Tipping

Antibac

Currently on holidays in Ireland. I was wondering how much is an acceptable tip to leave in the resteraunt? There is no gratuity in the charge
Thanks

Victor

About 10%. However ...

Tipping is generally for personal service. Tips aren't normal if you get your food or drink at the counter and take it to your table.

The better the service, the better the tip. However, take conditions into account, if you get average service in a packed bar on a Saturday night, its probably worth your while to pay more than good service at a quiet time. If you spend 4 hours having dinner, are drunk and make a nuisance of your self, pay more. If you don't like thinks, pay less (and complain).

Note that while some restaurants don't include a service charge, they do pay staff a commission on sales.

Staff are generally paid €8-10/hour, so don't feel like it tips=entire take home pay.

Colonel Panic

I tip if the service is good, I complain if it isn't.

Bloody Nipples

Antibac wrote: »

Currently on holidays in Ireland. I was wondering how much is an acceptable tip to leave in the resteraunt? There is no gratuity in the charge
Thanks

Also bear in mind that you're not under any obligation to tip in Ireland as you might be in the States.

paulmclaughlin

The most important kind of tipping:

Cow tipping.

visual

There is no requirement to tip here

for personal good service you might consider it, 10% is plenty or most times I just round up the money to the nearest 5 euro.

MitchKoobski

Unless I'm thinking "wow this is great service", I don't tip.

LeeHoffmann

I thought 10% is standard, unless the service is bad - then they get nada. I used to work as a waitress though and lived off the tips but that was in another country, and as other posters said, the minimum wage is higher here. Who do you tip though? I'd tip waitresses, hairdressers and just round up for taxi drivers, deli's, coffee places etc. Maybe I tip too much...maybe whis is why I never have money for clothes

D'Agger

Having worked in a few bars and restaurants - bar staff don't expect tips so if you are to tip them, do it early - they'll remember your for it and go out of their way to serve you quickly for the rest of the night - that was my experience anyway.

With regard to waiting staff - any sort of tip is good - I've served people starters, mains, deserts, coffees and drinks at times and not been given a penny for it - even two or three quid would've gone a way towards buying a pint after work y'know.

onlyrocknroll

10% in restaurants is pretty standard, but it's not set in stone so feel free to adjust it up or down depending on the quality of the service, price of the meal etc. Remember that eating out in Ireland is quite expensive..

Not tipping at all is considered pretty rude but it's not exactly uncommon. So if you receive bad or rude service don't feel obliged to tip, it's not the major faux pas that it is in the US.

Tipping in bars is quite rare and there is certainly no expectation on the bar staff's part that they well receive tips. An exception would be if you start a tab and receive table service which usually isn't the norm in Ireland, you should tip about 10% in this case. Again it's not as formal here as in the US so you can adjust up or down.

If you do want to tip a bartender, giving a small amount with each order is considered unusual and you might receive bemused looks. Usually you would give a few Euro as you're leaving, or more often offer to pay for a drink for him or her.

kingtut

Tipping is not expected in Ireland at all but is always welcome.

No-one will be offended if you don't tip because unlike other countries the wages are higher here and so people do not need to supplement their pay with tips.

sam34

PaulieC wrote: »

With regard to waiting staff - any sort of tip is good - I've served people starters, mains, deserts, coffees and drinks at times and not been given a penny for it - even two or three quid would've gone a way towards buying a pint after work y'know.

what about your wage packet?

Snowie

kingtut wrote: »

Tipping is not expected in Ireland at all but is always welcome.

i think in anything public service like waiteress and waiters etc do diserve a tip, there who bring us our food and drink they smile and make an effort they also work with nice people and some down right ignorent.... people...

as well as the verbal bs they can receavie plus damm does your feet hurt a lot doing that jobn i think tips are welldeserved.

Benny_Cake

Generally speaking,I'd just add roughly 10% on to the bill at a restaurant - the only other circumstance in which I'd tip in this country would be if a member of the lounge staff in a pub brought my drinks order to the table, I'd give them a euro or so.

DazMarz

As I've worked for years in a job where tips make the job worth doing (poker dealer), I nearly always tip people, regardless of how good/bad the service is or whatever. I'm just a soft touch like that. Even the worst waiter in the world would probably get a tip off me!!! But it's also probably because I know how nice it is to receive a tip and how good it can make you feel.

The most I ever received in a single tip was €100 (believe it or believe it not) and that was one €100 for me, and another €100 for the other dealer who was on with me that night, from one of the lads who was playing (and winning) that night. Needless to say, that made it a very good night for the two of us!!! But that, also needless to say, is the exception rather than the rule!

It is just a nice bonus for the staff and makes the whole thing more worthwhile I think. No need to go bananas, around 10% I find is the best way to do it.

RandolphEsq

I tip when I get coffee because it is being made for me, tip when getting a burrito made up since they made what I asked them too, tip for a drink in a bar too. Mind, nothing mad just 10% so like 20cent for a coffee, 40cent for a pint. It all adds up for the staff serving you. I myself got a hefty €50 tip last night when working in a bar! Was absolutely delighted because that pays for my entry to UCD Super League for the year!

discus

DazMarz wrote: »

I'm just a soft touch like that. Even the worst waiter in the world would probably get a tip off me!!! But it's also probably because I know how nice it is to receive a tip and how good it can make you feel.

But that defeats the point of tipping entirely.

RandolphEsq

discus wrote: »

But that defeats the point of tipping entirely.

I would be of the opinion that bad service gets a bad tip, horrendous service gets no tip, but the service would have to be really horrendous to not get a tip.

AstonMartin

A lot of irish on holidays in the us probably dont tip either. It wouldnt even cross my mind if i was buying a couple of pints in new york that i was expected to leave an additional 10-12% or piss off the barman.

whats the average price for a pint of heineken in new york out of curiosity?

magneticimpulse

AstonMartin wrote: »

A lot of irish on holidays in the us probably dont tip either. It wouldnt even cross my mind if i was buying a couple of pints in new york that i was expected to leave an additional 10-12% or piss off the barman.

whats the average price for a pint of heineken in new york out of curiosity?

You be surprised...I live in France and nobody tips here. I often bump into Irish people on holiday asking how much tip they should leave....I tell them "zero". Yet they go ahead and tip. You have to remember tipping is a very American thing. Not all countries have very badly paid people in services (bar/restaurants). Most of Europe has a decent minimum wage.

Although French workers in Bars/Restaurants would not object to getting a tip, it is not the done thing. I also think people should not start a tradition that doesnt already exist in a particular country. French are very exact when it comes to paying the restaurant bill...so much so each person will pay for exactly what they had even if everybody had a set price menu but a drink at the start that might have been 50cent different in price....they will be still determined that nobody pays more/less for what they had/didnt have. This could mean a group of 30 people paying seperately at the till and telling the waiter exactly what they had (of course this method fails sometimes when im out with English friends and they try to sneakly not pay for the extra bottle of wine they had etc).

In saying that, the service in France is not great...no smiles etc in general. Maybe tipping would mean there was a smile with the service.

The point of my response is that it is only in say the past 10 or 15 years in Ireland that the Irish have started to tip. It is most likely a habit acquired from holidays in the USA. I be surprised if every European country tips. In general salaries in European are much better and there is a minimum wage...hence no "need" to tip.

I had awful service in Dublin about 2 years ago in a place on South Anne's St. We were left waiting 3 hrs for a table. Table was booked for 9pm and we didnt get one until midnight!!! I refused to leave a tip at the end and paid exactly for what the meal cost. The person who organised the dinner complained that myself and another friend never paid the "tip". I thought since when was giving a tip a must?? And second....should I not decide that if the service is crap not to leave a tip?? After living in France I didnt feel bad about not leaving the tip. However the person who organised the meal fell out with my other friend over it because my friend didnt pay the tip (only cos i convinced her it was crap service so why pay)!!! Thats when tipping becomes overboard!!!

I also want to add the price of a meal in Ireland is crazy and also puts me off tipping. Its not so expensive in the USA - at least you get a doggy bag if the portion is too big. In France the average meal costs 10 euro....you can have a 3 course menu for 12, 16 or 24 euro (this is not limited to a certain time like before early bird/7pm as it is in Ireland).

AstonMartin

Do the french smile at all.

the spanish and italians i have met are fantastic but i wouldnt be too pushed with the french and they could come across as cold when working in the service industry.

kingtut

Snow-Monkey wrote: »

i think in anything public service like waiteress and waiters etc do diserve a tip, there who bring us our food and drink they smile and make an effort they also work with nice people and some down right ignorent.... people...

as well as the verbal bs they can receavie plus damm does your feet hurt a lot doing that jobn i think tips are welldeserved.

I know full well what it is like in the public service as I worked in the catering industry for 7 years (and spent my working day on my feet with little or no breaks).

There is a minimum wage here and it is pretty good (compared to what other countries get) so tipping is not necessary in this country what so ever!!

If you are going to tip waiters and waitresses for smiling and bringing you something (even though you are paying for what they bring you) then shouldn't you be tipping your postman, bin man, hair dresser etc? They are all providing a service :cool:

Pawwed Rig

kingtut wrote: »

If you are going to tip waiters and waitresses for smiling and bringing you something (even though you are paying for what they bring you) then shouldn't you be tipping your postman, bin man, hair dresser etc? They are all providing a service :cool:

I remember the bin men used to call into all the houses at Christmas for their 'bonus'!! Cheeky buggers. Hasn't happened since bin charges came in.
Personally I hate tipping. I would rather pay more for something than pay less and be under pressure to tip. This is the main reason I would not go on a cruise and I always goto the takeaway rather than have it delivered.. I used to tip the barber but at €10 for a haircut now there is no more rounding up to be done.
Taxi drivers can go and kiss my a**e if they expect a tip. I wait for the last cent. The bloody things are outrageously expensive as it is (over €4 just to sit into one???)
I will tip in restaurants but not afraid to walk away if the service isn't excellent. Will also tip the lounge staff if they are serving at tables but would prefer to goto the bar myself.
US was a nightmare. Hotel staff are worse than beggars in that they want to be paid everytime they move.

kingtut

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

and I always goto the takeaway rather than have it delivered..

I do the same, but not because I don't want to tip a delivery driver but because I think getting it delivered is the lazy option!

snubbleste

I never tip.