In Edinburgh at least tipping seems de rigeur. I tip at least 10% or if it's an inconvenient figure (say £6.60) i'll round up a pound and a bit (say to £8). Depending on the cabbie's affability, time to destination, and aggression of driving, the tip can vary from 10 to 25%.

Everyone complaining about a tipping thread stfu already. Dont click on a topic you dont want to read- how have people not figured this out by now??? fwiw I am enjoying reading post after post of tilted goodness

I, for one, clicked it expecting something new and worthwhile. I didn't get that, and it's disappointing.

Generally speaking, it takes several years experience to make it to fine dining. You wouldn't work at a job several years without wanting a raise. Admittedly, there are waiters who are better than others, and the bottom of the barrel, sure, 10% them. They'll possibly wisen up that they need to improve, or they'll leave the restaurant because they can't make a decent wage. Either way, it makes my life easier.

There's three 'classes' of restaurant here:

Diner
Casual
Fine


Diners are piss easy, and any mouth-breather can do them.

Casual usually requires a bit more, and you have to at least know the menu.

Fine, is obviously where I think there is a divulgence (total bias).


You can do the first two I'm sure. However, come into my job never waited a table in your life? You're gone in under a month (if they even hire you, which they won't, and that's still taking the over).


I can't speak for Europe, but it's pretty much the standard in the U.S (speaking of higher caliber restaurants here). Bus persons, bartenders, food runners, and sometimes managers are paid from the pool of tips taken from waiters. I've seen tipout vary from 3%-6.5% with some being set "25% of tips" (which under optimal conditions is 5%).

This should be a overall internet rule, enforced ala sovietica.

Semi-Related, I recently read a thread in NVG about some businessman racking up a record $400K+ tab in an NYC nightclub. A pic of a copy of the bill was posted. Included on that bill was over $80K in gratuities. Does this guy's server seriously walk out with $80,000 for her (his?) services that night?!? Even in a tip pool situation, combined with all of the other nightly sales, it seems like servers here could be walking out with $10K+ nightly?!?

False.

Not sure whether or not you are trolling, or just uneducated, but it's absolutely true for fine dining. Takes years of training, experience, wine study, food study etc. to even get an interview.

For those wondering why you should ever bother to tip for a service you can "perform yourself," here is my breakdown of what would happen if you did not tip:

It is generally accepted principle of economics that higher wages will draw in more people to the industry, and with that would come more qualified/smarter/better/hotter or workers with whatever other qualifications are good for particular venues.

If you don't tip, these people that are making minimum wage would take their "skills" elsewhere, making it less competitive for people to get jobs in the industry. The talent level of the workers overall will go down.

Managers will need to offer workers more money in order to attract and retain talent. This will reduce their operating margins. In turn, they will pass the extra costs on to you in the form of increased menu costs.

Many restaurants will ultimately be forced to shut down due to inability to staff, high prices, poor service etc..

Your final result is less choice of restaurants/bars with worse service and higher prices.


Edit: FWIW I'm a bartender and love it. I also have a business degree from a top university, had numerous scholarship offers to law schools, and plenty of other career options. If I was making $8/hr with no tips, instead of ~$30/hr with tips, there is not a chance in hell I'm staying in that industry.

lolwat
This is either level or belongs in the 'stingiest thing' thread

you guys tip when you call in a food order to a bar/ restaraunt and the bartender brings it to you? if so what is standard?

Your arguments work in theory, but many countries have perfectly fine service with no tips (and plenty of hot waitresses).

You act like you need to attract top of the line college grads with talent and charisma just to do the job. It's a freaking waiter, millions of ppl do the job fine and even have the audacity to take my tips and not pay taxes on it.

there's a huge unjustifiable leap in logic between where the menu prices increase, and where restaurants shut down.

in the absence of tips, restaurants will be forced to increase prices proportionally but it will have a negligable effect on the overall cost of providing the service. consumers either pay in the form of tips, or they pay more in the form of menu prices. the restaurants wouldnt shut down because the method of payment changed. i mean, there might be some problems in the transitional period but that would be true of anything that dramatically changes how an industry functions.

neither would the absence of tipping culture have any meaningful effect on the service provided. it's important in any industry to tie an employees financial compensation to their performance, but there are a lot of other ways to do that besides this weird social burden where generous people get nailed for 20+%, and cheap people get off easy.



i dont have any real objections to the concept of tipping and think that it's probably better. people who value money more (poor people mostly) end up paying less, and people who dont give a **** (usually people with more money) end up tipping more and carrying a bigger burden of the labour costs. but it's not really necessary, and the way a lot of people in the service industry moralize tipping is disgusting. i think there's something about working for charity (tips) that turns people into self righteous pricks that feel the world owes them something.

I hope you didn't believe that, after that post, anybody was going to believe it was going to be otherwise.

Yes. Not sure what is standard but the few times I have done this I just tip the same as if I was not taking the food away.

really?.. not to be nitty but that seems like too much...

Since this thread won't die I will point out that there was once a thread started by an Eurotard about having to ask the bartender to fill up their pint glass all the way. Other Euros chimed in to complain about this epidemic.

In the recorded history of America, this has happened zero times ever.

Nothing has so perfectly crystallized why American tipping culture > European.

If you are getting take out from a restaurant you typically are going to places where two people's food is about $30. 20% is going to be $6. So basically even if it is over tipping you are talking about being worse off by $3-4 so why not just error on the side of being generous.

No.

Henry,

if you have ever been short changed on something, in a shop or whatever. Do you point it out to the sales clerk? Or ignore it so as not to cause an embarrassing scene. Do you even check your change?

Pretty sure there are tool bartenders everywhere.

good karma for you sir... I always tip generously like 25% when I am served food, but it offends me sense of propriety to tip the same when the server does so much less.. but your way is much nicer

I've thought about this, but no. If I go to a restaurant, I tip the server, not the chef. If I'm picking up food, it cuts out the waiter/waitress, so no point in tipping. I've never had a bartender/server bring it to me though, it's usually someone in charge of take out orders.

I tip my bartender well always for one simple reason. If I am too drunk to realize wtf is going on I am counting on that person to have my back. Having a good relationship with the bartender ensures my safety. There are many other services I get from my bartender. They are not gonna complain when I walk out of the bathroom reeking of herb. They are gonna make sure I get in a cab vs a car. I am paying for a baby sitter and a therapist when I tip them. A buck per drink in the U.S. + odd change is super standard. If the place is crowded I always get priority service to boot. It has little to do with the opening of a bottle or mixing the drink. But I know when ordering mixed drinks the more I tip, if I ask for a stronger shot I am gonna get it...

While this has its logic, I am not sure how accurate the assumption that tipping ensures you all those services is. Experience? it's been agreed? or just a guess?