Do you always tip?

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.