I'm with the man in Reservoir Dogs
Being made to feel like you should always tip someone, who is doing their job, and getting paid for it, really irritates me.

I work 40+ hours a week, in an office. Do I get tipped? No. Do I whinge about it? No.

I know restaurant workers are very poorly paid (have done it myself in the past) and it is pretty cuntish of bosses to expect tips to make up wages, but I will only tip for exceptional service. Which is pretty rare.
(Son of Sam-i-am We're all as mad as hatters here, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 15:39, 3 replies)

I agree. My girlfriend insists on tipping EVERYTIME
whenever we go to a restaurant, whether the service is shit or not.

The last place we went to was terrible. Crap food, horrible building, and only barely adequate service. Yet still I got "You HAVE to leave a little bit of a tip, it's not HER fault the food was crap"
(brainwrong, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 15:44, closed)

I tip if I am a regular...
for instance at my local curry house.

Hopefully it will make them think twice about turning my Jalfrezi into a Jizzfrezi.
( Piper Alpha is being a grumpy northerm bastard on:, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 15:49, closed)

I agree with you on some parts
If I didn't have a good experience, I wouldn't tip either. However, if you had a pleasant enough evening I consider it quite mandatory to tip, and not just because I work as a waitress myself. It doesn't have to be much, I appreciate a single pound, it's just some sort of token of appreciation.

And although I'm probably not making a good case for my own theory at the moment, we don't actually *need* tips here in Belgium, if you work in a decent restaurant you get an okay wage, obviously it isn't great, but I make quite a nice amount of money (definitely for a 19-year old) due to the 50-60 hour weeks I put in every week.
(St. Dymphna, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 15:57, closed)

i always tip
whether the amount is risible or celebratory depends on the service.
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 16:03, closed)

But why do you consider it mandatory?
This is what I'm getting at. I could sit here and list 5000 jobs, with a lot of customer contact, where you go to work, get paid and nobody tips you. This is fairly standard in the world of work.

As I said, I will tip for exceptional service but not apart from that. If I get the slightest hint that the waiter is expecting a tip I won't tip. It's a bonus for being really good at your job that should be accepted as such, not something you should view as standard.
(Son of Sam-i-am We're all as mad as hatters here, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 16:19, closed)

cos ive been there and done that and it makes a difference to a persons life
same as im always nice to people in call centres cos ive been there done that.

I used to tip cab drivers but then they got greedy.

I always tip food delivery dudes as well cos they deliver quicker if they know you're a tipper - this theory can be applied also to any service industry.
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 16:26, closed)

I've been there and done that (the waiting, not the call centres)
And when I did it I didn't expect tips, I considered them a nice bonus from nice customers who I'd served well.

I also didn't take 25 minutes to bring the first round of drinks over when there's more staff than customers in the place, deliberately overcharge people in the hope they wouldn't notice, start clearing the table before everyone had finished, or pick my nose in front of the customers.

Yes, it's a service industry, I will tip for good service!
(Son of Sam-i-am We're all as mad as hatters here, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 16:31, closed)

Lots of resteraunts work tips into what you get paid
So if you dont tip they hardly get anything. But hey i dont think it should be mandatory to tip, but if you can afford it give the poor fucker in the demeaning job a little extra.
(twocoats, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 16:23, closed)

Yeah, as I said
I think it's very cuntish for restaurant owners to exploit that fact to effectively pay under minimum wage.

But hey, I don't know if this is the case in any given restaurant. You can always work somewhere else! Or if you need tips to top your pay up to something decent, then do your job how it should be done and I will tip you. When I am pleased I tip generously, however service in approximately 80% of restaurants I've ever eaten in has been appalling. And no, I don't just eat in kebab shops and McDonalds!
(Son of Sam-i-am We're all as mad as hatters here, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 16:27, closed)

employer cuntishness is accross the board
and as we discussed yesterday in the water charges debate, the govt. are in on it too - take pensions for example: they are mandatorily provided by employers who benefit from tax breaks as a result but you cant touch them til you turn 65 by which time they are worthless as the banks have lost them.
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Tue 28 Oct 2008, 16:38, closed)