Am I awful for not paying a tip?

So, I had lunch at Frankie and Benny's yesterday with a friend and paid for our meal by card. After I had entered my pin and accepted the amount into the device the waiter had given us, it then asked whether I wanted to add a gratuity tax. I was unsure about what this meant (I know that sounds stupid) so I clicked cancel out of instinct. I now know that it means tip and feel awful as the waiter sort of raised his eyebrows after I handed the machine back and looked really pissed off.

So, I just want to know, is it really that bad if one (even in an accidental situation like my own) does not tip the waiter. I have been to plenty of restaurants in the UK and Europe and I have hardly ever tipped the waiter, even though I know this is standard practice in the US.

Reply 1

Iqbal007

19

I don't think you should feel awful....

A lot of restaurants have actually added in tips under a different name automatically on the bill, but you have the right to refuse.
Essentially they use the tips to top up their wages, but it does make me wonder, I'm paying for the meal, etc so I expect that to cover all the costs. Some places add on some ridiculous charges for having the waiter. There even scrupulous places which actually take the cash for themselves or use it to pay the wages.

Reply 2

LSD

17

They get minimum wage here same as any other part time job. You wouldn't tip a shop assistant who gets torn apart by rude customers constantly. To me tipping is only understandable in the US.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 3

cant_think_of_name

15

As long as you're not in the US atm you're fine.

Reply 4

moutonfou

14

Original post by LSD

They get minimum wage here same as any other part time job. You wouldn't tip a shop assistant who gets torn apart by rude customers constantly. To me tipping is only understandable in the US.

This. Even if people say "well waiters are run off their feet and work unsociable hours" - do you tip the kitchen staff? Do you tip in McDonalds? They also work very hard on their feet at unsociable hours.

Not to mention your table is often waited on by two or three staff in these kind of places, and even if you do specifically want to tip one member of staff whose service you particularly enjoyed, lots of restaurants will share it between a number of employees (some who didn't even serve you), and some even get taxed (all those you add on with your card payment for example), so you're basically supplementing the company's wage bill rather than making a kind gesture towards a specific member of staff.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5

H0ls

18

I don't tip unless I feel like the waitress/waiter has done a good job. If I feel like they've done a really good job then usually I'll ask to speak to their manager because I know (from working in retail) that in some circumstances it can benefit the employee's progress.

Reply 6

Hopple

18

I wouldn't feel comfortable paying a tip by card, via the restaurant, anyway. That should be between me and the waiter (and them and the taxman, but I don't get to see that).

I always tip, I know waiting staff get paid like everyone else and this isn't the US but it is still customary so I'd still feel very rude if I didn't tip, that said I do tip 100% based on how good the service actually was so if they screw something up I do not tip

Reply 9

katiiiiie

13

Not really, they shouldn't expect you to either.

Reply 10

SophiaLDN

13

Never in my life have I voluntarily given a tip. I didn't think it was really the thing to do here? Personally if I was to leave a tip, it would be to the kitchen staff, I think they deserve it more. Majority include a % in the bill, so I just pay my bill which also provides the service charge on top of the meal. This isn't the US where people literally call you out for not giving them a tip..

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 11

x_x

10

There was one time recently at a wetherspoons-type restaurant where our waiter basically said "how much do you want to tip?" and my friend was expected to tell him an amount for him to type into the PIN machine.

Sly bastard.

Reply 12

x_x

10

Original post by doodle_333

I always tip, I know waiting staff get paid like everyone else and this isn't the US but it is still customary so I'd still feel very rude if I didn't tip, that said I do tip 100% based on how good the service actually was so if they screw something up I do not tip

Where abouts in the UK do you live?

Reply 13

consumed by stuff

9

Tipping keeps good staff in the catering industry. Its a job almost anyone can do in the most basic sense, but its not a job anybody can do well. Servers have to put up with alot more than a shop assistant, and their is alot more potential to mess up.

I don't think everyone deserves a tip, most people are **** at their jobs, but people who never tip are absolute *****, they really are.

Only tip if you are happy with the service. If the food was ****, thats not the servers fault. Judge them on how they handled it and their attempts to rectify the problem.

Don't lose any sleep over it.

Reply 14

LSD

17

Original post by consumed by stuff

Tipping keeps good staff in the catering industry. Its a job almost anyone can do in the most basic sense, but its not a job anybody can do well. Servers have to put up with alot more than a shop assistant, and their is alot more potential to mess up.

I don't think everyone deserves a tip, most people are **** at their jobs, but people who never tip are absolute *****, they really are.

Only tip if you are happy with the service. If the food was ****, thats not the servers fault. Judge them on how they handled it and their attempts to rectify the problem.

Don't lose any sleep over it.

They deserve no more money than people in other service jobs in the UK. And if they feel like they do then they should get themselves a new job rather than whine when people don't tip them/give them more money than what they deserve ie. what the job pays.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 15

rockrunride

19

You're not a bad person for not tipping.

That said, the 'I don't get it so why should he' argument with regard to tipping doesn't wash with me for a second.

I object to the use of 'deserve' as a worker entirely at the mercy of someone trying to make a profit out of me. If I have a chance to earn a tad on top, I will take it.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 16

consumed by stuff

9

Original post by LSD

They deserve no more money than people in other service jobs in the UK. And if they feel like they do then they should get themselves a new job rather than whine when people don't tip them/give them more money than what they deserve ie. what the job pays.

Posted from TSR Mobile

You seem to be confused. What a job pays, has very little correlation to what is a persons worth. Do people who are exploited because of their life circumstances or the state of their national economy deserve to be exploited? No luv. Any job that positively rewards the best performng staff is a good one. Especially in a minimum wage job. It is a great thing that the individual has some control over how much money they earn, and has financial rewards for going above and beyond people expectations.

Just to round up if your right, then why do people tip?