Is tipping now expected in Ireland?

salamanca22 · 19-12-2015 12:33AM

In the end of the day I am a firm believer of the get paid what you are worth model.

If someone spends 4 years plus in college and then are constantly upskilling like most professionals are then they deserve to be paid a lot higher than the person who is working the unskilled job. If a waiter is working in a busy restaurant they might get 5 or 6 tables an hour. Depending on the restaurant the bill will vary but let's just say for a table of 4 you are spending at least €100 (It is usually higher but lets keep it round). If we were to use the american system of tipping which would probably average 20% of the bill that is €20 per table per hour. After the waiter tips out the kitchen and bus staff then you are likely looking at at least €10 of it in your pocket. 10 by 5 tables is 50 euro an hour being tipped plus their wage.

That is almost €60 an hour if every table tipped. I know every table does not tip, but I am addressing the fact that is the situation if they did as a lot of people on this thread seems to think should be.

Now, how is that fair? Being a waiter does not require much training or education yet you would be making more than a huge portion of professionals out there with years of study behind them.

This is not me trying to be superior to anyone. I worked the menial jobs in my past and would never expect what some people seem to expect. I worked minimum wage and less than minimum wage (Before I was 18) and never once thought to myself I should be getting a pay equal to that of the person working in the offices that have worked to get where they are.

Waiters get paid a wage, it is not up to me to supplement that.

KungPao · 19-12-2015 12:36AM

I tip if it's in my own interests...i.e. I couldn't be arsed waiting for change.

Everyone gets a decent wage here, no reason for this tipping business.

Waiters in restaurants should just be happy they have customers (aka the people who generate the money for their wages)...expecting extra is pushing their luck. I'm not a total stinge though...if it was a large get together and they were very attentive etc, go on have a few quid and good luck.

John_Rambo · 19-12-2015 11:00AM

DivingDuck wrote: »

As someone who has always tipped because of social convention (it's scabby not to) and/or fear of reprisal if I disregard that convention (something in your food next time you visit), I still take issue with the idea. The post you quoted suggested tipping anyone you fancied in whatever way you please, which I can completely understand. But why did you reduce it to waitstaff only?

What is your argument to support the idea that waitstaff deserve a wage top-up that people in other jobs don't? Is waiting tables harder than cleaning, or folding clothes in a shop all day, or standing in a petrol station all night, or scanning items in a supermarket? Why are these jobs, some of which are just as physically taxing, and nearly all of which require as much customer interaction, not deserving of extra money from customers where people who bring them food are?

I'm happy to tip for good service and happy to not tip for bad service. You're the one that's unhappy to tip, but still does out of fear or peer pressure.

I have tipped a cloths shop staff member for good service! The guy acted like a personal shopper for me! I don't tip everyone, because I know where to draw the line. A person scanning things in a supermarket isn't having direct contact with me, serving me food, advising me on what wine is good with what food, organising food for my kid, cleaning up after me, bringing me water...etc.

I don't think you're confused regarding who to tip and who not to tip, anyone with a bit of cop knows who to tip. You're just tight. So are you Salamanca22, you're long winding excuses and lectures about how well educated you are doesn't cut the mustard. You're just tight.

DivingDuck · 19-12-2015 11:46AM

John_Rambo wrote: »

I don't think you're confused regarding who to tip and who not to tip, anyone with a bit of cop knows who to tip. You're just tight. So are you Salamanca22, you're long winding excuses and lectures about how well educated you are doesn't cut the mustard. You're just tight.

I don't believe I have ever solicited advice from a waiter on what to order. I read the menu, make my own selection along with a drink choice, and expect them to return with same in a reasonable timeframe. When I'm finished, they take my plate away. That's literally all I ask from waitstaff, and I assume they are being paid a reasonable wage for doing so in this country, since it's illegal if they're not.

How is this different to someone who has to scan my groceries at the supermarket, wipe up whatever items spill on the belt, and chat to me while they're doing so? Depending on the size of the shop, I'd usually spend more time in the company of the person running the till than I would a waiter in a restaurant. I really can't see why one person deserves a tip and the other doesn't.

I am happy to tip for service that falls outside of a person's normal duties. Very happy. If someone does more than what their employer is paying for, I believe someone else should pay, and that someone is me. When someone does the job they're paid for and no more, I am already paying them as the relevant portion of their wages is coming from the price of my meal or item.

I'm not "confused" about who to tip, I'm saying that some of the jobs where tipping is expected are no different to jobs where tipping isn't custom and that this is illogical, nothing more. I know when social convention demands I tip, and I know when my own personal ethics dictate that I tip, and I accept both. That doesn't mean I can't disagree with the social norm-- which in this instance, I do.

TG1 · 19-12-2015 12:01PM

salamanca22 wrote: »

In the end of the day I am a firm believer of the get paid what you are worth model.

If someone spends 4 years plus in college and then are constantly upskilling like most professionals are then they deserve to be paid a lot higher than the person who is working the unskilled job.

This is the problem, I have a friend who worked in a restaurant full time before deciding to go back to college. Now, having spent 4 years and 12 grand to get her degree, she is working 70+ hours a week while completeing exams.

She was disgusted to learn that she was earning more working less hours in the restaurant as she was regularly doubling her wage with tips.

That's not right.

That being said, I tip 10% religiously in every restaurant I eat in because its the done thing but I don't think it should be. Tipping is fine when the wage is considerably lower to account for it but when the minimum wage is the same as that calculated for someone not earning tips then tipping shouldn't be automatic.

Eugene Norman · 19-12-2015 12:11PM

salamanca22 wrote: »

In the end of the day I am a firm believer of the get paid what you are worth model.

If someone spends 4 years plus in college and then are constantly upskilling like most professionals are then they deserve to be paid a lot higher than the person who is working the unskilled job. If a waiter is working in a busy restaurant they might get 5 or 6 tables an hour. Depending on the restaurant the bill will vary but let's just say for a table of 4 you are spending at least €100 (It is usually higher but lets keep it round). If we were to use the american system of tipping which would probably average 20% of the bill that is €20 per table per hour. After the waiter tips out the kitchen and bus staff then you are likely looking at at least €10 of it in your pocket. 10 by 5 tables is 50 euro an hour being tipped plus their wage.

That is almost €60 an hour if every table tipped. I know every table does not tip, but I am addressing the fact that is the situation if they did as a lot of people on this thread seems to think should be.

Now, how is that fair? Being a waiter does not require much training or education yet you would be making more than a huge portion of professionals out there with years of study behind them.

This is not me trying to be superior to anyone. I worked the menial jobs in my past and would never expect what some people seem to expect. I worked minimum wage and less than minimum wage (Before I was 18) and never once thought to myself I should be getting a pay equal to that of the person working in the offices that have worked to get where they are.

Waiters get paid a wage, it is not up to me to supplement that.

People do not get paid for having a degree. But for scarcity. Supply and demand.

There's no reason why a good waiter or waitress couldn't earn more than some office workers, why not if good?

What tipping pays for is service. It's paying for efficiency and friendliness. If somebody is really good at that why wouldn't they earn lots of money?

snubbleste · 19-12-2015 12:24PM

TG1 wrote: »

....That being said, I tip 10% religiously in every restaurant I eat in because its the done thing but I don't think it should be...

It is not the done thing.
You should never tip in Ireland.

Eugene Norman · 19-12-2015 12:35PM

snubbleste wrote: »

It is not the done thing.
You should never tip in Ireland.

Such odd differences of opinion here. I always tip in restaurants. I've always been out with people who tip.

Where do you guys come from.

Diamond Doll · 19-12-2015 12:36PM

I'm not usually a big tipper, but today I went to the hairdresser with my hair in absolute bits. I've been unwell, and the last month or so, after washing my hair I've just put it in a bun without drying or even brushing it. It had developed into a matted knotty clumpy mess, basically dreadlocks. It was so bad that it took her half an hour just to get the knots out - at one stage there were a couple of big ones close to the roots that she didn't think she'd be able to get, I thought I'd be leaving with a Sinead O'Connor! But she managed it all in the end, and gave me a lovely haircut.

I was expecting it to be around €50 so I planned on giving her a tenner tip, it was actually only €42 so I gave her €15. She was delighted! And I'm just happy to still have hair!

As for restaurants, cafes, etc, I'd usually leave a small tip if paying with cash ... I'm less likely to if paying with card.

DivingDuck · 19-12-2015 12:42PM

Diamond Doll wrote: »

But she managed it all in the end, and gave me a lovely haircut.

I was expecting it to be around €50 so I planned on giving her a tenner tip, it was actually only €42 so I gave her €15. She was delighted! And I'm just happy to still have hair!

This is what I'm talking about. In a country where a reasonable wage is legally guaranteed, tipping should be reserved for exceptional circumstances such as this, where someone has gone above and beyond the usual expectations of the role they agreed to perform and have been paid to perform.

(I'm glad you were happy with the result, by the way, and it was lovely of you to leave such a generous tip. It's a good story and a happy ending for everyone.)

Eugene Norman · 19-12-2015 12:49PM

Back in 19th London when restaurants – particularly steak houses – were scarce and for the rich and upper middle to upper classes, waiters often worked for free. Sometimes they even paid to get a place in a busy restaurant.

The diners knew that the waiters were not paid so it was social suicide to not tip, in fact tipping was a form of conspicuous consumption. The waiter could earn a weeks pay from a table (heres a sovereign my good man) and of course these guys were utterly brilliant.

Something like that is the american system and they are universally better at table service than here. ( Bar men are as good but we have excellent bar workers in general).

John_Rambo · 19-12-2015 12:50PM

Eugene Norman wrote: »

Such odd differences of opinion here. I always tip in restaurants. I've always been out with people who tip.

Where do you guys come from.

East Galway or the NorthWest I'd imagine.

cursai · 19-12-2015 12:51PM

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

When I'm back in Ireland I will tip in a restaurant if the service has been exemplary. This means the type of service that is friendly yet not overbearing. A strong knowledge of the wine list with recommendations on a wine to match each course if serving by the glass. No tattoos, silly beards or converse runners - which seems to be a look in vogue these days even in more formal restaurants. It's the type of service that comes naturally to some waiters and waitresses. The amount of the tip will vary depending on the level of service, the atmosphere of the establishment, and the quality of the food.

I always leave a €6 tip for my barber here in Frankfurt; two twenty euro notes for the combined cut and tip. I've been going to the same barber for four years now and always enjoy his company, as well as always being guaranteed a damn fine haircut that has me looking my best.

Heard that Frankfurt is a kip! And full of hipsters.

Azrel · 19-12-2015 12:59PM

With a €9.15/hour minimum wage in force from 1st January, a "tipping culture" in Ireland is a pretty ridiculous concept. It's leaking over from the USA where employers are only legally required to pay tipped workers $2.13/hour (€1.96, yes 1 euro and 96 cents). Where as non tipped workers it's $7.25/hour (340% more than tipped workers). In Ireland no such difference exists, the waiting staff in the restaurant and the people cleaning the toilets are both on at least €9.15/hour from 1st January so why do the waiting staff deserve an extra "top-up"? Is it to incentivize them to treat the customer nicer and provide a better customer service? Because for €9.15/hour I think that should be a basic necessity of any customer facing job.

If I told my employer's I need an extra few quid an hour to work to the best of my ability, otherwise I will only do a half-arsed job - they would righly show me the door.

Eugene Norman · 19-12-2015 01:05PM

Azrel wrote: »

With a €9.15/hour minimum wage in force from 1st January, a "tipping culture" in Ireland is a pretty ridiculous concept. It's leaking over from the USA where employers are only legally required to pay tipped workers $2.13/hour (€1.96, yes 1 euro and 96 cents). Where as non tipped workers it's $7.25/hour (340% more than tipped workers). In Ireland no such difference exists, the waiting staff in the restaurant and the people cleaning the toilets are both on at least €9.15/hour from 1st January so why do the waiting staff deserve an extra "top-up"? Is it to incentivize them to treat the customer nicer and provide a better customer service? Because for €9.15/hour I think that should be a basic necessity of any customer facing job.

Agreed to a certain extent. In the US the tip is you paying the staff to bring food. See them as almost like independent contractors. Hence my story about London in the 19th C.

But I still tip.

osarusan · 19-12-2015 01:09PM

Was in a restaurant yesterday, and the bill came to E25 for the lunch deal for 2 people.

The guy at the register took a E50 note, and handed back a E20 note and 5 1-euro coins, saying 'sorry about the coins'.

I'll bet you are sorry, with your tip tray of coins beside the register - you know people wouldn't tip the fiver so make sure they have coins!

It was fine really as we were happy to tip anyway, but it couldn't have been more blatant. (well, I suppose it could have been, if he'd tapped the tip tray like in the earlier post)

warpdrive · 19-12-2015 01:49PM

Funny how waiters just take the orders and then carry the orders from the kitchen to the tables and receive tips yet the chefs who prepare the good food these people are eating probably never get tipped. If you're going to tip anyone in Ireland, make it the chef.

the_pen_turner · 19-12-2015 02:56PM

I agree with the theory behind tipping. you get better service if you tip

but in reality you don't.
if some people tip all the time then the staff don't know the deference between someone who is happy with the service or not.

If I go into a restaurant every day and get the same staff usually . if I tip today and not yesterday they will work out that today they gave better service.

without know the reasons behind why someone tipped or didn't there is no way to know if your service was good or bad.

suicide_circus · 19-12-2015 03:01PM

warpdrive wrote: »

Funny how waiters just take the orders and then carry the orders from the kitchen to the tables and receive tips yet the chefs who prepare the good food these people are eating probably never get tipped. If you're going to tip anyone in Ireland, make it the chef.

Not true. Kitchen staff general get a share of tips. Some restaurant owners do too.

EagererBeaver · 19-12-2015 06:59PM

John_Rambo wrote: »

East Galway or the NorthWest I'd imagine.

Are you still getting on like you're from high society and as if being from Dublin is any different from either of the places you mention? Thought you'd piped down.

John_Rambo · 19-12-2015 08:34PM

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Are you still getting on like you're from high society and as I'd being from Dublin is any different from either of the places you mention? Thought you'd piped down.

And I thought you'd piped down! Sorry if you took offense at my guess EagererBeaver, I'm certainly not from "high society" (whatever that is) at all. But, from experience it's more common for city people to tip. It's not the cultural norm in rural areas, that's the way its.

This is a thread about tipping on After Hours. If you feel my posts are too much for you and I'm piped up, insulting or annoying you can click to ignore me or report my posts.

the_pen_turner · 19-12-2015 09:06PM

John_Rambo wrote: »

And I thought you'd piped down! Sorry if you took offense at my guess EagererBeaver, I'm certainly not from "high society" (whatever that is) at all. But, from experience it's more common for city people to tip. It's not the cultural norm in rural areas, that's the way its.

This is a thread about tipping on After Hours. If you feel my posts are too much for you and I'm piped up, insulting or annoying you can click to ignore me or report my posts.

im cultie and proud of it.
this is another reason im glad im not a townie or from Dublin.
heaven forbid Id have to pay someone to do their job and then pay them again to do it properly

DivingDuck · 19-12-2015 11:41PM

Eugene Norman wrote: »

Something like that is the american system and they are universally better at table service than here. ( Bar men are as good but we have excellent bar workers in general).

Oh, god, no. I can't hack the American system at all-- they're so desperate to impress you so that you'll leave a decent tip that they're constantly fetching up and loitering to make sure you're not left waiting more than a second for anything you might need.

I prefer to be left to my own devices. If there's a problem, I'll flag someone down-- I know it's considered "good service", but personally I absolutely hate being asked "Is everything okay?" two or three times, a question almost invariably be guaranteed to be posed at the point when your mouth is most full. I don't mind waiting a few minutes until someone's on the floor to ask for a drink, and if I'm eating it, you can basically assume there're no real problems.

mynameis905 · 20-12-2015 02:17AM

I'll leave behind some change at a restaurant and round up in taxis but that's about it.

John_Rambo · 20-12-2015 09:02AM

the_pen_turner wrote: »

im cultie and proud of it.
this is another reason im glad im not a townie or from Dublin.
heaven forbid Id have to pay someone to do their job and then pay them again to do it properly

Thanks the_pen_turner, eagererbeaver, my point is proven yet again. The most subsidised are the least likely to tip. An unpopular truth!!

The Backwards Man · 20-12-2015 10:32AM

I've worked in many service industries over the years, and the best tippers are the Scots, Northern English and the northern half of Ireland. Dubliners would always be way down the list when it comes to tipping, but way up the list when it comes to a false sense of self importance.

I can do provocative arbitrary anecdotes good too.

jonon9 · 20-12-2015 12:26PM

Tip my arse, I don't get tips in my job why should I tip else where. What makes them so special?

John_Rambo · 20-12-2015 12:53PM

jonon9 wrote: »

Tip my arse, I don't get tips in my job why should I tip else where. What makes them so special?

You must be a true blue proud Dub!!!

the_pen_turner · 20-12-2015 01:03PM

John_Rambo wrote: »

Thanks the_pen_turner, eagererbeaver, my point is proven yet again. The most subsidised are the least likely to tip. An unpopular truth!!

excuse me
what are you saying.

what exactly are you dubs subsidising for us culties

I would genuinely like to know

jonon9 · 20-12-2015 01:05PM

John_Rambo wrote: »

You must be a true blue proud Dub!!!

Nope not from Dublin.

Is tipping now expected in Ireland?

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