Tipping

[fred the red]

Do people think its right to tip the pokeman?

[Yes I Would]

Imporatnt tip for everyone!! Never eat yellow snow!!

[Maguire01]

I hate the way they add a service charge to parties of, say 10 and over. what is that all about?

It's because large tables are a lot of work for the waiting staff. And a waiter/waitress can spend all night working on one large table who may then pay without tipping, whereas if they'd had the same number of people in tables of 2 or 4, they'd most likely have been tipped by the majority.
At the end of the day, tipping is discretionary - even when added to your bill as part of a big table.  If you don't want to pay it, you don't have to. It might cause a fuss however, and unless the service was crap, i'd have no problem paying it. At the end of the day, if you can afford to eat/drink out in the first place, then surely a couple of quid isn't going to break the bank(?)

[mannix]

I know a waiter in the us of a that gets about 300 dollars a week in tips, he has to pay some other lads out of that, busboy and other dogsbody get about 80 dollars.
Tipping is bad, the worker shuld not have to count on charity to make ends meet.

[Maguire01]

I know a waiter in the us of a that gets about 300 dollars a week in tips, he has to pay some other lads out of that, busboy and other dogsbody get about 80 dollars.
Tipping is bad, the worker shuld not have to count on charity to make ends meet.

Charity?

[mannix]

He has to pay his employer for the rags used to wipe the tables. Tipping is no way for people to live, granted some do make a lot of cash, most do not.
Pay the people a wage and let the employer do the worrying, an employee busting his ass and not being sure of getting paid is wrong and should be outlawed.

[Maguire01]

But, to be fair to the employers, running a restaurant isn't easy and is no ticket to print money (as evidenced by the number of restaurants that fail). Margins are tight and increasing staff wages would obviously have to be passed straight back to the customer.

[Rav67]

Sometimes I say to taximen to keep the change if its a quid or 2, apart from that just if I was eating out.

When I was in US you feel under pressure to tip all the time though- hairdressers, every time you get a beer, even ordering fast food they expect it and the worst thing i when they start chatting to you when you've ordered and you know fine well its just so you'll feel obliged to give a tip.  I hate that about America, not being sure if someone's being nice just to be dead on or if it's to get $ out of you.  I'd give very genorously out there just so I don't look tight, but then curse the bastards after!

[Puckoon]

But, to be fair to the employers, running a restaurant isn't easy and is no ticket to print money (as evidenced by the number of restaurants that fail). Margins are tight and increasing staff wages would obviously have to be passed straight back to the customer.

Resturaunts fail because of bad management, poor menus, zero innovation or incentive for the customer to come back. The food and drink trade is undoubtedly a license to print money. The margins in all those chain resturaunts, and casino resturaunts that charge 15$ for a burger, surely that money is not all on overhead and staffing? You can make that burger for pittance.

A good resturaunt, in a half decent area, should never fail.

[Silky]

You really have to tip in resturants unless the service is sh*te. I wouldn't tip anybody else, especially not taxi men.

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

Is the states really that bad for tipping?
Would you be expected to tip in say; shops, McDonalds, Cinema, everything you ordered a pint?

I'm pretty bad for tipping (do it too much!), does the wifes head in, I'd be going for a note or notes and she'd be handing me some shrapenal! 

[gander]

Think its the custom to tip in America cause no where has a service charge.  Over here is different as thats all included in the price.  I normally leave a few quid extra unless the service was shite.

[lynchbhoy]

I hear teachers are too poor to tip, but are strangely somewhat happy about this!
(or pretend to be)