Do you always tip?

Wishbone Ash

I'm normally the last one to defend taxi drivers but:

Also f**k tipping taxi drivers, the prices they charge they should be tipping me.

The driver does not set the rates.

Smoggy

Taxis - Doesnt stop it being exortionate and at the end of the day the money is going into thier pocket, who ever sets the price. Definatly not worthy of a tip in my book.

tails2

Wishbone Ash wrote:

I'm normally the last one to defend taxi drivers but:



The driver does not set the rates.

and to add to that:

so fooking what, almost all taxi drivers keep what they earn. they work for themselves. and they pay little tax because the government dont know how much they actually earn. there is a tax bracket and most of them are at the very bottom paying very low tax. a few mates dad's are taxi drivers so i know. i hate tipping. i worked my ass off in several jobs and never got tips. try working in xtravision for over two years, workin your ass off having to listen to customers moan about the stupidist(sp??) things and i never got tipped.(and no i didnt get to just sit watching movies all day, it was a busy job. no time for movies.)

Terry

regarding taxies, i normally use hackneys.
the standard for a trip from my house to Leixlip village is €5. sometimes i'll throw an extra euro in, if i have it.
got one from my cousins house to the off liscence and back again. i was expecting a €12 charge (5 each way and 2 for the stop), but the driver only charged €8. he got a €2 tip.

i always tip the lounge staff in my local, if i'm out for the night and have lots of money with me. they get really crappy wages, something like €20 for a five hour shift. i was paid £10 for a five hour shift 14 years ago. they split the tips, but they are all really good at their jobs, so it evens out. intelligent bunch too. one of them just got a degree in biochemistry (or something) from trinity. i think she's still working in my local until she gets her masters.

pizza delivery, sometimes. depends where i get the pizza from. i tip the guys from the village because i know they are on crap wages. their boss in a known tightwad.

€7-10 tip in the local indian restaurant because the service is beyond excellent and the food is top notch too.

bush

Its bollocks, no way will I tip. My sister gets 250 quid a week from tips on top of her wage, ridiculous.

Sleepy

It kills me, I totally disagree with tipping yet I do it anyway, My ex used to waitress in the summers during college and would give me savage grief if I didn't tip so I got into the habit of it. Like the guys above say though I rarely got tipped during my time in minimum wage jobs so I don't see why a waitress/waiter should get a few hundred extra a week for a job no more difficult than many I did in college.

bluto63

TheGooner wrote:

Now i have to go and put Reservoir Dogs on now................:D

Hehe, same. I love that film...:)

Gazza22

I generally try to tip....not always with a food delivery unless it's like a euro change.
But i would always tip in a bar or restaurant, i'd find it rude to just walk out without giving anything unless you have got bad service!
Oh and the nightclub toilets, nightmare, i always tip the first time but like then they just pi$$ me off then staring into my face everytime i go down! :rolleyes:

stepbar

Never ever, ever, ever tip

Siogfinsceal

I rarely tip things are so dear over here as it is why should I pay more at the prices they are charging for services surely I can assume the tip is included. went to a restaurant at weekend it was average i had a pizza which cost 15 euro and was ok. for 2 main courses, 2 desserts which were not nice and 2 drinks it was 80 quid. when I went to use the laser machine there was a button where you had to press yes or no to a tip. i pressed no. 80 for an average meal and they expect a tip as well I dont think so. I a taxi driver or delivery person was exceptionally nice id round it up a give them 2 or 3 europ but thats an exception - why should we be obliged to pay extra for a service. I work on the phones, should I expect a tip if Im noce to a customer? this kind of **** ruined the usa i hope it doesnt start coming in here

seamus

Delivery people will only get tipped from me in the same capacity as you - bill is €14.20 and I only have €15 for example. Increasingly I have noticed them giving dirty looks when I hand them the exact change and say thanks. I don't see why they deserve to be tipped - the biggest wait for my food is them cooking it. If anything I should tip the chef when my food arrives promptly.

In a restaurant, how much they get tipped is a function of how well I've been served, and whether there's a service charge or not.

I have four scales:
1. Awful service. No service charge, then I give no tip. If there is a service charge, I may choose to not pay it (though this would require truely awful service).
2. Standard service. I give a small tip, usually around 5%. If there's a service charge, I give no tip.
3. Good service. I give a standard tip, usually around 10%. If there's a service charge, I give no tip.
4. Outstanding service. I give a good tip, usually between 15% and 20%. If there's a service charge, I make it up to 15% or 20%.

While that scene from Reservoir Dogs is classic, it doesn't apply here. Minimum wage laws mean that waitresses/waiters make enough money for the job that they do. If they're particularly good at their job, then their tips will reflect the extra work they put in.

Black Swan

Always tip? Depends on the service. Can remember giving someone 25% for truly grand service, and only once leaving someone a penny (because they were so rude and I wanted them to know that I didn't forget to leave a tip).

Chinafoot

My sister came back from her honeymoon in Jamaica recently and told us about a cafe they went to while they were killing time before their flight home.

They handed the waitress their credit card and she tottered off inside and came back about 2 minutes later to ask "Would you like me to put the tip on the credit card, miss?" My sister was not impressed.

Ireland isn't really a tipping nation though, when compared with places like America at least. People in that area of work here make a decent enough basic wage that they don't need to rely on tips.

If I'm in a retaurant I'll tip unless the service was dismal. If I get a take-away, they can keep the change.

Trix

i'm a bit undecided about tipping. if i go out for a meal and the food and service is good i don't mind tipping. however I was out for dinner with friends last year and my friend was practically having a heart because we were only leaving a 25 /euro tip(i can't remember exactly how much). now our dinner was at 7 and we didn't get our main course till 9 and they expected us to be out of the restaurant by half nine. the owner was throwing us weird looks until we left. I thought the tip was plenty considering. Now again i don't mind tipping but i think its expected now and people have forgotten what the point of it is..

Archeron

Me and 2 mates went for a meal in a place in Temple Bar. Meal was adequate at best, and the staff were snotty as they get.

Total bill came to €88, and we put down €100. We intended to tell the waitress to keep the change when she came back. She didnt come back, so out of principal, I asked her where the change was. Her curt answer was
"well I presumed that was the tip". This woman was not in any way pleasant.
I then told her that it would have been the tip had she not been so damn cheeky about it, and insisted on our change back, which we then gave to a homeless guy outside.

I dont mind tipping, but i hate people who think they're entitled to some of your money despite crappy service and attitude that stinks like the liffey in July.

Degsy

I did that with a guy in restaraunt in parliament street,there was 4 quid in change due and he didnt bring it to the table.We put our jackets on a nd got ready to go whereupon he starts waving us out the door,i said,"sorry but you havnt given us our change" whereupon he looked like he was going to eat me and pissed off to the tips jar which he proceeded to noisily remove teh change from.Now i'm not scabby but that isnt just presumptious its actually stealing.Imagine what would happen if you left the bill 4 quid short,chances are they'd call the police.Customers should say "well i was a good customer,i didnt run you into the ground,what about knocking 20% off the bill?" or better yet ASSUME they owe you a reduction and leave them short!!

JustCoz

I would usually give the pizza guy an extra euro or two but wouldn't give them anything if they're rude. I wouldn't tip if the service charge is already included

SingingCherry

I often feel awkward in situations like that. If someone is rude to me then they don't get a tip. People tell me all the time that they don't tip delivery people unless they have an extra euro laying around, but what about people who deliver your groceries? Tesco charges €5 for the delivery, but are you expected to tip the driver as well?

Alessandra

How mean are you people? Have none of you ever worked a low paid thankless job? Fair enough if you are a student or poor but surely everybody can afford to leave a tip to a waitress, toilet attendant or pizza boy? I am a student and give at least 1 euro as a tip when eating out in a restaurant. I tip taxi drivers if they are friendly and nice which I generally find they are. I become absolutely mortified when someone doesn't tip in a reataurant. I mean its just courtesy. Lots of people have to put up with crap from customers all day for little pay, whats the problem with leaving a little extra? I especially hate those people whose bills come to 19.30 etc and hand a 20.00 and put their hand out for change cringeworthy and cheap. Having worked plenty of low paid jobs, I realise the value someone leaving a tip however small can be. Dont be so stingy!

seamus

Alessandra wrote:

Lots of people have to put up with crap from customers all day for little pay, whats the problem with leaving a little extra?

I've worked in plenty of low-paid jobs, and never been tipped (cos I've never been in a serving position). The problem with leaving a little extra is the concept of earning. They already get paid.
Whether they deserve a tip or not is a function of how well they treated me. I go to a restaurant to have a good time with friends. The food is only a part of it. However, having food thrown at me or a server who is snotty and rude can ruin that night (or at least that portion of it). If they do their job well, they can enhance my night out, and thus I'm happy to give them a little extra for doing that. If a guy calls at my door to deliver food, his demeanour will have very little effect on mine. I'm not going to tip someone for simply doing their job.

I spend a lot of time calling to people's desks in work. By most measures, I don't get paid a lot of money. Should I then expect a tip from everyone whose computer I fix? Why not? Because that's my bloody job!

I especially hate those people whose bills come to 19.30 etc and hand a 20.00 and put their hand out for change cringeworthy and cheap. Having worked plenty of low paid jobs, I realise the value someone leaving a tip however small can be. Dont be so stingy!

I feel no shame in waiting for 20c change from a delivery guy. If I put down a €50 note in a restaurant and the change was 10c, I'd be offended if they didn't return with that change - it's basic manners.

Archeron

Alessandra wrote:

How mean are you people?

Having worked plenty of low paid jobs, I realise the value someone leaving a tip however small can be. Dont be so stingy!

Having worked plenty of customer service jobs, I realize the importance of treating ones customer with respect, and I dont mean anything above their station either. In the example I posted above, my main course was essentially dropped onto the table in front of me, some of it spilling over the plate onto the table. The waitress had an air of "I am better than you because I work in a poncey restaurant" about her and she treated us with total disdain, dare I say bordering on contempt, and the food was not worth what they charged. Not to mention that all they offered me to drink was some crappy imported Indian beer at six euro a bottle, and it was warm. The meal took ages to actually get, and we were literally the only people in the place.
Do you really think that this level of service should be rewarded?

28064212

Alessandra wrote:

Have none of you ever worked a low paid thankless job?

Sure I have. On a building site. On minimum wage, same as a waiter would be getting for his basic wage. I don't recall getting tipped very often. Do you tip McDonalds/fast food workers as well?

Alessandra wrote:

...tip to a waitress, toilet attendant or pizza boy?

Never, ever tip these. All I want to do is use the bathroom, wash my hands and dry them, without being pestered with paper towels etc.

Alessandra

Nobody expects you to tip if you receive bad service but if I have a nice meal and decent waiter it is generally what I would do. I suppose because I living, working and studying away at the moment I have become accustomed to giving and receiving tips and have and will carry on giving tips once I get home this summer. Im not rolling in cash,im working through college but just think its nice to give tips. Maybe I'm too generous?

Sleepy

I'll 'tip' if I use some of the deodorant/aftershave/hair gel or whatever in a bathroom but I don't see it as a tip, I see it as paying for the service. I actively avoid being given a paper towel in a pub bathroom. I know how to wash and dry my hands thanks very much.

Red Alert

I only tip:

- taxi drivers, i've never had a major problem with any driver, and they're saving me a walk from the nitelink.
- girl in the barbers, usually if the job's any good and she's made the time go quickly. i gave a largish tip to a beautiful friendly estonian girl in Dundrum a few weeks ago.
- lounge staff, only if they've done something to deserve it and then i will tip well. (maybe doing a huge drinks order, or when they do it real quick even if the place is packed, or for exceptional customer service)

so basically if i get standard service (what i pay for) i leave no tip. if someone puts themselves out and really does a good job i'll give a nice tip.

to whoever said people were mean, get another job if you don't like the one you've got. many shops/pubs/etc pay a bit more than the minimum wage.

dermo88

I worked out that the minimum wage now is 50% higher in real terms than the normal starting wage for waiting staff back in the early to mid 1990's, which ranged from 2 quid to 2.75 per hour at the time. I'm quite happy to see that, and I am willing to pay higher prices knowing that staff should be paid decently. I assume they are. Whether they are is another matter entirely.

I did work in a bar, but normally it was the dolly birds who cleaned up on the tips, whereas the lads slogged away in the cellars, moving stock, kegs, and doing all the heavy lifting work. The lads were paid the same as the girls, but when it came to the hard work, the girls merely looked good and worked the floor. The lads worked their balls off and got little.

We might have got three or four hours on the floor to make tips on a Friday, Saturday night, and we'd make decent money then. Not because we were pretty, but because we were fast, and I did know how to flirt with every woman going. I found that Americans don't tip, but I could'nt blame them with Irish booze prices.

And yes, I do tip, even now, knowing the while wages might be higher, the whole general standard of living is higher as well. Its not about saving money for a bicycle anymore, or new clothes, or getting the bare necessities. These are often taken care of for many young Irish people. I just happen to know that there are evil, ungrateful assholes managing many of these staff. You won't see it, but you can be damn sure there is always one moany prick in every one of these places making life hell for new staff.

My first workplace was great fun, but only because the owner was a wanker. I stuck it out for the learning experience, made great friends there, and I know now that I will never ever work as hard again in my life. I will never ever need to work as hard again. I'll never be as badly paid, or as badly treated. And I still had a great time, because when we did a nights work, we felt like we earned the few pints at the end of the night, and the Friday night lock in, and card game was the greatest craic going. We'd smoke spliffs, sing songs, gamble crazily, get raucously drunk. It was'nt the wages, it was the craic that made it good.