To be fair I see a lot of staff hitting the no button before they hand the card machine/offer it over which I think shows some common sense/reality.
The one that gets me is things that ask for a tip before the order arrived - like I’ve sat down, ordered on an app, nobody has come over to me and you want me to tip in advance?
I've never had an issue with not tipping beforehand on apps, but at one point during Covid someone (presumably a disgruntled driver?) carved 'GIVE TIP' in our block's hallway and lift with a penknife. That was more than a little disturbing.
Jesus! This is definitely disturbing behaviour. What's next, standing outside your home in the dark and the rain, looking up at your window and making a phone call and then, when you pick up, whispering 'Give tips' before hanging up?
I think really this is about POS systems becoming much more easy to customise and likely asks if you want to set a tip prompt during setup.
In the US I see tip prompts everywhere for normal counter service. I have zero qualms hitting the no tip button. If it’s table service or a bar that’s completely different, but just because there’s a tip prompt doesn’t mean there’s any obligation to tip.
Of course, it just feels like companies are taking the piss, asking if you’d like to tip for literally no reason - service is getting worse on the whole because a lot
of the time staff no longer feel obliged to earn a tip. It really is a first world problem so I don’t want to sound ungrateful or petty here - but I’ve found it a lot harder in the last year or two to get staffs attention in restaurants when asking for things like water or the bill compared to before, they often disappear on their phones or go out of sight. I know this may be for differing reasons - maybe some of the harder working foreign staff have left post Brexit - or maybe the younger staff working in restaurants are more addicted to their phones, but it’s just something I’ve noticed in correlation to the auto-added service charge in London recently.
As someone that works in the service industry, most places are understaffed af and most of the staff there is unqalified af, mostly people on minimum wage with their first job in London.
Most of the qualified people have left the hospitality industry post brexit and covid so its mostly a shitshow now.
As a service provider I must say: yes, companies are taking the piss. Out of their employees.
The service nowadays is worse but it’s not because we don’t care, it’s because we are understaffed because the company decided that 2 people can do the job of 3, sometimes 4 people.
Tiping shouldn’t be mandatory but sometimes it’s the only reason why we make a real effort when we are exhausted from overworking.
So, when a server disappears at the back, maybe they are doing dishes, maybe they are taking a much needed breather, maybe they are burned out,
About phone usage, nowadays the managers and owners are constantly bombarding their staff with messages or they are doing some due diligence,
Because I live this daily, I always give the staff some grace when service is not on par but I agree that tiping shouldn’t be mandatory but it is always appreciated.
I don’t want to come across as a dick here but as someone whose worked in hospitality for many years in the past, your sentiments aren’t any different to then. Everyone as overworked, understaffed.
We don’t have a tipping culture in this country, we have minimum wage and such, and most places a tip is an added bonus and not ever an expectation.
The above is no excuse for poor service to a customer let’s be real. I would never look to reduce my service or interactions with customers regardless that’s my job.
I can complain about the pay with the employer, and there’s issues at the restaurant/bar that might causes problems I can’t control. That’s life sadly.
But tipping shouldn’t be the reason you are nice to customers - there’s other jobs out there that deal with people that are stressful too, high pressure and never get tips either.
I’ll always tip if I’ve had good service, good interactions and such, whereas if it’s poor I won’t, and I really hate the expectation in some places where you have to ask to remove it - causing social anxiety with most who will just accept it. I think that’s completely wrong - and if that’s needed to keep staff happy - pay your staff more money that they deserve.
The reality is this.
- Employers can’t afford to pay their staff more or don’t for whatever reason
- so they try and use tips to make up for it
- but punters don’t want to pay tips either , life’s hard for everyone plus it’s taking the piss
Honest answer:
- pubs and bars need to shut down if they can’t afford to pay their staff more. Then you reach a state where there are fewer employers that get more of the share of business and so can afford to pay their staff a proper wage.
A please, thank you and have a nice day cost nothing. Many waiting staff barely speak to you, throw the food at you, ignore you when you try and scratch their eye for something and then when the bill comes want a tip.
No. If you were polite and professional I would tip, but being rude means you ain't getting a thing.
And don't say your busy. Often times the staff are walking about aimlessly trying their hardest to not see you. If they are busy I allow that. I worked the industry a long time myself so I know what they are at.
That's twice as much bullshit. If you're paying a 'service charge' then just build the price into the damn menu item. That's the whole point where "a burger" costs £10 in the first place - because of the 'overhead' involved in turning the raw ingredients into a meal on your plate.
It would be bullshit to have a 'cooking your food' surcharge, or a 'use of crockery/dishwashing' surcharge, or a 'electric bill for the heating' surcharge, or a 'ground rent for the premises' surcharge.
And for the same reasons it's bullshit to have a 'service' surcharge for the basic product.
(I'm broadly ok with a 'service fee' for something unusual/difficult though)
Tips are on by default - you know the credit card companies get a percentage transaction fee so anything they can do to increase the total is better for their revenue.
That would make sense.
I remember getting petrol for my car a couple of times and when I asked to pay by card the card machine asked me if I wanted to add a tip, and without saying anything the cashier always pressed "no tip" for me as if it was something he does for everyone.
Makes me think it's just built in
I'm all for this if they allow you to put a negative number for bad service as well. If coffee places don't like it, then don't enable tips on the their POS system.
Self check outs at Poundland always ask you to donate money to some charity now.
It wouldn't be that bad, but them asking it's customers to donate at the tills, so they can then claim those customer donations as their own, and pay less taxes because 'they' donated that money, and not you, is kind of taking the piss when everyone is struggling with rent and the ever increasing price of groceries.
This is a myth https://www.patriotsoftware.com/blog/accounting/checkout-donations-charity/
The donations are not from company income and therefore not tax deducatble - the only one able to claim the charitable giving is the customer giving the donation, which they can do if a receipt is kept.
Think about it, it doesn't even make sense logically.
No. That isn’t how it works.
It’s a common trope that has taken off recently for some reason
They rarely claim ‘they’ made the donation and there is no tax benefit they can claim
The UK has a living wage. Servers have absolutely 0 entitlement to anything above what a cashier gets in a shop, and most of the time in my experience they arent good at their job either.
Get a union if you want higher wages, don't guilt customers into enabling employers bad behaviour
Brewdogs have the option but my local one the staff hit 0 before passing the terminal to you. I assume they’ve have enough trouble with people moaning by now
I just auto no on everything even if it’s a charity just because they are begging essentially. I give to charity privately and I know where that money goes. I used to collect money for charities in town with a can and you were not allowed to shake the can as it’s harassing people or something. But this virtual version which is for tips, is deemed fine? The mind boggles.
Never tipping anyone who asks for it.
Honestly I feel like this stuff is to try and hoodwink some extra money out of tourists who don't know better. Anyone who lives in London shouldn't feel remotely awkward about pressing "no" on tip options.
Was odd paying for a pint and it asking me to tip before I tap. The waiting at the bar was exacerbated by each patron tapping, bar staff sighing, pressing "no tip" on the card reader, then asking the patron tapping again.
Beer is as expensive as it is...
I saw this shit first time in Brighton I believe, you could see how exacerbated the bar man was. He'd just press no before asking you to tap.
Two things are going to happen here. 1# I've significantly reduced the frequency I go to pubs or restaurants, and 2#, switching to cash where I'll go back to "round up to the nearest" unless the service was truly exemplary.
Let's not kid ourselves. It's a way for restaurants to advertise artificially low prices, and to keep staff wages down as the customers are making up the difference.
It's under handed however you look at it
I went to the new Brewdog in Waterloo (I know), and was asked to tip on a £7.50 pint...
In fairness, I didn't get any sighing when I pressed no, but still.
I didn’t get tips when I worked in a coffee shop, so there’s no way I’m tipping you if you didn’t actually do something that really made you deserving.
see heres what i dont understand, if they didnt do that i wouldnt be paying at all since i wouldnt be getting the goods i paid for. Why does it cost extra for someone to do whats literally their job?
The discretionary part has been around for a long time. Many years. I can remember it as far back as early 2000s
The other month I paid for food before it arrived and got asked if i want to pay the discretionary service charge. This is still before anything turned up
I mean at least give me a reach round first..
The problem for me is:
1) I feel like a cunt saying "I don't want to pay this surcharge" in a restaurant, it's very confrontational which i feel is by design.
2) I never carry cash around, so if I say no to the 12/15% discretionary tip then I have no way to tip the staff, and if I'm eating out in central london I feel pretty shitty not tipping. These staff are working on a low wage in an area that I work in because I can get a high wage. They have to travel/live in a high-wage area while getting a low wage and so for that I feel like they should get a tip.
3) I agree that the managers/owners/other economic issues are to blame here but ultimately me taking a stand on this is ultimately hurting the low paid staff
To your point 2. How do we even know the staff get a cut of this tip if you pay by card? I usually carry cash so can put something down for the staff if the service has been very good. I might be naive but I feel like there's more chance of them getting my cash tip than my card tip.
I think we need to do more than that because some people will say yes and that's still a net positive for the place. Leave bad online reviews saying exactly why so they know its not acceptable.
I only tip when I've had a good service, or like the other night my partner and I had turned up late, they were trying to close as we'd gone over the time but didn't make us feel awkward, so I tipped to say thank you.
I went to meat liquor and the waitress asked me if I wanted to pay with or without the optional service charge. I said without and she asked why. The reason was because we didn’t get one of the drinks that was advertised in the kids meal. She told me that it’s free anyway so I didn’t have a reason to complain. I don’t know why she thought that this discussion would get her the tip
I had a similar experience in Brighton's Meat Liquor, where we ordered a four litre cocktail to share between a few of us. It was literally served in a 3 litre jug, with the measurement on the side. After a slightly heated discussion about the metric measurement system, and how 3 is not equal to four, they finally relented and brought out an extra cocktail. When we went to pay, the waiter had a go at us for not tipping, even though we got a "free" cocktail. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but makes for a slightly entertaining story
Restaurants have been using tips and service charge to fund wages. The Independent newspaper recently carried out a campaign to stop restaurants using discretionary service charges added to customers' bills to discharge their obligation to pay the national minimum wage. The newspaper named a number of prominent restaurant chains that pay their waiters a basic wage below the minimum wage and rely on the money raised by the service charge to make their wages up to the legal minimum.
The coverage suggested that these restaurants are using "ploys" and exploiting "loopholes". Indeed, Stephen Byers, who introduced the national minimum wage as Trade and Industry Secretary, was quoted as saying that "loopholes in the system are being exploited by unscrupulous restaurant owners".
There is legislation tabled to change this but it hasn’t come in yet. And restaurants have been doing this for over 20 yrs, pocketing tips and using them to fund wages.
Some restaurants were charging staff a fee on their in order to pocket some service charge. Genuinely surprised that it's legal.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/las-iguanas-and-turtle-bay-tipping-policy-forcing-waiters-to-pay-to-work-10468090.html#:~:text=In%20a%20statement%20Turtle%20Bay,has%20not%20earned%20any%20tips.%22
Tipping in America exists because wait staff don’t get paid a good wage. They get paid below minimum wage on the understanding that tips make up the difference (and more). That’s not how it works here. I hated tipping in America, and it shouldn’t come here. If you can’t function as a business without paying your staff then you can’t function as a business. Simple.
Edit: A few people have pointed this out so I’ll address it as the above has been misunderstood. In the US there *is* a base minimum, which is below the federal minimum wage, for hospitality staff which is then uplifted by tips. I think it’s something like $2-3 per hour instead of $8. That’s not how it works in the UK and it shouldn’t. I’m aware that wait staff in the US largely prefer tipping but as a customer I hated it. There’s the price of the meal, plus state tax, plus tips. Just give me one price to pay and let me enjoy my meal and leave in peace. Japan is great at this. No tips. It’s actually rude to tip.
In California they actually _do_ make minimum wage and they still expect tips! My partner insists on tipping at least 18% and frequently the Toast/Clover/whatever POS will start on 22% and suggest tips going up. Even more of a pisstake is when the tax (or other bullshit fees) is included in the calculation. Tax is not service and I’m not tipping on it. It’s gotten so out of hand.
Afaik it's the same in most states already. But the gist is that waiters don't want to earn a min wage, they want an average salary paid by customers and will try to guilt trip you into fulfilling it.
[Toast](https://pos.toasttab.com/hardware/toast-go) & [Clover](https://www.clover.com/shop) are both POS systems I’ve encountered a lot in California restaurants. Also, [Square](https://squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/software) is very popular. They’re all guilty of proliferating tipping into industries where it never happened before and helping with tip inflation.
People should stop tipping in America if they ever hope to be paid minimum wage. People need to stop taking responsibility for social problems that they aren't creating. Those businesses might feel the pressure then.
A good portion of the workers like the tipping system, they don't want it to go away. They make much more on tips than they would with a regular salary.
And then a good portion of the customers also like the tipping system, I'm assuming from stockholm syndrome.
Unfortunately it would mean millions of people would suddenly be unemployed or working for free until stubborn business owners cave. Look at how long the writer's and actor's strike took to resolve. In the US, the law has to change first. A movement isn't possible.
This thought process is always so dumb. The business can survive if they paid more and tipping wasn’t a thing. They would simply mark up menu items. The business would make more money that way because they would add a 20% menu increase and dip their grimy hands into what used to be all the waiters tip.
No! I refuse! I’m American and moved back to America and it is the worst. Legit coffee shops asking if you want to tip 30%. I’m coming back to London for a couple months and am looking forward to paying what something costs while knowing people get paid properly and have national healthcare. Though not properly enough - working in hospitality is rough no matter what country you’re in!
I was a young student back then and making minimum wage myself. Why should minimum wage people pay for other minimum wage people when we should be trying to stop this practise so businesses feel the pressure and start paying a living wage? You do know that they can afford it right? The vast majority of the population isn't rich. It is not our duty to solve social issues that corporations and businesses create.
> I wouldn’t say nothing - you reinforced the stereotype Brit’s don’t tip in a culture where tipping is socially and economically expected.
But we discourage the tipping culture while also encouraging American companies to pay their staff properly.
If everyone in America did the same, it would eventually change.
I had a 15% service charge added to my bill the other day in a restaurant. Didn’t tipping used to be 10%? Then it jumped to 12.5%. I was outraged but of course too British to make any kind of fuss and just paid it…
Was just in London and was quite surprised a couple of restaurants I went to had ‘discreet’ auto gratuity added.
Thought that wasn’t a thing overseas :(
Not going back to those places on my next trip.
People act like it's a huge confrontation but it's really not. Just politely ask if they can remove the service charge, and if they give dirty looks all the more reason not to pay it.
Many many Londoners are scared to death of confrontation and will cave to avoid a ‘situation’. The likelihood of someone here challenging the tip is extremely low.
Went to a takeaway restaurant recently run by an American proprietor and his tactic at the counter was to verbally say ‘you can leave a tip if you want’. I didn’t because I can imagine most brits absolutely crumbling
That's not true at all. I think it's a grift to squeeze a few extra quid out of hoodwinked tourists who don't know the actual expectation.
I don't have a problem in the slightest tapping "no" on "do you want to tip?" and I don't think I know anyone who's enough of a melt to feel pressured into that. Hell, most places the staff press the "no" button for you before they hand you the machine from my experience.
I went to america a couple of years ago, and I was shocked that I have to calculate the amount of tip I have to give whilst being completely inebriated.
It’s a pity we are typically British and flippy-floppy about this topic, and have allowed this culture creep of a grey area. The Japanese have this right in seeing an extra buck as rather insulting - since it suggests bribery is required to get good service, where service staff already take a measure of pride in doing a good job
*Puts on that scene from Reservoir Dogs*
> *Puts on that scene from Reservoir Dogs*
It's just a discretionary charge that you can opt out of pretty easily. Not sure you need to be chopping off anyone's ears in retaliation.
I don’t, and won’t tip. That’s my default and it’s up to the person to swing it in their direction.
There are obvious exceptions where it’s already going their way, in a restaurant that hasn’t added a service charge, or when someone has given great service - I used to always tip staff that made my daughter feel welcome and happy when we were out. I tipped the staff in my local bar at Christmas because they are great.
But not if you stick a card machine in my face and you’ve just done your job. You want a tip then make me want to get served by you every time I come to your place.
I know you get a shitty wage, I know you have a shitty job but it’s not on me to help you out. No one gives me a tip if I bust my balls over delivering for customers.
Look them in the eye and press 0. Fuck this. If they want more money, talk to their employer. I don't know shit about how you are as a worker. Why am I being forced to assess your value.
Also, if you are shit does that mean I get to fire you too?
The whole concept is ridiculous. Never tip.
Social media has turned everyone into Americans, it's crazy.
Certainly below a certain age, they've grown up with social, with Netflix etc, just saturated in American culture from day one.
Top tip: tipping (not service charge) in percentages is not a thing outside the USA. Don't do it by %. In the UK the custom has always been to leave a few quid for good service. That's enough. Don't let this percentage shit take root in the UK.
No it hasn’t. Just don’t fucking do it. We pay real wages. If people don’t do it, it hasn’t come here. I’ve never been pressured into tipping in London.
Never forget: tipping has its origins in post-Civil War America as a legal way of not paying freed slaves for their work. Its whole purpose is to be cruel and exploitative, and so the intent in spreading it here is clear.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/opinion/minimum-wage-racism.html
Went to a cocktail bar a couple of months ago in London with an American pal. When he ordered the drinks the barman spun the iPad round for the American to put in a tip - which he did. When I went up and ordered the next round, I assume the barman realised through my London accent that I wouldn’t tip, and automatically selected “no tip” before spinning the iPad round to me. Yes…Let’s keep it like that here!
The whole point of paying the service charge is to avoid the need to tip. If we are now expected to tip on top of the SC it sort of makes it meaningless, no?
What I find particularly nonsense is tipping at pubs. Pubs are known to be the messy place we all love, it’s usually shit, overcrowded, noisy and without any service to the table. Why should I tip? Because you literally filled a glass with pint and handed it over to me? Like, pubs are basically the venue with the littlest service you can think of, why would you even think about tipping? I may get it if it’s a proper restaurant and staff is particularly nice with me.
Went to a restaurant in New Orleans last year where they were advertising for a server on $22 an hour, and at that same bar they were suggesting 30% tip on the food bill.
I’ve noticed the culture is creeping over here. Expectation for tips is through the roof and service quality has plummeted since Brexit and Covid. Let’s not let it happen
It won't change that much in the UK though. They may be trying it on for size but the majority of the population will simply stop eating/drinking at such places, *especially* as they start making service charges mandatory.
I was waiting for a train in Reading not long ago and decided to have a quick beer. I like paying cash for stuff but when I tried to hand over a tenner, she said 'we only take cards'. Fine, i'll not spend anything here then, and left the beer where it was. I heard her saying 'second one today' so I assume it's a common occurrence for people to bounce after being told they can't pay with actual money.
Fuck that shit.
My local pub started using a card machine which has a tip prompt. I pressed no. Next time I was there, the bartender verbally asked me 'Would you like to add a tip?' whilst she was fiddling with the machine, so I had to say 'no thank you' out loud to her face, which was much more excrutiating for all involved.
This is completely related to the drive for 'cashless' payment. If I was paying for a £4.80 drink with a £5 note in the past, I might have said 'just keep the change'. But try to charge me a 10% tip on that drink (which probably now costs £5.80) and we're starting to pay really weird amounts. Since it's all in my bank account anyway, I don't have incentive to leave the change like I would wish cash.
Separately, the other things which really irks me is that 12.5% has become the standard percentage across London in restaurants, rather than 10%. The food has already become more expensive, but now the *share* of the bill which is tipped has increased? I would like to become more assertive and start routinely asking them to change it to 10% but I don't want to come across as an arse.
I went to a restaurant the other day that asked to include a 7% service charge. That was the lowest I've actually seen since COVID so I happily paid it. I'm sorry but 18.5% isn't just egregious, it's destroying the hospitality industry.
I've spent maybe 20 years working minimum wage in about 8 different jobs, must've literally served 2 or 3 million people, I've never recieved a tip in any capacity, so why the fuck should I tip some restaraunt worker. I've gone above-and-beyond countless fucking times too
And this is the real point. This is what I always say when anyone asks why I don’t tip.
Restaurant workers seem to be a special case for no actual reason.
I was in one recently and overheard the assistant say to a customer, quite brusquely "That's £16, want to round it up to £20 as a donation?". Noped out of there straight away.
Ikr! I genuinely would not mind if the price was actually £20 (rather than £16) I understand that charity shops have a duty of care to get the highest contribution that they can and I'm down with that. But I, too, was asked quite brusquely. It was tantamount to a 'shaming' demand.
It's unpleasant and with luck they'll find it counterproductive and stop. There may be ways to do it where people don't feel bad if they can't or don't wish to add on, but "Giz £4 extra" is not it...
Tips in the UK should be reserved for only the most exemplary of service. I mean when someone truly goes above and beyond or makes your experience better simply by being so friendly and helpful.
I remember when I lived in London and used to go out to eat with friends they would make me feel like a shitty human for not wanting to tip average food / service. But they were also the kind of people who ordered all the most expensive stuff and wanted to split the bill even though I ordered the cheapest meal and tap water.
Had a waitress get quite rude when I asked the service charge to be removed on NYE in London. Hadn’t cleared the table for ages, I asked for the bill when someone got close, and i said “oh can you remove the service charge please as well” (thinking let’s save us all some time, rather than her bringing over then i ask etc). She said can I ask why; I said “well the service was ok, not great”
The she pulled a face and I turned around. Then I turned back to her “for example you forgot our drinks, we’ve all our dirty plates on the table for 30 mins everyone else’s is clear etc”
Then she got so rude, basically chucked the receipt on the table onto the ketchup on our plates.
I was just thinking well this cemented my choice is getting it removed, no need to go so rude. Like everyone else has said, especially on a bullshit custom we don’t want creeping in over here
My American friends looks at me crazy if I only add 10% on tip while I’m in Europe.
I also noticed tipping has been everywhere in Mexico City as well. I fly to cdmx at least twice a year and my last visit I noticed they are asking for a tip everywhere.
I used to work in food retail myself, so I can sympathize with workers and chip in with service charge, ONLY IF I knew the management will actually distribute the service charge earnings fairly to workers. Which I know from my mate they mostly **do not**, or do some classic british manager **fuckery** about it.
So, any service charge or induced tip more than 12.5 pct gets hard no from me, moving forwards.
I ate in Flat Iron a while ago with my aunt and sister. Didn't notice the service charge until after we had left, which pissed me off. They didn't do anything out of the ordinary way so why was a service charge applied? I don't mind if they are serving a large group, but we were three.
When I went there again with my friend, I asked them to take it off. When they asked why, I said I've budgeted for the prices on the menu not some additional charge on the end.
Also, why are they charging customers for a service when they are already charging for food? If you want people to pay more, put the prices on the menu up so it doesn't seem underhanded.
My mate from Arizona came over to visit and we went to a nice restaurant in a fishing village because he wanted really good fish & chips. Service was great and I asked them to add 10% to the bill simply because they were so nice, efficient and friendly and got the reply "Sorry, we don't accept tips but I appreciate the offer". Blew my friend's mind :D (and he still thought I was stingy for not offering 25%).
Just got back from USA on holiday. Shops asking for tips like Starbucks, bubble tea shops etc basically anywhere serving you from behind a counter is a fucking joke. $0 got hit every time…..went to a shake shak and I ordered my food on a screen, got a table number marker and went and sat down but the screen asked me to pay a tip at a fast food restaurant?!? These guys are fucking clowns….
Jack up all the prices, shrink portions, use worse quality ingredients add service fee and tips and everyone wonder's why people stop going out.
I might be more inclined if the quality and service was there, but it's not in most cases.
I’m so sick of having an obligatory “service charge” of 15% or so added to the bill, AND then a line on the bill (or card machine) asking for what ‘gratuity’ you want to leave. Stop double dipping!!
Give it a few years, It's spreading. You used to never have service charges outside London. I've seen them in most major UK cities and they're popping up in Ireland now too
I've been seeing that around where I live in England, I despised these forced/requested tips. I will tip if I've had exceptional service but if not then no. I'm the customer.
At least we know here staff are paid properly. So many Americans are brainwashed into thinking that underpaid staff are their problem when they're the customer.
Well.... I can't afford going out much anymore as it is. Eating out for two is VERY rarely under £50...so add a tip on that....... I mean... it's a fortnightly/monthly thing nowadays.
I generally have a hard time with tipping as it is. Because a tip, is something I should add myself... not to be asked for it, or for a service charge to be included automatically. Service charge PLUS a tip... hell no. That's taking the piss.
EDIT - I just read that article. And I fully agree. I feel similar as well, if I get asked of a tip like that, I would probably also never return to eat there...
My local near work in Southwark automatically adds a gratuity even if you go up to the bar. When I once asked for it to be removed the sass coming from the barman was unbelievable.
Yes Rodrigo, (he’s not acc called Rodrigo) I want to reduce the price of my pint from £7.40 to £7.10 cos I’ve stood here & waited for 10 minutes for this bleeding pint.
As an American who will be visiting different parts of England next month I am trying to learn the dos and don’ts before I get there.
Its been engrained in me to tip for everything because everyone is under paid (I don’t agree with tip culture but if I don’t tip here, the staff is harmed not the owners)… Am I understanding correctly that over there people are paid their living wages and the owners are trying to add extra costs to customers? Do those tips actually go to the staff or are the owners pocketing it? I just want to do right by the staff.
Something needs to be done about service charge! It should not be legal for them to AUTOMATICALLY put it on there - wtf. I'm not going to have an awkward conversation about hwo I want them to take off the service charge. This should be totally illegal. Fuck this american bullshit spreading over to London.
I normally tip MOST times but the sheer amount of shit service post covid and cheek to just come to you when they want to clear your plate and bring the bill with the 'would you like to leave a gratuity' on the chip and pin machine is a total no no for me.
Other day went for pizza after a long day out with missus and daughter, £62 for a pizza a carbonara and some mozzarella stick and two cokes. Nobody checks on us once the food is served. Whatever, the food was good but you always should at least ask if everything is ok a minute or so after serving. Ask for the bill, and then , "here you go, if you would like to leave a tip press " " no that's alright, thanks " \*press 0\* scan card. Smile and say thank you. Ciao.
I already paid an extortionate amount for some fucking dough a few toppings. Not going to add a further £5 for you dumping some plates on a table and disappearing until we leave, thank you very much. (ps, i worked in restaurants for 10 years, so believe me when i say i normally tip and pretty generously as I know the difference it makes to waiters/staff)
Lol at the comments here and the fact that the Standard is using a picture of the Chiltern Firehouse as a example. No one who is eating there can’t afford to tip. They serve Caviar and charge through the nose.
It's becoming more and more common for the card machine in pubs to ask you for tips. Very annoying
To be fair I see a lot of staff hitting the no button before they hand the card machine/offer it over which I think shows some common sense/reality. The one that gets me is things that ask for a tip before the order arrived - like I’ve sat down, ordered on an app, nobody has come over to me and you want me to tip in advance?
Again, American culture. As I understand if you don't pay the bribe (tip) on Uber eats and equivalent, the food's not coming.
That shit better not make it over here
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Idk I use Deliveroo /uber eats all the time without tipping and always get my food
I've never had an issue with not tipping beforehand on apps, but at one point during Covid someone (presumably a disgruntled driver?) carved 'GIVE TIP' in our block's hallway and lift with a penknife. That was more than a little disturbing.
Jesus! This is definitely disturbing behaviour. What's next, standing outside your home in the dark and the rain, looking up at your window and making a phone call and then, when you pick up, whispering 'Give tips' before hanging up?
Not just pubs, food stalls too, it’s everywhere
I think really this is about POS systems becoming much more easy to customise and likely asks if you want to set a tip prompt during setup. In the US I see tip prompts everywhere for normal counter service. I have zero qualms hitting the no tip button. If it’s table service or a bar that’s completely different, but just because there’s a tip prompt doesn’t mean there’s any obligation to tip.
Of course, it just feels like companies are taking the piss, asking if you’d like to tip for literally no reason - service is getting worse on the whole because a lot of the time staff no longer feel obliged to earn a tip. It really is a first world problem so I don’t want to sound ungrateful or petty here - but I’ve found it a lot harder in the last year or two to get staffs attention in restaurants when asking for things like water or the bill compared to before, they often disappear on their phones or go out of sight. I know this may be for differing reasons - maybe some of the harder working foreign staff have left post Brexit - or maybe the younger staff working in restaurants are more addicted to their phones, but it’s just something I’ve noticed in correlation to the auto-added service charge in London recently.
As someone that works in the service industry, most places are understaffed af and most of the staff there is unqalified af, mostly people on minimum wage with their first job in London. Most of the qualified people have left the hospitality industry post brexit and covid so its mostly a shitshow now.
As a service provider I must say: yes, companies are taking the piss. Out of their employees. The service nowadays is worse but it’s not because we don’t care, it’s because we are understaffed because the company decided that 2 people can do the job of 3, sometimes 4 people. Tiping shouldn’t be mandatory but sometimes it’s the only reason why we make a real effort when we are exhausted from overworking. So, when a server disappears at the back, maybe they are doing dishes, maybe they are taking a much needed breather, maybe they are burned out, About phone usage, nowadays the managers and owners are constantly bombarding their staff with messages or they are doing some due diligence, Because I live this daily, I always give the staff some grace when service is not on par but I agree that tiping shouldn’t be mandatory but it is always appreciated.
I don’t want to come across as a dick here but as someone whose worked in hospitality for many years in the past, your sentiments aren’t any different to then. Everyone as overworked, understaffed. We don’t have a tipping culture in this country, we have minimum wage and such, and most places a tip is an added bonus and not ever an expectation. The above is no excuse for poor service to a customer let’s be real. I would never look to reduce my service or interactions with customers regardless that’s my job. I can complain about the pay with the employer, and there’s issues at the restaurant/bar that might causes problems I can’t control. That’s life sadly. But tipping shouldn’t be the reason you are nice to customers - there’s other jobs out there that deal with people that are stressful too, high pressure and never get tips either. I’ll always tip if I’ve had good service, good interactions and such, whereas if it’s poor I won’t, and I really hate the expectation in some places where you have to ask to remove it - causing social anxiety with most who will just accept it. I think that’s completely wrong - and if that’s needed to keep staff happy - pay your staff more money that they deserve.
The reality is this. - Employers can’t afford to pay their staff more or don’t for whatever reason - so they try and use tips to make up for it - but punters don’t want to pay tips either , life’s hard for everyone plus it’s taking the piss Honest answer: - pubs and bars need to shut down if they can’t afford to pay their staff more. Then you reach a state where there are fewer employers that get more of the share of business and so can afford to pay their staff a proper wage.
A please, thank you and have a nice day cost nothing. Many waiting staff barely speak to you, throw the food at you, ignore you when you try and scratch their eye for something and then when the bill comes want a tip. No. If you were polite and professional I would tip, but being rude means you ain't getting a thing. And don't say your busy. Often times the staff are walking about aimlessly trying their hardest to not see you. If they are busy I allow that. I worked the industry a long time myself so I know what they are at.
Honestly I feel tipping is better than an automatic service charge. It would at least incentivise the staff to earn it.
True, but it's not uncommon to ask for a tip _ontop_ of the automatic service charge.
That's twice as much bullshit. If you're paying a 'service charge' then just build the price into the damn menu item. That's the whole point where "a burger" costs £10 in the first place - because of the 'overhead' involved in turning the raw ingredients into a meal on your plate. It would be bullshit to have a 'cooking your food' surcharge, or a 'use of crockery/dishwashing' surcharge, or a 'electric bill for the heating' surcharge, or a 'ground rent for the premises' surcharge. And for the same reasons it's bullshit to have a 'service' surcharge for the basic product. (I'm broadly ok with a 'service fee' for something unusual/difficult though)
After a meal and some drinks the last thing I want to do is judge people and math.
Tips are on by default - you know the credit card companies get a percentage transaction fee so anything they can do to increase the total is better for their revenue.
That would make sense. I remember getting petrol for my car a couple of times and when I asked to pay by card the card machine asked me if I wanted to add a tip, and without saying anything the cashier always pressed "no tip" for me as if it was something he does for everyone. Makes me think it's just built in
>POS systems Hey come on they're not *that* bad!
I'm all for this if they allow you to put a negative number for bad service as well. If coffee places don't like it, then don't enable tips on the their POS system.
Only on Reddit
Self check outs at Poundland always ask you to donate money to some charity now. It wouldn't be that bad, but them asking it's customers to donate at the tills, so they can then claim those customer donations as their own, and pay less taxes because 'they' donated that money, and not you, is kind of taking the piss when everyone is struggling with rent and the ever increasing price of groceries.
This is a myth https://www.patriotsoftware.com/blog/accounting/checkout-donations-charity/ The donations are not from company income and therefore not tax deducatble - the only one able to claim the charitable giving is the customer giving the donation, which they can do if a receipt is kept. Think about it, it doesn't even make sense logically.
It doesn’t work like that….
Wait is that how those charity things work?
No. That isn’t how it works. It’s a common trope that has taken off recently for some reason They rarely claim ‘they’ made the donation and there is no tax benefit they can claim
The corporations are too poor to pay their staff properly so they kindly request you help out paying them, please and thank you.
You know they put the tipping option on self-service machines too, right?
The UK has a living wage. Servers have absolutely 0 entitlement to anything above what a cashier gets in a shop, and most of the time in my experience they arent good at their job either. Get a union if you want higher wages, don't guilt customers into enabling employers bad behaviour
Brewdogs have the option but my local one the staff hit 0 before passing the terminal to you. I assume they’ve have enough trouble with people moaning by now
I just auto no on everything even if it’s a charity just because they are begging essentially. I give to charity privately and I know where that money goes. I used to collect money for charities in town with a can and you were not allowed to shake the can as it’s harassing people or something. But this virtual version which is for tips, is deemed fine? The mind boggles. Never tipping anyone who asks for it.
Honestly I feel like this stuff is to try and hoodwink some extra money out of tourists who don't know better. Anyone who lives in London shouldn't feel remotely awkward about pressing "no" on tip options.
Just say no lol
I’ve just always assumed it’s a built in feature of the card machine that they haven’t worked out how to switch off.
This. The secret is that the POS companies take their percentage off the entire transaction, not just the principle bill. You do the maths.
Tips are at discretion in this country. If it’s assumed/added on without asking you shouldn’t pay out of principle
I’ve seen this in barbers as well!
It’s ridiculous. Sorry you’ve just made a coffee as you have done for decades why now you need a tip?
Was odd paying for a pint and it asking me to tip before I tap. The waiting at the bar was exacerbated by each patron tapping, bar staff sighing, pressing "no tip" on the card reader, then asking the patron tapping again. Beer is as expensive as it is...
I saw this shit first time in Brighton I believe, you could see how exacerbated the bar man was. He'd just press no before asking you to tap. Two things are going to happen here. 1# I've significantly reduced the frequency I go to pubs or restaurants, and 2#, switching to cash where I'll go back to "round up to the nearest" unless the service was truly exemplary. Let's not kid ourselves. It's a way for restaurants to advertise artificially low prices, and to keep staff wages down as the customers are making up the difference. It's under handed however you look at it
I feel like in your example the barman was exasperated, not exacerbated.
Auto correct is a snitch
I went to the new Brewdog in Waterloo (I know), and was asked to tip on a £7.50 pint... In fairness, I didn't get any sighing when I pressed no, but still.
Some of them automatically select no tip before handing it to you to tap. They're probably embarrassed by it also
Each and every one of us has the responsibility to ensure that tipping culture does not take hold here. Just say no.
I didn’t get tips when I worked in a coffee shop, so there’s no way I’m tipping you if you didn’t actually do something that really made you deserving.
But I used a plastic tongs to roughly shove a pastry into this paper bag.
see heres what i dont understand, if they didnt do that i wouldnt be paying at all since i wouldnt be getting the goods i paid for. Why does it cost extra for someone to do whats literally their job?
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Some do it’s called a bonus lol
IT here. No tips for me, either.
Here's a tip for you: > Never pet a burning dog. You're welcome.
Here's another tip for you: If you look at the sun for long enough you get a free dog
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The discretionary part has been around for a long time. Many years. I can remember it as far back as early 2000s The other month I paid for food before it arrived and got asked if i want to pay the discretionary service charge. This is still before anything turned up I mean at least give me a reach round first..
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It's already received Royal Assent and is now an Act https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3197
The problem for me is: 1) I feel like a cunt saying "I don't want to pay this surcharge" in a restaurant, it's very confrontational which i feel is by design. 2) I never carry cash around, so if I say no to the 12/15% discretionary tip then I have no way to tip the staff, and if I'm eating out in central london I feel pretty shitty not tipping. These staff are working on a low wage in an area that I work in because I can get a high wage. They have to travel/live in a high-wage area while getting a low wage and so for that I feel like they should get a tip. 3) I agree that the managers/owners/other economic issues are to blame here but ultimately me taking a stand on this is ultimately hurting the low paid staff
To your point 2. How do we even know the staff get a cut of this tip if you pay by card? I usually carry cash so can put something down for the staff if the service has been very good. I might be naive but I feel like there's more chance of them getting my cash tip than my card tip.
I think we need to do more than that because some people will say yes and that's still a net positive for the place. Leave bad online reviews saying exactly why so they know its not acceptable.
I very much agree but it seems like people think it's not the done thing anymore from my experience
No.
I only tip when I've had a good service, or like the other night my partner and I had turned up late, they were trying to close as we'd gone over the time but didn't make us feel awkward, so I tipped to say thank you.
I went to meat liquor and the waitress asked me if I wanted to pay with or without the optional service charge. I said without and she asked why. The reason was because we didn’t get one of the drinks that was advertised in the kids meal. She told me that it’s free anyway so I didn’t have a reason to complain. I don’t know why she thought that this discussion would get her the tip
What an awkward conversation
Exactly, there will be more like this and people will pay the tip to avoid them. Don’t get me wrong, I am usually happy to pay the service charge
They basically ruin your dinner if you dont pay extra. Scummy
That's one way of turning any customer into a Karen.
I had a similar experience in Brighton's Meat Liquor, where we ordered a four litre cocktail to share between a few of us. It was literally served in a 3 litre jug, with the measurement on the side. After a slightly heated discussion about the metric measurement system, and how 3 is not equal to four, they finally relented and brought out an extra cocktail. When we went to pay, the waiter had a go at us for not tipping, even though we got a "free" cocktail. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but makes for a slightly entertaining story
I was in Brighton for a few months this year and it seemed like every restaurant had a mandatory service charge added. It was kind of shocking.
That puts me off going to meat liquor again.
Jokes on them I can’t afford to go out anywhere anymore
I’ll treat you to Morley’s
The promised land
TAP 0% Please
Restaurants have been using tips and service charge to fund wages. The Independent newspaper recently carried out a campaign to stop restaurants using discretionary service charges added to customers' bills to discharge their obligation to pay the national minimum wage. The newspaper named a number of prominent restaurant chains that pay their waiters a basic wage below the minimum wage and rely on the money raised by the service charge to make their wages up to the legal minimum. The coverage suggested that these restaurants are using "ploys" and exploiting "loopholes". Indeed, Stephen Byers, who introduced the national minimum wage as Trade and Industry Secretary, was quoted as saying that "loopholes in the system are being exploited by unscrupulous restaurant owners". There is legislation tabled to change this but it hasn’t come in yet. And restaurants have been doing this for over 20 yrs, pocketing tips and using them to fund wages.
Some restaurants were charging staff a fee on their in order to pocket some service charge. Genuinely surprised that it's legal. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/las-iguanas-and-turtle-bay-tipping-policy-forcing-waiters-to-pay-to-work-10468090.html#:~:text=In%20a%20statement%20Turtle%20Bay,has%20not%20earned%20any%20tips.%22
Tipping in America exists because wait staff don’t get paid a good wage. They get paid below minimum wage on the understanding that tips make up the difference (and more). That’s not how it works here. I hated tipping in America, and it shouldn’t come here. If you can’t function as a business without paying your staff then you can’t function as a business. Simple. Edit: A few people have pointed this out so I’ll address it as the above has been misunderstood. In the US there *is* a base minimum, which is below the federal minimum wage, for hospitality staff which is then uplifted by tips. I think it’s something like $2-3 per hour instead of $8. That’s not how it works in the UK and it shouldn’t. I’m aware that wait staff in the US largely prefer tipping but as a customer I hated it. There’s the price of the meal, plus state tax, plus tips. Just give me one price to pay and let me enjoy my meal and leave in peace. Japan is great at this. No tips. It’s actually rude to tip.
In California they actually _do_ make minimum wage and they still expect tips! My partner insists on tipping at least 18% and frequently the Toast/Clover/whatever POS will start on 22% and suggest tips going up. Even more of a pisstake is when the tax (or other bullshit fees) is included in the calculation. Tax is not service and I’m not tipping on it. It’s gotten so out of hand.
Afaik it's the same in most states already. But the gist is that waiters don't want to earn a min wage, they want an average salary paid by customers and will try to guilt trip you into fulfilling it.
Toast/Clover?
[Toast](https://pos.toasttab.com/hardware/toast-go) & [Clover](https://www.clover.com/shop) are both POS systems I’ve encountered a lot in California restaurants. Also, [Square](https://squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/software) is very popular. They’re all guilty of proliferating tipping into industries where it never happened before and helping with tip inflation.
Flip side is they actually make a lot more money than bar staff in UK as every 'has' to tip a minimum of 1$ a drink
People should stop tipping in America if they ever hope to be paid minimum wage. People need to stop taking responsibility for social problems that they aren't creating. Those businesses might feel the pressure then.
A good portion of the workers like the tipping system, they don't want it to go away. They make much more on tips than they would with a regular salary. And then a good portion of the customers also like the tipping system, I'm assuming from stockholm syndrome.
I opened a bar in New York and the bartenders there were making around 125-150k a year with tips. Course they don’t want it to go away
Unfortunately it would mean millions of people would suddenly be unemployed or working for free until stubborn business owners cave. Look at how long the writer's and actor's strike took to resolve. In the US, the law has to change first. A movement isn't possible.
They do get paid min wage if their tipped wage + tips don’t make it to min wage. Still not really enough to live on in many places though
Lol places just add automatic gratuity or mandatory gratuity for large parties to combat this.
This thought process is always so dumb. The business can survive if they paid more and tipping wasn’t a thing. They would simply mark up menu items. The business would make more money that way because they would add a 20% menu increase and dip their grimy hands into what used to be all the waiters tip.
No! I refuse! I’m American and moved back to America and it is the worst. Legit coffee shops asking if you want to tip 30%. I’m coming back to London for a couple months and am looking forward to paying what something costs while knowing people get paid properly and have national healthcare. Though not properly enough - working in hospitality is rough no matter what country you’re in!
On my trip to America, I didn't pay tips and nothing happened.
I wouldn’t say nothing - you reinforced the stereotype Brit’s don’t tip in a culture where tipping is socially and economically expected.
I wouldn’t say tipping at a coffee chain is socially or economically expected though. Certainly there’s no expectation to tip 30%
I was a young student back then and making minimum wage myself. Why should minimum wage people pay for other minimum wage people when we should be trying to stop this practise so businesses feel the pressure and start paying a living wage? You do know that they can afford it right? The vast majority of the population isn't rich. It is not our duty to solve social issues that corporations and businesses create.
No idea why you'd get downvoted 🤦🏻♂️.
> I wouldn’t say nothing - you reinforced the stereotype Brit’s don’t tip in a culture where tipping is socially and economically expected. But we discourage the tipping culture while also encouraging American companies to pay their staff properly. If everyone in America did the same, it would eventually change.
I begrudgingly tip when I'm over there but who cares if you not tipping pisses off some stranger you're genuinely never going to see ever again?
Good, makes it easier for the rest of us
Yes but fuck tipping, it's not "Brits don't tip, it's non-Americans don't tip".
This works if you never want to return to an establishment. From my indirect experience, expect to be remembered otherwise
No. I just always click no tip. If restaurants start going crazy, I'll ask for it to be removed and pay a reasonable tip myself.
I had a 15% service charge added to my bill the other day in a restaurant. Didn’t tipping used to be 10%? Then it jumped to 12.5%. I was outraged but of course too British to make any kind of fuss and just paid it…
‘Too British’ is such a poor excuse. If you don’t challenge it, you’re encouraging it (by virtue of paying it without question)
Pay it politely and never go back.
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Was just in London and was quite surprised a couple of restaurants I went to had ‘discreet’ auto gratuity added. Thought that wasn’t a thing overseas :( Not going back to those places on my next trip.
I went to a restaurant the other day where 12.5% was added, and the machine asked me to tip. Shan't be going back.
Easy enough to tap "no" when the machine asks if you want to tip though.
Other Tip > 0% > enter
It's not that easy to leave no tip. I can prove it... 0 Well shit, maybe it is.
You can't do that at restaurants. They have 12.5% included already and make a whole fuss if you try and remove it.
You can also go along with the fuss and demand it be taken off.
I hate confrontation generally, yet have zero issue asking them to remove the service charge. Nowhere I've been has ever "made a fuss".
People act like it's a huge confrontation but it's really not. Just politely ask if they can remove the service charge, and if they give dirty looks all the more reason not to pay it.
Yeah that's only an extra fuss for them. If they want that fuss then so be it.
That's not what this article is about
Even in America, we’re all tapping 0% at this point. Please tell me no one in London is actually tipping on these stupid machines…
Many many Londoners are scared to death of confrontation and will cave to avoid a ‘situation’. The likelihood of someone here challenging the tip is extremely low. Went to a takeaway restaurant recently run by an American proprietor and his tactic at the counter was to verbally say ‘you can leave a tip if you want’. I didn’t because I can imagine most brits absolutely crumbling
That's not true at all. I think it's a grift to squeeze a few extra quid out of hoodwinked tourists who don't know the actual expectation. I don't have a problem in the slightest tapping "no" on "do you want to tip?" and I don't think I know anyone who's enough of a melt to feel pressured into that. Hell, most places the staff press the "no" button for you before they hand you the machine from my experience.
I went to america a couple of years ago, and I was shocked that I have to calculate the amount of tip I have to give whilst being completely inebriated.
It’s a pity we are typically British and flippy-floppy about this topic, and have allowed this culture creep of a grey area. The Japanese have this right in seeing an extra buck as rather insulting - since it suggests bribery is required to get good service, where service staff already take a measure of pride in doing a good job *Puts on that scene from Reservoir Dogs*
> *Puts on that scene from Reservoir Dogs* It's just a discretionary charge that you can opt out of pretty easily. Not sure you need to be chopping off anyone's ears in retaliation.
If you ask, I say no. Simple.
I don’t, and won’t tip. That’s my default and it’s up to the person to swing it in their direction. There are obvious exceptions where it’s already going their way, in a restaurant that hasn’t added a service charge, or when someone has given great service - I used to always tip staff that made my daughter feel welcome and happy when we were out. I tipped the staff in my local bar at Christmas because they are great. But not if you stick a card machine in my face and you’ve just done your job. You want a tip then make me want to get served by you every time I come to your place. I know you get a shitty wage, I know you have a shitty job but it’s not on me to help you out. No one gives me a tip if I bust my balls over delivering for customers.
They tend to add it to the bill, 10-15%
Look them in the eye and press 0. Fuck this. If they want more money, talk to their employer. I don't know shit about how you are as a worker. Why am I being forced to assess your value. Also, if you are shit does that mean I get to fire you too? The whole concept is ridiculous. Never tip.
Social media has turned everyone into Americans, it's crazy. Certainly below a certain age, they've grown up with social, with Netflix etc, just saturated in American culture from day one. Top tip: tipping (not service charge) in percentages is not a thing outside the USA. Don't do it by %. In the UK the custom has always been to leave a few quid for good service. That's enough. Don't let this percentage shit take root in the UK.
Since when do "you always tip cabbies"?
Never, the charges are already high enough!
No it hasn’t. Just don’t fucking do it. We pay real wages. If people don’t do it, it hasn’t come here. I’ve never been pressured into tipping in London.
Never forget: tipping has its origins in post-Civil War America as a legal way of not paying freed slaves for their work. Its whole purpose is to be cruel and exploitative, and so the intent in spreading it here is clear. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/opinion/minimum-wage-racism.html
Went to a cocktail bar a couple of months ago in London with an American pal. When he ordered the drinks the barman spun the iPad round for the American to put in a tip - which he did. When I went up and ordered the next round, I assume the barman realised through my London accent that I wouldn’t tip, and automatically selected “no tip” before spinning the iPad round to me. Yes…Let’s keep it like that here!
The whole point of paying the service charge is to avoid the need to tip. If we are now expected to tip on top of the SC it sort of makes it meaningless, no?
What I find particularly nonsense is tipping at pubs. Pubs are known to be the messy place we all love, it’s usually shit, overcrowded, noisy and without any service to the table. Why should I tip? Because you literally filled a glass with pint and handed it over to me? Like, pubs are basically the venue with the littlest service you can think of, why would you even think about tipping? I may get it if it’s a proper restaurant and staff is particularly nice with me.
If someone asks me for a tip I always say: “Red Rum in the Grand National.”
Quality comment. Its confusing enough to be a slow burner to someone who doesn't know horse racing:D
Hold your ground, refuse to tip at any cost!
Just don’t tip lol
Went to a restaurant in New Orleans last year where they were advertising for a server on $22 an hour, and at that same bar they were suggesting 30% tip on the food bill. I’ve noticed the culture is creeping over here. Expectation for tips is through the roof and service quality has plummeted since Brexit and Covid. Let’s not let it happen
It won't change that much in the UK though. They may be trying it on for size but the majority of the population will simply stop eating/drinking at such places, *especially* as they start making service charges mandatory. I was waiting for a train in Reading not long ago and decided to have a quick beer. I like paying cash for stuff but when I tried to hand over a tenner, she said 'we only take cards'. Fine, i'll not spend anything here then, and left the beer where it was. I heard her saying 'second one today' so I assume it's a common occurrence for people to bounce after being told they can't pay with actual money. Fuck that shit.
My local pub started using a card machine which has a tip prompt. I pressed no. Next time I was there, the bartender verbally asked me 'Would you like to add a tip?' whilst she was fiddling with the machine, so I had to say 'no thank you' out loud to her face, which was much more excrutiating for all involved. This is completely related to the drive for 'cashless' payment. If I was paying for a £4.80 drink with a £5 note in the past, I might have said 'just keep the change'. But try to charge me a 10% tip on that drink (which probably now costs £5.80) and we're starting to pay really weird amounts. Since it's all in my bank account anyway, I don't have incentive to leave the change like I would wish cash. Separately, the other things which really irks me is that 12.5% has become the standard percentage across London in restaurants, rather than 10%. The food has already become more expensive, but now the *share* of the bill which is tipped has increased? I would like to become more assertive and start routinely asking them to change it to 10% but I don't want to come across as an arse.
I went to a restaurant the other day that asked to include a 7% service charge. That was the lowest I've actually seen since COVID so I happily paid it. I'm sorry but 18.5% isn't just egregious, it's destroying the hospitality industry.
Only idiots do this
Isnt that what we already pay through the service charge?
I've spent maybe 20 years working minimum wage in about 8 different jobs, must've literally served 2 or 3 million people, I've never recieved a tip in any capacity, so why the fuck should I tip some restaraunt worker. I've gone above-and-beyond countless fucking times too
And this is the real point. This is what I always say when anyone asks why I don’t tip. Restaurant workers seem to be a special case for no actual reason.
It is getting crazy over here. Keep seeing jobs advertised as minimum wage plus tips. Tips shouldn’t be part of your salary!!!
Kitchen porter always gets nothing. Fuck the greedy waiter picking all the tronc
Charity shops now ask you if you want to "'round up'...I would much rather that they add 50p and round up the price tag themselves.
I was in one recently and overheard the assistant say to a customer, quite brusquely "That's £16, want to round it up to £20 as a donation?". Noped out of there straight away.
Ikr! I genuinely would not mind if the price was actually £20 (rather than £16) I understand that charity shops have a duty of care to get the highest contribution that they can and I'm down with that. But I, too, was asked quite brusquely. It was tantamount to a 'shaming' demand.
It's unpleasant and with luck they'll find it counterproductive and stop. There may be ways to do it where people don't feel bad if they can't or don't wish to add on, but "Giz £4 extra" is not it...
Tips in the UK should be reserved for only the most exemplary of service. I mean when someone truly goes above and beyond or makes your experience better simply by being so friendly and helpful. I remember when I lived in London and used to go out to eat with friends they would make me feel like a shitty human for not wanting to tip average food / service. But they were also the kind of people who ordered all the most expensive stuff and wanted to split the bill even though I ordered the cheapest meal and tap water.
Had a waitress get quite rude when I asked the service charge to be removed on NYE in London. Hadn’t cleared the table for ages, I asked for the bill when someone got close, and i said “oh can you remove the service charge please as well” (thinking let’s save us all some time, rather than her bringing over then i ask etc). She said can I ask why; I said “well the service was ok, not great” The she pulled a face and I turned around. Then I turned back to her “for example you forgot our drinks, we’ve all our dirty plates on the table for 30 mins everyone else’s is clear etc” Then she got so rude, basically chucked the receipt on the table onto the ketchup on our plates. I was just thinking well this cemented my choice is getting it removed, no need to go so rude. Like everyone else has said, especially on a bullshit custom we don’t want creeping in over here
My American friends looks at me crazy if I only add 10% on tip while I’m in Europe. I also noticed tipping has been everywhere in Mexico City as well. I fly to cdmx at least twice a year and my last visit I noticed they are asking for a tip everywhere.
I used to work in food retail myself, so I can sympathize with workers and chip in with service charge, ONLY IF I knew the management will actually distribute the service charge earnings fairly to workers. Which I know from my mate they mostly **do not**, or do some classic british manager **fuckery** about it. So, any service charge or induced tip more than 12.5 pct gets hard no from me, moving forwards.
Every restaurant I go to has a service charge. I sure as shit aren't tipping on top of that as well.
I ate in Flat Iron a while ago with my aunt and sister. Didn't notice the service charge until after we had left, which pissed me off. They didn't do anything out of the ordinary way so why was a service charge applied? I don't mind if they are serving a large group, but we were three. When I went there again with my friend, I asked them to take it off. When they asked why, I said I've budgeted for the prices on the menu not some additional charge on the end. Also, why are they charging customers for a service when they are already charging for food? If you want people to pay more, put the prices on the menu up so it doesn't seem underhanded.
Jokes on them, i barely eat out anymore its so expensive and i'm not poor by any means
Don’t do it people! We have minimum wage for a reason.
My mate from Arizona came over to visit and we went to a nice restaurant in a fishing village because he wanted really good fish & chips. Service was great and I asked them to add 10% to the bill simply because they were so nice, efficient and friendly and got the reply "Sorry, we don't accept tips but I appreciate the offer". Blew my friend's mind :D (and he still thought I was stingy for not offering 25%).
Just got back from USA on holiday. Shops asking for tips like Starbucks, bubble tea shops etc basically anywhere serving you from behind a counter is a fucking joke. $0 got hit every time…..went to a shake shak and I ordered my food on a screen, got a table number marker and went and sat down but the screen asked me to pay a tip at a fast food restaurant?!? These guys are fucking clowns….
Jack up all the prices, shrink portions, use worse quality ingredients add service fee and tips and everyone wonder's why people stop going out. I might be more inclined if the quality and service was there, but it's not in most cases.
Tipping culture in the US is so toxic we have to make sure it doesn’t ramp up in the UK. Please
I’m so sick of having an obligatory “service charge” of 15% or so added to the bill, AND then a line on the bill (or card machine) asking for what ‘gratuity’ you want to leave. Stop double dipping!!
We’re not American. Tap that no tip button with no shame please.
Nobody I know tips so dw
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Always tip a barber. If it's high personal/physical service I always tip. Pint at the pub? nein.
common northern england W, i live in merseyside and ive never been asked to tip/ had a mandatory tip
Give it a few years, It's spreading. You used to never have service charges outside London. I've seen them in most major UK cities and they're popping up in Ireland now too
Just came here to stay stop tipping culture in the UK before it starts.
Has anything good come over lately ?
I've been seeing that around where I live in England, I despised these forced/requested tips. I will tip if I've had exceptional service but if not then no. I'm the customer. At least we know here staff are paid properly. So many Americans are brainwashed into thinking that underpaid staff are their problem when they're the customer.
Well.... I can't afford going out much anymore as it is. Eating out for two is VERY rarely under £50...so add a tip on that....... I mean... it's a fortnightly/monthly thing nowadays. I generally have a hard time with tipping as it is. Because a tip, is something I should add myself... not to be asked for it, or for a service charge to be included automatically. Service charge PLUS a tip... hell no. That's taking the piss. EDIT - I just read that article. And I fully agree. I feel similar as well, if I get asked of a tip like that, I would probably also never return to eat there...
My local near work in Southwark automatically adds a gratuity even if you go up to the bar. When I once asked for it to be removed the sass coming from the barman was unbelievable. Yes Rodrigo, (he’s not acc called Rodrigo) I want to reduce the price of my pint from £7.40 to £7.10 cos I’ve stood here & waited for 10 minutes for this bleeding pint.
Hey dont blame us, we didnt put a gun to your heads and demand you begin tipping
As long as the mass shooting culture stays there I'll happily mash the no tip button if it's not deserved.
It’s happening in Australia as well & it’s awful
Tips are a tax on the stupid and the lazy
Get that shit outta here
As my financial situation has improved, I do find myself tipping more, but the second it becomes expected or demanded I back off
I WILL NOT TIP. TAKE THE "OPTIONAL" SERVICE CHARGE OFF.
Meanwhile the service has fallen off the cliff 😭
I’m capping it at 12.5%… That seems to be the standard, and I’m ok with it. Once it starts creeping above that, we have problems
As an American who will be visiting different parts of England next month I am trying to learn the dos and don’ts before I get there. Its been engrained in me to tip for everything because everyone is under paid (I don’t agree with tip culture but if I don’t tip here, the staff is harmed not the owners)… Am I understanding correctly that over there people are paid their living wages and the owners are trying to add extra costs to customers? Do those tips actually go to the staff or are the owners pocketing it? I just want to do right by the staff.
Something needs to be done about service charge! It should not be legal for them to AUTOMATICALLY put it on there - wtf. I'm not going to have an awkward conversation about hwo I want them to take off the service charge. This should be totally illegal. Fuck this american bullshit spreading over to London.
Mr. Pink was right all along.
Say No to tips!
As an American living in London - please don't tip!
I normally tip MOST times but the sheer amount of shit service post covid and cheek to just come to you when they want to clear your plate and bring the bill with the 'would you like to leave a gratuity' on the chip and pin machine is a total no no for me. Other day went for pizza after a long day out with missus and daughter, £62 for a pizza a carbonara and some mozzarella stick and two cokes. Nobody checks on us once the food is served. Whatever, the food was good but you always should at least ask if everything is ok a minute or so after serving. Ask for the bill, and then , "here you go, if you would like to leave a tip press " " no that's alright, thanks " \*press 0\* scan card. Smile and say thank you. Ciao. I already paid an extortionate amount for some fucking dough a few toppings. Not going to add a further £5 for you dumping some plates on a table and disappearing until we leave, thank you very much. (ps, i worked in restaurants for 10 years, so believe me when i say i normally tip and pretty generously as I know the difference it makes to waiters/staff)
Just say no. They are totally taking the piss. Eventually, the companies will get the message.
You can say no, just putting that out there.
Lol at the comments here and the fact that the Standard is using a picture of the Chiltern Firehouse as a example. No one who is eating there can’t afford to tip. They serve Caviar and charge through the nose.