Tipping in restaurants

[WendyS]

What's the current appropriate level for tipping when you've received good service in a restaurant these days?

[Pea Pod]

I thought I left �3. ....My husband was behind me picking it up again.I don`t think a lot of people tip these days, a sign of the times again.

[Lil wisH]

I love goin out for meals wid me mates an we no some of the best places to eat in liverpool,

but when I do go out I always Leave bout �2 - �5

shhhlaters

love me xxxxxxxxxxxx

[EDLEE]

Generally it is between 15% and 20% of the bill, depending on level of service. Keep in mind that waiters and waitresses are not paid very much at all and most need their tips to survive. If you tip the good ones well and not so the poor ones soon we will all be getting better service.

[dzug]

EDLEE must be American, coz that's the standard answer there. It would be totally profligate here.

In the UK 10% is regarded as generous.

[normy]

but check whether service has been added onto the bill already...lots of places add 10% to the bill......

and depends on how good the service was

[Eve]

Usually 10% over here.

I'd tip more for good service or less or nothing if the service is awful.

[makemesmile]

Most placas I go to (London) 12.5% seems to be the standard service charge - mostly automatically added.

[Alibobs]

I tip according to the service I receive - if it's good I normally leave about 10%.

[luckyeight]

Agree with Edlee - I always tip proportionate to the service / overall charge - if it's bad service I leave a notably bad tip - only way to reward good service, if you see what I mean!

[Quizmonster]

Some 40 years ago, I was taught that a British 'gentleman' leaves a tip amounting to 1/7th of the bill...ie about 14 or 15%. I still do just that.
What a lady - or non-gentleman - does, I do not know. However, when some friends and I once dined together, one of them said he'd deal with the waiter's tip. When the poor chap arrived, my friend said "Never wear a damp vest!" He did actually give him a real 'tip' in the end.

[Champagne]

For me it depends on the value of the bill and whether the service is worth tipping. I always check first if service is added on already.

4 of us had a meal on Tuesday night and the bill came to �80, and we tipped around �10. But when my boyfriend and I go to our local restaurant we've spent well over �100 in the past, but we don't usually tip over �20.

[jamwan55]

tip the bus drivers ..... yes

[janetsflower]

We usually leave about a fiver

[redcrx]

i usually calculate on 10% for a tip.

A friend of mine is so tight with his money though that he worked out that if 10 of us went out, he could collect cash off everyone and then pay on his credit card. He never added a tip and this almost paid for his meal.

He always paid the whole bill by his card and it was years before someone spotted him paying and realised what he'd done all those years.

We send a witness with him now when he pays.

[kev100]

I'm close to retirement age and of all the bathroom suites and central heating systems I've installed, not once in forty years has anyone left me a tip for my excellent workmanship and until they do my tips in barber shops, taxis and restaurant is always the same fkcu all.

[elderado]

kev100,i guess your workmanship was not as good as you thought,

[kev100]

elderado, how many people have you met in you life that tip plumbers, or bus drivers, or or the guy that fixes your washing machine or the cleaner at the school you youngster attends.

Need I go on?

What makes haidressers, taxi drivers and waiters think that they alone in society should get bunged 15% for doing what they are paid to do?

Actually it's not true that I have never been tipped in my life I once received a glass of cheap wine for turning out on christmas morning to fix a burst water pipe, and another tip I once got was and I quote "never wipe your ar$e on a broken bottle"

[Buenchico]

I usually leave a tip in the order of 15%.

On some occasions, though, it can be much higher. About 10 years ago I realised that I'd be on my own for Christmas Day lunch. I thought about paying �30 or so for a 'bog standard' Christmas Day lunch at a local hotel or pub but I fancied something a bit different. After checking 'Time Out' to see what was open on Chrismas Day, I drove 80 miles to a restaurant in south London which served a mixture of Indian and African food. I hadn't booked but, when I turned up at about 2.00pm they managed to squeeze me in. The decor and ambiance were great. The staff, despite being under pressure were friendly, courteous, helpful and efficient. The meal was probably the best 'ethnic' food I've had in my life. Over a leisurely period of 3 hours (during which I made friends with lots of other diners) I had a starter, main course (with all the extras like popadums, naan bread, etc) and the most expensive dessert on the menu. I also had two of the dearer soft drinks. (The restaurant was unlicensed for religious reasons and I was driving anyway). The total bill came to about �10.50 but the proprietor said 'Let's just call it a tenner'. When it came to deciding on a tip, I thought "I could have forked out 30 quid for a hotel meal that I wouldn't particularly have enjoyed. Instead I've just had a wonderful meal for a tenner". So I left a �20 tip.

Chris

[Ethel]

I used to tip when staff got very, very low wages.

I stopped when the minimum wage was introduced.

[Hammer Head]

I don't understand why you nearly all seem to base your tip on a percentage of the bill. If I went to a restaurant and spent �50 on dinner for me and 'her in drawers', I may leave �3 or �4 if the service was good. However, if I really splashed out, for example if it was the first anniversary of the last time I got a word in edge ways, and spent �300 on the meal I would leave the same, assuming the service was as good.

Think about it. A �300 meal doesn't take any more effort to serve than a �25 meal. It probably didn't even take the chef any longer to cook. It's just that the second meal comprised caviar, lobster, truffles etc.