Oink

Do you have tip Alkala after you've finished your maneuvers?

dbd33

I'm explaining dining to you.

ultrarunner

In English please?

Oink

My mistake, was it Brown Owl?

ultrarunner

Racist comment?

lmartin999

Hahahahahaha. Great stuff.

Piff Poff

[QUOTE=AishaA;9675143]Well, you're a feisty lot aren't you? I'm still not sure I understand the thinking behind tipping, but I'm more informed about it...
I believe it's more of a thank you, you've done a good job. I remember my Dad working out how much to tip when we went for family meals (I remember Berni Inns), when I was a little girl. He was neither wealthy or American, I think tipping has been done since time begun, whether it's buying the bartender a drink - which they usually take after their shift OR monetary value as especially in the UK it is illegal to be intoxicated and serving alcohol.

Tipping is the norm in the UK too (and in any other country I have visited). I can't believe you worked in the hospitality industry and think that not tipping is acceptable if the meal and service was good.

I don't think you should tip if the service and or food is substandard.

The4BellsLondon

[QUOTE=Piff Poff;9675821] OOOH Berni Inns!!!

Londonuck

The thing that gets on me nerves the tipping over there is sometimes I just want a couple of pints and just want to go to the bar and get them not have to use the sulky 18 year old dressed like an extra from an 80's film getting them for me adding to the mad price of beer anyway.

Dorothy

A lot of time it's not as easy as "get another job". When I was working as a waitress/bartender it was because it was the only job I could do that paid enough to support myself while still going to school full time. At the time (25+ years ago) my wages were about $3.25/hr and I lived on tips. Yup. They don't tip here in Australia. Therefore, wages for waitstaff are about $18-20/hr and prices of meals out reflect this. Today for example I went to lunch with a friend. Not a fancy restaurant, just a little cafe near the beach where you have to order and pay at a counter and they (might) bring it to you. My Caesar salad and orange juice was $23. Coffee after $4.25 for a small. Again, not an expensive place, just an average lunch out.
Ok, here's the view of someone who worked their way through school as a waitress and bartender. I started working as a waitress in a truck stop at 15 when I left home. In order to stay in school and get my grade 12, I needed a job which would allow me to work evenings and weekends but also earn me enough to pay my rent and buy food. Waitressing did that. My wages were very low - just less than $3 per hour when I started but with tips I could afford to live and carry on getting an education. As soon as I was 18 I started bartending in a family owned pizza place, where the wages were a bit lower, but the tips were better. Back in the mid 1980s I could bring home on a very good night over $100. Just for doing a really great job of keeping everyone's glasses full.

I was very happy to work for crap wages and tips because I was a good waitress and a good bartender. My customers always had attention and I tried hard to always provide a positive experience for them. I see here how truly awful the service is and they don't care. They'll still make the same $20/hr whether you get good service or not. Restaurants and bars are called the "Service Industry". It's a pay for service type job and the better the service, the better the pay.

jericho

I must admit that the tip potential for a day/nights work makes me a little uncomfortable. If everyone leaves 15%, a server can earn a very tidy wage.

OK, it's shift work, etc etc, but the hourly amount can almost resemble that of an engineer or other tradesperson.

ultrarunner

Or a nurse doing 15+ hours shift

Piff Poff

I don't think nurses do 15+ hour shifts anymore and the RN's get paid at least four times minimum wage and then they get shift bonuses and extra pay if they are called in on days/nights off.

Some nights a person waiting on tables can bring in a hefty bonus, these nights are the busy ones and the ones where everything just works right and you get an above average tip off one or two tables, a lot of nights you might clear an extra 30 quid (or less), for working 6-8 hours, without a break - you can't take a break if your customers need you.

jg2802

at least twice a week i get rotad double shifts. doubles are between 12 and 15 hours. we NEVER get a break. the only 'break' you get is if you smoke and run out for a cigarette for 2 mins. which is at one of the fire exits. stood up.
pretty much every restaurant ive come across will give their staff breaks on double shifts for at least half an hour if not an hour. we simply do not have time though and it is not at all possible for us to have a break as the restaurant is pretty much full all day and from 5 o clock there will then be a waiting list for tables.
obvs its illegal but if you want to keep your job...
tbh though i often pick up more double shifts than i already have. and after ive finished working we'll go out drinking till 8am and then start back again at 12. might as well do it, and earn money whilst im still young and can survive it!

mardyarse

I have no problem not leaving a tip when I have been on the other end of rude, incompetent waiting staff who think they're doing me a whole big favour.

But I would always stop and tell them why. I firstly start with "do you enjoy your job?" if the answer is "yes" I then go on to say why it looked like they didn't!

If it was "no, I hate my job, and I'm only doing it because of ........." and a decent enough excuse and a conversation is struck up I might change my mind and leave them a cash tip in their hands.

However, if I have a great night out with the girls and the waiting staff have remembered my drink, always kept me topped up, been 1st class in their interaction I am an "extremely" generous tipper. They've actually contributed into the night becoming a success.

My new hairdresser does exactly what I want, we have a good old chin wag and the last tip was half of the cost of the bill because she's great and I really like her. If things change, the tip will.

One thing that really bothers me is the practice of young girls (only the waitresses) half way through an evening out with the girlies (never when I'm with my husband) giving us the bill and asking us to divvy up so they can collect their tip because they've finished for the evening and the next shift are coming in.

They obviously don't want to lose their tips to the next set of waiting staff. Very wrong, the second I caught on to this the tip was down to 10%. I shouldn't have to be getting my credit card out half way through my evening and stopping my conversation because you've finished your shift and want paying. This is of course a management problem which I have taken up with them but would simply never go back. I never go back to a restaurant/pub a second time if they messed up.