Vocal Voices

by **saundra** » 11 Mar 2015, 12:25

I give hairdressers and taxi drivers £1'00each
Every time I go
It all adds up

by **TheOstrich** » 11 Mar 2015, 13:08

Oh dear

- I'm afraid I never tip in restaurants, unless I'm prompted by whoever I'm with. I usually think the prices charged for the food are too exorbitant anyway ......

And I've stopping tipping my barber since she put her prices up.

Proper Mr Scrooge here ...

by **meriad** » 11 Mar 2015, 13:23

TheOstrich wrote:Oh dear - I'm afraid I never tip in restaurants, unless I'm prompted by whoever I'm with. I usually think the prices charged for the food are too exorbitant anyway ......

And I've stopping tipping my barber since she put her prices up.

Proper Mr Scrooge here ...

But Ossie, the food prices are set and charged by the restaurant, ie the owners, not the waiting staff who sometimes work stupid hours and if the place is understaffed run themselves ragged to make sure the customers are all happy. Besides which, the food prices in turn are probably as a result of high rents, food prices to make their meals etc. Most restaurants don't make a lot of money off their food (well maybe the really posh ones do - they get more money's worth from the alcohol they sell.

by **Workingman** » 11 Mar 2015, 13:40

My formative years of eating out were in Germany where rounding up was the norm, as Ria says. If an individual's cost came to, say, €28 it would be rounded to €30, we would then very often throw in a load of loose change as a 'tip', if that makes sense.

However, I do take Shell's point that for two people having a light meal £3 is fine. There are some places where a single course for two would come in a long way under £30 and sticking rigidly to 10% could look a bit stingy. It's a play-it-by-ear thing.

by **debih** » 11 Mar 2015, 13:40

If I feel the service was good enough I always tip around 10% but never, ever pay it on my card as I doubt it actually ever gets to the staff (it certainly didn't in my days of waitressing) and always leave cash.

I tip if I am having my nails done but I never tip my hairdresser. She is one of my really good friends and tipping her feels awkward. Don't know why, it just does.

I never tip taxi drivers - they refuse to take me to my door because they don't like our hill. Not that I get a taxi very often!

by **Osc** » 11 Mar 2015, 14:44

We would usually tip 10% in a restaurant, and would give a taxi driver €1 or €2. However if we're not happy with the service we will not tip, eating out can be expensive here and I will not pay extra for poor service. As Shell says, we never got tips for doing our job and there were many times when we went above and beyond our job description to help a customer. Not that we were looking for tips, or ever took any money that was offered (an occasional box of chocs was always gratefully received though

) but people can be so thoughtless, not even acknowledging the time and effort you might put in to helping them. In America, they will nearly run out the door after you if you don't tip enough :shock:

by **victor** » 11 Mar 2015, 17:20

the way i see it is that tipping is increasing staff wages ,which means bosses pay less = more profit

do people tip the dustmen/postmen /.tyre fitter/plumber/decorator?

by **miasmum** » 11 Mar 2015, 17:54

Just in from work and some interesting comments, thank you.

I have also had this conversation at work and most staff feel the same as me. They will tip exceptional service but not run of the mill and one of my friends says she only tips independent restaurants, never if part of a chain, which I hadn't thought about as almost all the restaurants I go to are part of a chain.

Ria, I think London is very different to towns like where I live. In London a lot of the waitresses are students and immigrants. Here most waitresses are mums earning some pocket money in the evenings when partners are home to look after the kids, certainly not on the breadline. Last night our waitress was the restaurant manager, so I bet she is on more than the minimum wage.

Kaz I agree its not fair that Sarah makes up my shortfall, but that is her choice. I don't earn much and I can't afford to throw extra money away.

The people I know that work on a minimum wages and are young and broke are the ones that work in the care sector. Luke's carers are now on more than the minimum wage, but the inexperienced ones, on not much more. We give them money to buy a takeaway occasionally to share with Luke. I buy them birthday presents and we treat them to a meal out at christmas. At his previous home they were all on the minimum wage and we couldn't do that there. No one tips carers and I know who I would rather tip if I had a choice

I don't tip my hairdresser, she works from home, so no other staff, but I buy her a voucher at Christmas, I don't go to nail bars, or anywhere like that. I do have my legs waxed and my eyebrows tidied, but no way would I tip there. She is very very well off and charges a fortune anyway.

by **TheOstrich** » 11 Mar 2015, 19:04

She is very very well off and charges a fortune anyway.

That gave me a little chuckle, because I remember Mrs O came back from her old hairdresser a couple of years back (self-employed, working out of a room in the barbers, not a salon, IYSWIM) and I asked her out of interest how much she had tipped. "Nothing" said Mrs O, exasperatedly "She spent the whole 30 minutes regaling me about her latest ski-ing holiday ...."