the service was good.

Screw service charges, don't care if I am in a group or with my girlfriend I will make sure they are not on my bill.

I think it is more of a 'stick it on and see if they notice' way of cheekily making money for the staff/restaurant.

Quite sly really.
 
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I really don't like them adding the service charge and so will either pay that and that alone or (more often) just pay the approximate (actual) bill charge in cash, leaving most of the service charge unpaid, no point asking to have it taken off unless you are paying by card.
 
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A waitress in a club in Mayfair wanted a 10% tip (we had a table). When she noticed I gave her only £5 she wasnt happy at all and even said "your not from here are you..."

Next time I won't give anything unless service is exceptional!
 
Soldato
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Most waiting staff are on minimum wage, as such, an extra 10% on a bill for them can really make their evenings. I have worked a minimum wage job before and I know if I got an extra hours pay it would have meant a lot to me, so I tip because I can afford to and I often go to the same places and like to be remembered fondly.
 
Caporegime
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Most waiting staff are on minimum wage, as such, an extra 10% on a bill for them can really make their evenings. I have worked a minimum wage job before and I know if I got an extra hours pay it would have meant a lot to me, so I tip because I can afford to and I often go to the same places and like to be remembered fondly.

Do you tip in McDonalds too?
 
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Do you tip in McDonalds too?

McDonald's isn't a restraunt and service isn't expected or part of the evening, like in a good restraunt, where service really is essential for the evening and outstanding service makes a huge difference. In those circumstances it's good to tip. They have gone beyond what is expected and you have and a better evening for it. If good waiters are tipped they are likely to keep service high. Which is also why I hate the English tipping mentality, of tipping all the time. Tipping all the time means people don't try harder.
 
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The worst are those prompts on the chip and pin card machines.

"your bill: £67.23"
"press green to confirm amount"
"press green to tip, red to decline"

At this point you know the waiter/waitress is giving you the eyes.

It's like a sick joke, or as I like to call it: entrapment :p

I gladly press red to decline. I don't tip, ever. I don't see the point people are paid to do their job and it's between them and their employer if they feel they're not getting paid enough. I've never had to argue it off a bill though because I've never been presented with that, but I would have no issue doing that either.

I don't understand what's so special about the food industry that compels people to tip, but if I tipped at restaurants, I'd have to tip in loads of places or I'd be a hypocrite.

Tipping is essentially a really clever scam by the food industry to reduce their operating costs and keep their staff happy. Tips should never be promised as part of the perks of the job because they can't guarantee tips will be made.
 
Caporegime
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McDonald's isn't a restraunt and service isn't expected or part of the evening, like in a good restraunt, where service really is essential for the evening and outstanding service makes a huge difference. In those circumstances it's good to tip.

Yes quite, that's the point. Generally people tip for the service and not because the person is on minimum wage. In fact in some high end restaurants the waiting staff will be on more than minimum wage - tips are still common for good service.
 
Caporegime
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McDonald's isn't a restraunt and service isn't expected or part of the evening, like in a good restraunt, where service really is essential for the evening and outstanding service
its essential for them if they want customers end of...
makes a huge difference. In those circumstances it's good to tip. They have gone beyond what is expected and you have and a better evening for it. If good waiters are tipped they are likely to keep service high.
and if they dont they arent likely to keep their jobs surely....
Which is also why I hate the English tipping mentality,
which is why i hate the tipping metality
of tipping all the time. Tipping all the time means people don't try harder.
 
Man of Honour
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its essential for them if they want customers end of...

and if they dont they arent likely to keep their jobs surely....

If they want customers you need very basic service, McDonald's isn't the place where you need anything more than the most rudimentary service

As for keeping jobs, you can't be sacked for just doing an adequate job, rather than an outstanding job. Gives them real motivation.
 

mrk

mrk

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If there's a tip to pay then the tip gets paid to the person who provided the good service. Having it added automatically to the bill means the establishment gets the tip instead of just the person who provided the service right?

Either way, I want to decide who and if they get tipped, not the other way round!
 
Caporegime
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If they want customers you need very basic service, McDonald's isn't the place where you need anything more than the most rudimentary service

As for keeping jobs, you can't be sacked for just doing an adequate job, rather than an outstanding job. Gives them real motivation.

high end meal prices should come with high end services and nothing less, its expected
 
Man of Honour
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high end meal prices should come with high end services and nothing less, its expected

There's still a difference though. Even at high end.
Been to high end places that I haven't liked the service despite it being very good, where other places they bend of backwards and it really does add to the night.
 
Caporegime
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If they want customers you need very basic service, McDonald's isn't the place where you need anything more than the most rudimentary service

McDonalds wasn't mentioned as an example of good service but rather as an example of people serving you being on a low wage. The other poster had stated different motives for tipping than the motives stated by yourself. The question - 'do you tip in McDonalds too?' was relevant to his post, given his stated motives for tipping.
 
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