Leaving a tip when paying by card

benskia

benskia

benskia

Associate
Joined
6 Oct 2005
Posts
576
Hi,

When leaving a tip in a restaurant and you have no cash, is it worth using the gratuity option that some card machines offer when you make the payment?

Or does that just go to the restaurant's profits instead of the Christmas fund for the waiters/waitresses?

Cheers.
 
depends entirely on the restaurant, if in doubt ask although most decent establishments will pay them to staff!

Most will be subject to tax and NI if run through the machine as they will have to go through the company accounts and be paid back in salary as oposed cash tips are normally just pocketed and not reported to HMRC.
 
I've heard about some restaurants not giving any of the card tips to their employees - So I never tip using my card - I usually have a few quid knocking around and I'll usually leave that.
 
I prefer to tip with cash but if I have none on me I will tip on my card. I prefer the tip to go to the individual who served me (providing they did a reasonable job) rather than the restaurant because I have no idea how its divided up.
 
I asked at a local restaurant and the waiter said that all the money given did go to them, but also said that another nearby place took a cut from the card tips.

If in doubt, ask...

FluffySheep
 
a1ex2001 said:
depends entirely on the restaurant, if in doubt ask
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Agreed. When presented with the bill, I make a point of discreetly asking whether the staff receive the tips. Some restaurants pay their staff all of the tips, some only the cash tips.

Despite once having been a waiter, I do wish we would do away with tipping. It's an awkward and archaic practice in this country and how some people even qualify for extra payment boggles the mind (I'm looking at you, taxi drivers).
 
Camalot said:
I don't tip, they get paid a wage just like me.

Maybe that's harsh i don't know, but i just don't get it.
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Yea I'm the same in this country.

In america though you always get good service , usually drink refills are free etc so It feels like your getting good value for money
 
Tipping is a throw back to the times before we had a minimum wage and was a way of rewarding service people for going above and beyond. In reality it has now lost it's point but we still carry on for some reason, always amuses me that we tip someone for bringing us dinner but not the checkout girl at the super market etc etc etc

arknor said:
Yea I'm the same in this country.

In america though you always get good service , usually drink refills are free etc so It feels like your getting good value for money
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The American system is a big swindle as well, they have two minimum wages one for service jobs and one for regular jobs with the service one being lower to allow for tips. Service employees play on this saying they need tips to get by but mention a campaign to have tips abolished and all wages put to the same minimum and they soon go quiet. American tips are worth loads of money look ar Bar staff getting a tip with every drink they serve!
 
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I ask.

I've found that if the wee machine asks if you want to "add a gratuity" then it gets treated the same as just leaving money on the table - so makes no difference how you give it to them.

If however you don't get the option to specifically add a tip on the machine and you just choose to round up the bill then they'll never see it - so I'll make an effort to leave money.

Even if you just leave pocket change it's more than they would have seen otherwise and since I've asked no one ever seems to mind.
 
a1ex2001 said:
Tipping is a throw back to the times before we had a minimum wage and was a way of rewarding service people for going above and beyond. In reality it has now lost it's point but we still carry on for some reason, always amuses me that we tip someone for bringing us dinner but not the checkout girl at the super market etc etc etc
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yea most of them go out of their way to pack your bags these days as well at least in my experience.

sometimes I will tip local take out delivery people but usually only if its someone fairly young that obviously came on foot, dominoes drivers etc can **** off the pizza is already to expensive
 
a1ex2001 said:
The American system is a big swindle as well, they have two minimum wages one for service jobs and one for regular jobs with the service one being lower to allow for tips. Service employees play on this saying they need tips to get by but mention a campaign to have tips abolished and all wages put to the same minimum and they soon go quiet. American tips are worth loads of money look ar Bar staff getting a tip with every drink they serve!
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Yeah, American system is a bit of a con and it can quickly escalate to bad feelings from staff about customers that haven't factored in tipping. The fact that they're specifically getting less wages because they're expected to get tipped is crazy in my books.

With regards to tipping itself I don't have a massive problem. I realise that people get paid to do their jobs but in the back of my head I can't help but think that I have a less stressful job that pays a lot more. I find myself tipping a lot more when I have a price in my head of how much the meal is going to cost and it comes well under my expectations :)
 
Yeah, American system is a bit of a con and it can quickly escalate to bad feelings from staff about customers that haven't factored in tipping. The fact that they're specifically getting less wages because they're expected to get tipped is crazy in my books.
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American employees still HAVE to be paid a minimum wage,

IF the tips don't make up the difference then the employer has to so don't be fooled by the crap about them being paid under the minimum wage and they will starve if they don't get tips.

The tip system is good for the manager because he saves on wages.
The tip system is good for the employees because the tips more than make up the difference and they earn more than they would on a set minimum wage.

if you don't believe me google it
 
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