Tipping in restaurants.

[Des Pondent]

The service charge is justified as covering the cost of running the App, managing the system, processing the payment, etc.

Don't think I agree there. Those are all costs associated with running any business and are not usually charged for separately.
In my case there was no delivery, basically I was being charged €1.90 for ordering.
If they are not making enough, charging more for the pizza would be better than a service fee for ordering.

 

[charlie007]

I always tip in a restaurant.
I ask for the bill, check it mentally and add on 10% rounding up.
I then tell the waiter to charge that to my card.
Nearly always get a friendly Thank You!

 

[AndroidMan]

The service charge is justified as covering the cost of running the App, managing the system, processing the payment, etc. It goes to Just Eat, Deliveroo, or whoever.

The prices on the apps are inflated from what I have seen. So that is where I assume they get their cut.

 

[Ruffian]

So that is where I assume they get their cut.

They are getting a few cuts, I'm sure. The point is that it does not go to the delivery riders, who just get their fixed rate.

 

[Des Pondent]

A meal out with friends is expensive enough now and adding 10% or 20% for the waiter to deliver it to our table from the kitchen is just crazy

Just to point out, as far as I know, in a lot of cases tips no longer go to the waiter alone but are split between all staff. I personally don’t have a problem tipping 10% if the food and service are good, but I hear you.

What prompted my question was where tips go to the manager, supervisor or owner and not the waiter or other staff, I do have a big problem with that.

 

[blueband]

I never tip, it just encourages the owner to pay their staff crap wages

 

[Des Pondent]

I never tip, it just encourages the owner to pay their staff crap wages

Fair enough.
Can I ask, is it only restaurants, or do you never tip delivery drivers, taxis, hairdressers, coffee shops, tour guides, hospitality staff etc ?
I get great service from checkout operators in Tesco, the chemist, butcher, creche workers, boiler repairers, mechanics, bus drivers, the list is endless, I don't tip any of them, are we heading that way ?

 

[charlie007]

I never tip, it just encourages the owner to pay their staff crap wages

If you're talking about a particular business that you know, fair enough.
But if you are referring to establishments in general, that's a ridiculous comment.

 

[NotMyRealName]

Fair enough.
Can I ask, is it only restaurants, or do you never tip delivery drivers, taxis, hairdressers, coffee shops, tour guides, hospitality staff etc ?
I get great service from checkout operators in Tesco, the chemist, butcher, creche workers, boiler repairers, mechanics, bus drivers, the list is endless, I don't tip any of them, are we heading that way ?

See "Mr Pink doesn't tip" on YouTube. ( from Reservoir Dogs).......I won't link as some people may be offended by the bad language....still, a reasonable rationale, although he was peer-pressured into it in the end.

 

[Salvadore]

If you're talking about a particular business that you know, fair enough.
But if you are referring to establishments in general, that's a ridiculous comment

Not necessarily.

There’s an interesting piece John Oliver did a while ago on the tipping culture in the US.

In most states, employers are allowed pay sub-minimum hourly rates (which can be as low as $2.30) where an employees has the capacity to earn tips. Tipping has therefore become a cultural necessity rather than an optional extra.

Trump made a pronouncement recently that all tips would be tax-free, regardless of occupation. One of the observations made was that the initiative would facilitate and encourage more employers to pay sub-minimum rates and leave workers’ income to be determined by the generosity of strangers.

Tipping: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

John Oliver discusses tipping, why it’s more complicated and fraught than you might realize, how we can address some of the issues surrounding it, and whethe...

youtu.be

 

[mathepac]

Maybe we should try Trump's tipping model with politicians, public servants, service organisations, and staff in the growing number of quangos hanging out of us? Do a good job, or any job, and we'll set your remuneration based on your perceived value to us, the long-suffering public

 

[beautfan]

the manager, supervisor or owner and not the waiter or other staff, I do have a big problem with that.

I sometimes think the waiter gets a bit too much credit. The owner provided them a place to provide the service, and obviously the chefs, wash staff staff deserve credit. I mean they can't hand you the dinner unless it's cooked and on a clean plate.

I think it was after listening to a podcast about a waiter who was annoyed about her wages and tips.

The way she went on was as if the place would fall down without her. I'm sure it wouldn't. It was a top chefs place, his name escapes me.

My favourite restaurant is a local pizza spot because of the food and all the staff including the supervisor/manager who is watching everything. Now obviously it would depend on wages but I know chef wages aren't that high.

Yes the wait staff are great but it's a team effort. Why should they benefit more?

Our local Indian charges €2 or something for ordering online. I just write it out and call them direct. I do give them a few euros. We don't have it often, once a year maybe twice. It's pricey.

 

[Salvadore]

I sometimes think the waiter gets a bit too much credit.

I agree.

My son worked as a part-time barman as a teenager. There was a bit involved in terms of pulling pints and making a range of coffees correctly, changing barrels, etc.

It could be galling to see a waiter get a tip just for bringing a pint 5 metres from bar to table when they’re otherwise getting paid the same.

 

[charlie007]

Not necessarily.

There’s an interesting piece John Oliver did a while ago on the tipping culture in the US.

Ah come on, you can't compare Ireland with America?! ( my god, those are miserable wages )

Many years ago I was in a restaurant in New York and they had instructions on how to tip.
They suggested a fixed amount for each server, but there were 4 of 'em even a water server!
In the bars you were definitely expected to tip and that's how the bartenders made up most of their wages.
The pub's profit on alcohol was huge and once you were known you got every 3rd drink free!

Funny enough I was in the hospitality trade, in Ireland, around those times and the Yanks were miserable tippers.
The English were the best!

There appears to be an ideological battle going on here which I don't really get.
'Dont tip the staff and that'll learn the miserable bosses' That's another one in my jar

 

[TomEdison]

Trump made a pronouncement recently that all tips would be tax-free, regardless of occupation.

Presumably the intention is that if someone were tipped with, say, a $400 million airplane for unspecified services rendered in the course of performing their employment as, say, President of the United States, that would be tax-free?

 

[ClubMan]

Our local Indian charges €2 or something for ordering online. I just write it out and call them direct. I do give them a few euros.

What's the point when you're paying the same (or more?) for ordering by phone instead of online?

 

[Purple]

I always tip, usually 8-15% depending on the size of the bill. I always ask the waiter/waitress if they get the tip.

 

[Leo]

Our local Indian charges €2 or something for ordering online.

It will be the operator of the website that is charging that, the restaurant sees none of it.

 

[mathepac]

I always ask the waiter/waitress if they get the tip.

What's the usual response, split between servers, or each to their own?

 

[DannyBoyD]

when in China

I have been followed out and had my tip returned to me!