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Tipping when eating out.

Samuel T. Cogley

Inspired by the other tips thread. What's the story with tips when eating in a restaurant?

I tend to leave about 10% of the bill.

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Wanderer2010

riclad wrote: »

i think the point of tips is to reward the staff for good service .
and i think most of the staff in a cafe are on a low wage.
if the service is bad or slow you can just give zero tips .

You see, I never got the whole "the servers are on a low wage" line that's always wheeled out when trying to encourage or justify tipping, either from the point of view of the satisfied customer or the poor underpaid server who brings home 9 Euros an hour. Why is it my problem that the minimum wage is what it is??

That's akin to tipping the courier for dropping off your parcel, the binman for emptying your trash, the JustEat driver for handing you food which you have paid for online. All these people also provide a service and aren't well paid, but you wouldn't typically give them a few bob. I would never be a complete dcik to a server as I appreciate they can deal with some very rude people but if I get good service, I will remember them again when thinking of a place to go for a meal, hence more service, spread good word of mouth about said pub/restaurant, increasing custom and revenue. If i don't like the service, I wont go back, they have lost my money end of story.

And tipping is very much an American tradition in that the culture is deeply embedded, so much so that the server would usually confront you if you didn't leave a tip. I've never once in my life been confronted for not paying a tip in Ireland and I have been in pubs and restaurant the length and breadth of the country. Its an option, if you want go ahead, but I wont be doing it. Don't like your job? Upskill and get a better one .

theteal

Pkiernan wrote: »

I tried tipping a nurse E50 when she helped my dad in hospital.
She refused to take the money.

Not sure about Ireland but in the UK they'd have to officially submit it to the ward management or whatever but there's red tape involved before it may or may not be given to the actual nurse. Any money the wife has been handed has never been seen again, other gifts like jewellery have come back down to her though.

Joey321

Staff in restraunts are paid the same as any others
who works in the service industry, do we tip when we get a sandwich made up for us in a petrol station or when we buy a new phone in the likes of Vodafone, or to the bar man in your local pub, we're do you draw the line

El_Duderino 09

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Lot of miserly old “Scrooges” in this thread. Heaven forbid a member of the waiting staff should make a few quid extra for providing a decent service.

I’ve always found that tipping isn’t always an altruistic “gesture”, you do get remembered and are certain to be “looked after” next time you call in.

Hell, I’ve even thrown a few quid at the Maître D', when a place is fully booked, so as to “procure” a table for us. They know I’ll look after the waiting staff as well so it’s win-win and the group who’s table we took can wait a little longer.

You won’t get to take too many shortcuts without “greasing” a few palms along the way.

Next you’ll be saying you don’t tip your barber!

Yea, this is kind of it though, isn't it? It's an American idea where the customer pays the staff, but in Ireland we have minimum wage so it's mostly just to be the Billy-big-bollocks by "throwing" money "at" people - I absolutely despise this sentiment and I think it really tells you something about a person who describes their own behaviour as throwing money at people.

Tipping is unnecessary for the original purpose of paying the staff and unnecessary in my life as I would never go to a packed restaurant and wait for a table. I'd also never want to be surrounded by people who "throw money at" staff members to skip the queue. I'd just go somewhere less packed and have a relaxed meal with my partner, without any hassle or needing to eat and get out quickly so the Maître D' can turn the table over for the next service.

Have a serious think about the sentiment of throwing money at people. It's the most vulgar hangover from the Celtic Tiger and points a flashing neon arrow to the person as having a total lack of manners or class.

Tipping in a country with minimum wage is for something other than the job. I expect staff to be pleasant, take the order and bring the food. I don't need them to do anything beyond the brief of a waiter and I don't see any need for tipping.

El_Duderino 09

riclad wrote: »

i think the point of tips is to reward the staff for good service .
and i think most of the staff in a cafe are on a low wage.
if the service is bad or slow you can just give zero tips .

Yeah but are you an expert in restaurant management? Do you know if the service is slow because the waiter is uninterested or because the kitchen is behind? Or is the service slow because the management is inefficient or they're just understaffed? Maybe the waiter is having to wash dishes every time they go into the kitchen because the pot-washer had to leave early because their child is sick. I know from my time as a waiter that there are loads of reasons for service being fast or slow and they're not all down to whether the waiter is good or not.

It shows arrogance to presume you know so much about the restaurant industry to make an assessment of the waiter's performance and put a monetary value on it, all while supposedly enjoying your night out.

lertsnim

I wouldn't tip. I worked in a kitchen many years ago and we never saw the tips so **** that.

[Deleted User]

riclad wrote: »

its supposed to be 10-20 per cent of the bill,

Supposed to ??

It's not 'supposed to' be anything in this country. Its entirely optional.

El_Duderino 09

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Supposed to ??

It's not 'supposed to' be anything in this country. Its entirely optional.

The 20% idea is just an imported Americanism. Equivalent of Valley Girl speak.

JustAThought

Mango Joe wrote: »

I'd give a few quid directly to the waiting staff if they seemed any way helpful.

Would hope it would be a small perk for them in an otherwise thankless and stressful job as they continue their studies or whatever else they have going on.

I'd always hope it would 100% go to them and not the Restaurant Owner or Manager.

I very strongly dislike the whole process of being asked to pay a gratuity on a card machine that goes directly into the Owners Bank Account!!!

I absolutely HATE this whole new being handed a card scanner and having the waiter press a button that says TIP/GRATUITY and hnd it back
to you and wait for you to tap in a figure and hmd it back to him. If I tip its in cash for very doof service and directly to the server - I point blank refuse to tip by card into a restaurants owners bank account - never going to happen.

HBC08

JustAThought wrote: »

I absolutely HATE this whole new being handed a card scanner and having the waiter press a button that says TIP/GRATUITY and hnd it back
to you and wait for you to tap in a figure and hmd it back to him. If I tip its in cash for very doof service and directly to the server - I point blank refuse to tip by card into a restaurants owners bank account - never going to happen.

I have never encountered this in Ireland but have in the States and Canada.Is this common place here?

Sam Quentin

If you can't afford to tip then don't..but if you can then it's nice to do it.

RandomViewer

Would usually put the loose change in tip jar, wouldn't tip in takeaways or Costa

RasTa

Yeah I'm not a bum so I leave a tip.

EmmetSpiceland

JustAThought wrote: »

I absolutely HATE this whole new being handed a card scanner and having the waiter press a button that says TIP/GRATUITY and hnd it back
to you and wait for you to tap in a figure and hmd it back to him. If I tip its in cash for very doof service and directly to the server - I point blank refuse to tip by card into a restaurants owners bank account - never going to happen.

Wouldn’t be into tipping through the “machine” myself, either, J. No, I’d always keep a few notes in my inside pocket set aside for these occasions.

I’d usually have a few coins as well. But they’d be more for “cafe” type places.

Still, I’d hate to be a member of waiting staff “serving” some of the misers and grumps on here. Some of the reasons, given, are downright bitter and, even, resentful. Sad to see.

Firing a few quid at someone for good service isn’t too much to ask. It’s nice to put a smile on someone’s face and give them “acknowledgment” of a job well done.

HBC08

RasTa wrote: »

Yeah I'm not a bum so I leave a tip.

Do you tip when you go to McDonald's or pop in for a service station sandwich? are you a bum then?

RasTa

HBC08 wrote: »

Do you tip when you go to McDonald's or pop in for a service station sandwich? are you a bum then?

No, because they don't bring my food to my table, top up my glass. Clear plates from my table etc.

Basic stuff here. The barman, waiters and the barber all deserve to be tipped every single time.

If you don't, you're a bum. Simples.

s1ippy

A lot of mean stingy people around the place apparently. Ugh.

GarIT

HBC08 wrote: »

I have never encountered this in Ireland but have in the States and Canada.Is this common place here?

A few places in town do it.

GarIT

s1ippy wrote: »

A lot of mean stingy people around the place apparently. Ugh.

Yeah, if only the stingy restaurant owners would pay their staff a decent wage that they didn't need to be tipped.

RasTa

I do like the American way of them buying you a drink after your 3rd or 4th tip.

I cleared up working the bars there in the summer back in the day.

El_Duderino 09

Sam Quentin wrote: »

If you can't afford to tip then don't..but if you can then it's nice to do it.

Of course I can afford a tip. If I couldn't afford to pay 10% more than the meal then I'd save the whole cost of the meal and spend it on something I need. But that's not the point.

Of course it's nice to tip but that's not the point either. It's nice to tip everyone you meet but we don't do that because it's ridiculous. The convention of tipping waiters has slipped in but let's not pretend it make any sense.

El_Duderino 09

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Wouldn’t be into tipping through the “machine” myself, either, J. No, I’d always keep a few notes in my inside pocket set aside for these occasions.

I’d usually have a few coins as well. But they’d be more for “cafe” type places.

Still, I’d hate to be a member of waiting staff “serving” some of the misers and grumps on here. Some of the reasons, given, are downright bitter and, even, resentful. Sad to see.

Firing a few quid at someone for good service isn’t too much to ask. It’s nice to put a smile on someone’s face and give them “acknowledgment” of a job well done.

"Firing a few quid AT someone". Groan. The disrespect in "firing" and "throwing" money AT people is so disheartening to see. Firing money AT people for the sake of being seen to fire money AT people. So Celtic Tiger.

scamalert

a lot of this crap comes from US culture- where waitresses are told to make up half their wages from tips, Ireland has set wages so person gets decent hourly wage, tipping someone 10pc isnt a lot but i know its appreciated, so more to do here with how you feel about your experience towards service you received rather then oh stingy bastard who cant afford it.

HBC08

RasTa wrote: »

No, because they don't bring my food to my table, top up my glass. Clear plates from my table etc.

Basic stuff here. The barman, waiters and the barber all deserve to be tipped every single time.

If you don't, you're a bum. Simples.

I tip most of the time.
You tip your barman? for every scoop? do you live in NYC?

You're talking out your bum.

ps.If you end a post/sentence etc with "simples" that tells me all I need to know.

El_Duderino 09

RasTa wrote: »

No, because they don't bring my food to my table, top up my glass. Clear plates from my table etc.

Basic stuff here. The barman, waiters and the barber all deserve to be tipped every single time.

If you don't, you're a bum. Simples.

"bring my food to my table, top up my glass. Clear plates from my table" is literally the core of the waiter's job description. I can't imagine a waiter's job description that doesn't include those as the absolute basics of the job. So what exactly are you tipping for?

And the barman and barber? What could they do that earns a tip? Bring the exact things that you asked them to bring in a reasonable time, given how busy the bar is. Barbers should cut your hair thr way you asked them to and be willing to chat through the options if you're looking to change your style. Thats the job.

If you tip everyone who does their job then what else to you tip? Bus driver drive the bus and dropped you at the exact bus stop you requested; tip? Postman delivered the post to you at your actual address and put the post in the letterbox; tip? Person at the till in Tesco scanned ALL your items and then charged the appropriate amount AND gave you a receipt; tip? Doctor diagnosed your illness and gave a prescription; tip? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Waiters, barman and barber are three absolutely random jobs to tip. Would like to know WHY those three specifically.

ExMachina1000

Do ye tip the barber after a hair chop

RasTa

HBC08 wrote: »

I tip most of the time.
You tip your barman? for every scoop? do you live in NYC?

You're talking out your bum.

ps.If you end a post/sentence etc with "simples" that tells me all I need to know.

No, Manchester. They get a quid. Although the service is terrible most of the time.

Simples.

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

"bring my food to my table, top up my glass. Clear plates from my table" is literally the core of the waiter's job description. I can't imagine a waiter's job description that doesn't include those as the absolute basics of the job. So what exactly are you tipping for?

And the barman and barber? What could they do that earns a tip? Bring the exact things that you asked them to bring in a reasonable time, given how busy the bar is. Barbers should cut your hair thr way you asked them to and be willing to chat through the options if you're looking to change your style. Thats the job.

If you tip everyone who does their job then what else to you tip? Bus driver drive the bus and dropped you at the exact bus stop you requested; tip? Postman delivered the post to you at your actual address and put the post in the letterbox; tip? Person at the till in Tesco scanned ALL your items and then charged the appropriate amount AND gave you a receipt; tip? Doctor diagnosed your illness and gave a prescription; tip? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Waiters, barman and barber are three absolutely random jobs to tip. Would like to know WHY those three specifically.

My barber is £9 quid, usually give him £12. He doesn't say a word when cutting my hair and I always feel bad for whatever reason when someone has to cut my hair.

Waiters get paid the same or less than say a supermarket worker. If they came around with me whilst I done my daily shop and picked the stuff etc they would get a tip too. I use self service checkouts.

Bar stuff work long hours and deal with drunks, a quid per drink isn't going to hurt me.

El_Duderino 09

RasTa wrote: »

No, Manchester. They get a quid. Although the service is terrible most of the time.

Simples.

Do you tip when the service is terrible?
Also, what constitutes good or bad service and what do you tip for?

RasTa

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Do you tip when the service is terrible?
Also, what constitutes good or bad service and what do you tip for?

Waiters get the biggest tips, bar staff the least. For whatever reason they can't pour or serve more than one person at a time.

It would have to be really bad to not get a tip. I haven't experienced it yet, CS is generally miles better in the UK

HBC08

@RasTa
"No, Manchester. They get a quid. Although the service is terrible most of the time.

Simples."

So you tip a barman about 30% - 40% each time you go to the bar but it's sh1te service? lol

Simples? more like simple.