Tipping in the UK

[Mcr Warrior]

Does no one tip their barber? If its £18, I always round up.

Me too. Considered it needed to be as much as a fiver immediately after lockdown when my pre-haircut look was something of a cross between Stan Laurel and Milton Jones.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

If its £18, I always round up.

Wow, I'm glad I don't go to your barber, mine charges £11 - I give him £12 (but £15 for the immediately post lockdown cut).

 

[duncanp]

Yes I do too

I usuallg give my barber £1 extra when he cuts what is left of my hair. (ie. £9 instead of £8.)

 

[Trackman]

Does no one tip their barber? If its £18, I always round up.

I used to, but they sold out and the new barber near enough charged double.
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I've heard that people tip binmen (or persons) at Christmas. I wonder if it is still a thing?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I've heard that people tip binmen (or persons) at Christmas. I wonder if it is still a thing?

I've certainly tipped our regular Postie in recent years; the binmen, no, as they're normally round at 6.45 a.m. which in winter is a bit 'early doors' for me to be up.

 

[trebor79]

Ten percent if you are happy but the general rule is ten percentage if you are not too. We are British & dislike offending anyone regardless.

Years ago at university a group of us went to a "Mexican" restaurant. The food was awful, as was the service. Then there was a big hoo ha over the bill as they tried to say only one if us could use the 10% off vouchers we had.
I refused to tip, some of the others, whom I'd never met before, thought this was appalling and got most put out.
Needless to say after all the money was collected it was some way short anyway (standard for these scenarios). Happy days.

One rule I do have is that if you ask for one you don't get one even if I was previously intending to do so. This includes circling "service not included" on a bill or similar, as it's insulting to my intelligence to suggest I can't read it without.

Yep. I also dislike the "optional 12% service charge" included on the bill.

Does no one tip their barber? If its £18, I always round up.

Used to. Not any more. They set their own prices, so if they want/need to earn more they can put them up (which mine has done twice in the past year now anyway).

 

[dk1]

Years ago at university a group of us went to a "Mexican" restaurant. The food was awful, as was the service. Then there was a big hoo ha over the bill as they tried to say only one if us could use the 10% off vouchers we had.
I refused to tip, some of the others, whom I'd never met before, thought this was appalling and got most put out.
Needless to say after all the money was collected it was some way short anyway (standard for these scenarios). Happy days.

That’s just made me chuckle matey.

 

[Gloster]

Years ago I was on the last day of my holiday in France in Amiens and decided to blow my remaining Francs on a good evening meal. I found myself stuck facing the wall, with the only option being to move to the other side of the table (back to the wall), but couldn’t because the table was so close to the wall that I wouldn’t have been able to breathe in. (I thought that they must have a big party booked and this was all that was left, but there were only a handful of other diners). The service was appallingly slow and slapdash, partly because the waiter was busy chatting up a couple of girls. The food, except for the starter (excellent onion soup that I remember even now) was mediocre and only just warm. The bill took ages to arrive, so when I got my change back (they leave the plate for tips) I stuck a 10 centime piece, the smallest coin I had, right in the middle of the plate and left. I am not normally such a ****, but this was unusually bad.

 

[satisnek]

Had a meal in the Harrington Arms in Sawley earlier this evening (yes, I'm on holiday - boaters go to strange places on their holidays...). I had a main only which came to eleven pounds something. I paid cash (as should everyone who values their freedom, but that's for another forum) and after I got my change from a tenner plus a fiver I left a pound coin in the tray before going. I then thought, is this a bit tight because it's less than ten per cent, but on the other hand two pounds would have been overly generous, while one pound plus whatever to bring it close to 10% would have been just anal. But then they 'didn't have' what I first asked for and so I had to make another choice from the menu, so I suppose I left pretty much the right amount...

 

[ChiefPlanner]

I used to, but they sold out and the new barber near enough charged double.
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I've heard that people tip binmen (or persons) at Christmas. I wonder if it is still a thing?

Also tip the local (paid for) newspaper deliverer - at Xmas. Deservedly.

 

[Merseysider]

I’ll round up the fare in a cab if they get me where I’m going without any fuss, normally to the next quid and then 1 or 2 on top.

Went for a meal with family just the other day and the service was some of the slowest and least attentive I’ve experienced in my life - we agreed not to leave a ‘proper’ tip - instead I rounded the bill up from £49.55 to £50

At restaurants I otherwise tip 10-15% if service is good, and if abroad I’ll just follow local custom.

That said, I once tipped something stupid like 70% in Boston’s Hard Rock Cafe after a number of drinks to make a point after the bar staff were superb (immediate beer refills, free tasters of new cocktails, the right amount of conversation etc) and their manager had been berating them (openly at the bar!) for something stupid.

Can’t think of anything else I’ve tipped for tbh.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

I once arrived in St Pancras heading for Euston which is obviously an easy walk, but not easy with all the luggage we had, so we took a black cab fully intending to tip well due to the low fare for the short run short run. The driver was however so rude, as we got in and again as we got out, he not only got only the bare fare and absolutely no tip, but an earful from me about how not to speak to customers. I did also note his licence number but did not follow up by reporting him for his rudeness.

 

[Trackman]

Also tip the local (paid for) newspaper deliverer - at Xmas. Deservedly.

Around the mid 70's I delivered newspapers and they had a Christmas tip box in the newsagents for the paper girls/boys.
One Christmas we all received just over £5 each - I was gobsmacked. £5 was a lot of money then, well to me anyway.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I'll always tip 10-20% at a restaurant unless I'm dramatically unsatisfied; if the server is particularly friendly or has dealt with an awkward request of mine then I'll tip more. I'm too embarrassed to not tip usually.

I like to give tips at the barber as well, because I get on well with them.

I don't tip Uber Eats drivers because they add a service charge, delivery fee AND the prices of the food is higher than the restaurants charge to eat in anyway, so I often find. Service charge is tip anyway, isn't it, so I don't see why they ask for a tip on the app as well?

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

He not only got only the bare fare and absolutely no tip, but an earful from me about how not to speak to customers.

How embarrassing for you.

 

[Big Tim]

One I used to tip was supermarket home delivery drivers. This was perhaps more specific to me as an individual as I lived on the third floor of a tenement block (no lift just several flights of very steep stairs) in Dundee at the time - and the drivers would bring all the groceries (usually including several heavy cases of beer!) upstairs to the flat. This would have been in the early days of this service (2004-06 in my case), and delivery slots were often only £1 or even free, so I felt it was only right to give the drivers two or three quid in their hand - purely due to what I considered personal service, and saved me a strenuous job. I wouldn't tip them now, case in point my slot this morning from Tesco was a fiver with the van parking no more than ten steps from my front door.

I do tend to tip taxi drivers, like some other contributors of this thread have said, rounded up to the nearest pound, and £1-2 on top - unless they've been particularly surly or driven erratically (not to mention one or two who have used less than direct routes in cities I know). I nearly always tip 10% or thereabouts in restaurants assuming the food has been satisfactory and the service decent. I haven't used a barbers for over two years, finding investment in a set of hair clippers during the first lockdown have served me well, but I did used to tip pretty much as I described in terms of taxis rounding up to the nearest pound +1.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Around the mid 70's I delivered newspapers and they had a Christmas tip box in the newsagents for the paper girls/boys.
One Christmas we all received just over £5 each - I was gobsmacked. £5 was a lot of money then, well to me anyway.

Sunday paper round was commission based and very lucrative. Xmas a goldmine - up to £20 some years - and this was 1994-1996 ! - not to mention numerous offers of alcoholic drinks etc. (Hard work though and a big - heavy round with multiple drops off of pre-sorted bags)

 

[alex397]

I only tip if the service was exceptional. I have a rubbish minimum wage job, so I won’t be tipping if I don’t need to. Maybe that makes me sound right, but at the moment I don’t really care.

 

[najaB]

I only tip if the service was exceptional. I have a rubbish minimum wage job, so I won’t be tipping if I don’t need to. Maybe that makes me sound right, but at the moment I don’t really care.

Well, tipping is optional so there's no reason to feel guilty if you can't afford it!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well, tipping is optional so there's no reason to feel guilty if you can't afford it!

So many British people don't tip that I don't think anything at all could or would be inferred from it. It is not like the US where you hear of non tippers being chased down the street.

If you want to make a point in the UK you'd need to leave a derisory tip e.g. a 1p, 2p or 5p coin. Even a fairly derisory round up wouldn't carry much meaning.

 

[Springs Branch]

My wife is Italian & we don't normally live in the UK, but when we're visiting, she does enjoy a traditional English Devonshire Tea - so long as she can substitute the pot of tea with a cappuccino.

With this in mind, on a pre-pandemic visit to Harrogate, I took her to Betty's Tea Rooms.

We both had a good time there, so when paying the bill (by cash) I rounded up a bit - slightly over 10%, but not much more - and indicated to the homely, frilly-aproned waitress that I didn't need any change.

"Oh, thank you very much sir", said the waitress. "That's very generous of you!" - in a genuinely pleased, not sarcastic, tone of voice.

After she'd left our table, Mrs S.B leaned over and said "Mamma Mia*, how much did you give her?"

"Only 10%", I replied. "But, you see, we're in Yorkshire now. Probably the only tip she ever gets here is 'look both ways before you cross the road'".


* She didn't really say that, she isn't a stereotype Italian.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

My wife is Italian & we don't normally live in the UK, but when we're visiting, she does enjoy a traditional English Devonshire Tea - so long as she can substitute the pot of tea with a cappuccino.

With this in mind, on a pre-pandemic visit to Harrogate, I took her to Betty's Tea Rooms.

We both had a good time there, so when paying the bill (by cash) I rounded up a bit - slightly over 10%, but not much more - and indicated to the homely, frilly-aproned waitress that I didn't need any change.

"Oh, thank you very much sir", said the waitress. "That's very generous of you!" - in a genuinely pleased, not sarcastic, tone of voice.

After she'd left our table, Mrs S.B leaned over and said "Mamma Mia*, how much did you give her?"

"Only 10%", I replied. "But, you see, we're in Yorkshire now. Probably the only tip she ever gets here is 'look both ways before you cross the road'".


* She didn't really say that, she isn't a stereotype Italian.

That’s a nice story. It’s really satisfying when you can give a little extra after a good time, and particularly nice when they seem genuinely touched by it.

 

[AlterEgo]

Does no one tip their barber? If its £18, I always round up.

Yes I’m a “keep the change” person

 

[DM352]

Visiting London restaurants was a first for being asked to tip with a smiley face by the server. It was Garfunkels and Pizza Hut which spring to mind and most of the time the food was bland or burnt. Since found Wetherspoons!

 

[Iskra]

Visiting London restaurants was a first for being asked to tip with a smiley face by the server. It was Garfunkels and Pizza Hut which spring to mind and most of the time the food was bland or burnt. Since found Wetherspoons!

In fairness, living on a hospitality wage in London can’t be easy, so that’s somewhere where tipping is probably massive for the staff.

 

[DarloRich]

Some of you must have money to burn! Why not give it to me? I work hard and do long hours. Would you like my bank details.....................

I now get my cabs on the app with payment linked to my card. No tip for the driver. I don't tip a barber unless it is xmas an I feel in the festive spirit. I don't routinely tip waiters and I delete any added service charge. Why should I pay the restaurant owner 10 or 12.5% more simply for accepting my custom. I don't tip the bin men ffs. They don't empty my green bin often enough to earn thier wage let alone a tip!

if I do leave a tip it is always cash into the hand of the person I want to get it and obviously if I am on a date I might leave a tip so I look like a decent guy but generally I am tight. I am absolutely NOT a keep the change sort of guy! I work hard for my money and don't want to just chuck it away.

I feel absolutely no guilt about my stance.

 

[najaB]

Some of you must have money to burn! Why not give it to me? I work hard and do long hours.

That's pretty much the idea - recognition that people in service industries do work long hours and don't (generally) get paid enough. If you can afford to give a little extra then you do, if you can't then you don't.

and obviously if I am on a date I might leave a tip so I look like a decent guy but generally I am tight.

That's just sad.

 

[DarloRich]

That's pretty much the idea - recognition that people in service industries do work long hours and don't (generally) get paid enough. If you can afford to give a little extra then you do, if you can't then you don't.

I can afford to. I don't, often. I will for exceptional service or something really wonderful but not just for brining me a plate of chips. I am cool with that. We aren't Americans.

That's just sad.

maybe but there is a bigger picture

 

[Bletchleyite]

That's pretty much the idea - recognition that people in service industries do work long hours and don't (generally) get paid enough. If you can afford to give a little extra then you do, if you can't then you don't.

If people didn't tip the companies would have to pay a proper wage otherwise people wouldn't take the jobs, to be fair to him. As I don't tend to use cash these days I'm finding the opportunities to do so reduced, anyway, often the card machine doesn't offer the option.

I find tipping as a matter of course (as distinct from if service is extremely special and way above expectations) a bizarre idea. It simply means menu prices are typically 10-15% less than they should be. Would anyone accept going to Tesco and having to add 10% on at the till for the shelf stackers sensible? No, so why is it an expectation at a "pack 'em in and serve 'em badly" chain restaurant?

 

[GB]

Would anyone accept going to Tesco and having to add 10% on at the till for the shelf stackers sensible? No, so why is it an expectation at a "pack 'em in and serve 'em badly" chain restaurant?

Should get a 10% discount for having to serve myself.