Tipping

anncoates

I always leave something.

If it's somewhere that I frequent regularly I'd leave a decent tip.

If the service somewhere is bad I'll ask another member of staff if tips are pooled and if so will still tip.

KungPao

Although I may give the odd tip (for exceptional service or it's just change leftover), I still think the whole concept is pretty ridiculous.

Why tip a waiter/waitress who basically just takes your order and collects your food from the kitchen and places it on your table but never tip the young lad in Burger King who arguably works much harder on the tills, dealing with countless a$sholes all day and having to pour your drink, get your nosh and place it on your tray then ask if you want salt and ketchup with a smile?

The above seems perfectly acceptable here. Do Americans tip the lad above? Or just waiters etc?

Abigayle

As someone approaches my table I always greet them with a smile and respect, because as human beings, they are entitled to that, first of all. I wait for them to take my order and ask about things along the way.

I sometimes ask for a little moderation in the order, asking if it's possible. If they know they tell me that it's okay or whatever, if they aren't sure they go back and ask. I don't always want to drink (drink) with my food and rather a jug of water and they don't put any pass on it for my choice.

I was at such an establishment yesterday and tipped the lady who was both very willing to give information to me and I appreciated her for making a good effort and was very friendly and respectful.

I always tip at least €5 or above for what I regard as good service. The staff that cook your food and present your food in front of you matter a lot.

Agricola

Was in an Italian restaurant in Germany a while ago. The place was half empty and it was mostly a younger German crowd that were in it. No one wanted to play by the house rules it seemed and most people got up to pay the bill at the counter, which visibly annoyed the waiter. You could see the disdain on his face as he had to divide a bill between a group of people who more than likely only paid the bill amount.
I called for the bill from the table and was given the receipt in a little presenter which stated in caps - "AMOUNT BELOW DOES NOT INCLUDE YOUR TIP"
When I handed it back to the guy on the way out, I almost got a frisking before he saw the extra 2 quid I gave him (I ordered a pizza!) then i ceased to exist. No goodbye, nothing. And i thought we had something there when I first sat down!

My view is put down what you want to get paid for your menu and pay your staff a fair wage for doing their job. End of story.

Ace2007

Abigayle wrote: »

As someone approaches my table I always greet them with a smile and respect, because as human beings, they are entitled to that, first of all. I wait for them to take my order and ask about things along the way.

I sometimes ask for a little moderation in the order, asking if it's possible. If they know they tell me that it's okay or whatever, if they aren't sure they go back and ask. I don't always want to drink (drink) with my food and rather a jug of water and they don't put any pass on it for my choice.

I was at such an establishment yesterday and tipped the lady who was both very willing to give information to me and I appreciated her for making a good effort and was very friendly and respectful.

I always tip at least €5 or above for what I regard as good service. The staff that cook your food and present your food in front of you matter a lot.

:eek::eek:
I thought we were in a recession

MsQuinn

Never stand up in a canoe.

Sorry if this tip has already been passed but can't be bothered to read through 9 pages - don't do it though.

SEANoftheDEAD

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I am the only one around here who watches movie films?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4sbYy0WdGQ

One thing that always annoyed me about this scene is the fact that the boss man knew the tips we're a dollar light after a 0.02 second glance!

Otherwise it is a piece of cinematic brilliance :pac:

Hunchback

The indignation of non-tippers always sounds like the mating call of the lesser spotted scabby-hole to me.

Don't want to tip? Fine. Why you always gotta seek validation with each other in this choice?

Just have the conviction to be a tight arse, you shouldn't need all the other tightwads to pat you on the back for expressing your dissapproval for what is ultimately a generous act that upsets you because your a meany

Stheno

anncoates wrote: »

I always leave something.

If it's somewhere that I frequent regularly I'd leave a decent tip.

If the service somewhere is bad I'll ask another member of staff if tips are pooled and if so will still tip.

I don't.

I tip based on good service.

We have a couple of regular haunts, and if service is good I tip 10% plus of the bill.

If service is poor, I don't.

If service is diabolical, like Thurs night when my rare beef salad was a raw beef salad and the server lied to me, I complain firstly to them, and if that goes nowhere, to the manager. In this instance I ended up complaining to the manager who agreed with me (I'd complained about that member of staff before 2.5 years ago) and asked if I wanted my meal comped. I Didn't I just wanted to vent to be honest.

I work in the service industry and not in a tip environment, and appreciate how awful it is to be the public face of a company, but ignorant staff who argue with me get on my goat.

osarusan

Left a tip with the bill in a decent restaurant in Japan a few years ago. The staff literally ran out of the restaurant and down the street to find me and hand it back to me.

pappyodaniel

My brain hurts listening to this. You shouldn't have to worry about all this bullshít when you're out having a meal. It's a luxury and should be as stress free as possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQQdoBnGiK4

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

Systemic Risk

MadsL wrote: »

Attitudes on here are the reason Irish restaurants end up with compulsory service charges or pad the menu prices.

But keep not tipping, your ignorance as to how the service industry works means that I can tip $20 and getting a free upgrade from a $25 dollar room at Paris, Las Vegas to a $350 a night room on the 34th floor overlooking the Bellagio.

Or not have to wait at the bar or queue for a table with my elderly parents as I have the sense to tip the hostess or maitre'd when the restaurant is packed.

Or that I get a better table and service when I return to the restaurant.

I expect that 1.50 tip gets you remembered, and waiting at the bar for a table next time you are in.

You sir are infuriating. We are discussing tipping on an irish discussion board and 99% of people are talking about irish restaurants which you may not realise are very reasonably priced, especially over the last number of years. Also staff are paid a very reasonable minimum wage in ireland unlike in many places in america.

I do tip when i can afford it, which if im going for a proper meal i almost always can as these occasions are few and far between. Many are not in a position to be spending extra on a tip. Even 5-10 euri makes a difference to many these days. The tip in ireland has always been seen as an optional extra for really good service. It should not be expected.

You are stubbornly applying cultural norms from america to ireland and refusing to listen when others point this out. The norm in america might be for customers to make up for very low wages with tips. In ireland the expectation is that employers pay a fair wage for a fair days work with tips being an expression of gratitude for a server being particularly attentive, friendly and helpful.

This is a fairer system in my opinion as it means customers who cant afford to flash the cash can still expect as good a level of service. There are exceptions but thank god the exceptions are not the rule. You may be able to tip a maitre'd to allow your elderly parents skip the queue. Im sure there are others with elderly parents who you are skipping. That would be frowned upon and seen as quite vulgar here.

anncoates

Stheno wrote: »

I don't.
.

I do.
Each to their own.

ALiasEX

I tip just about everyone. The IT person so they always come to me straight away no matter if others called first. The till person who offers to help pack my bags. And so on.

MadsL

Artful_Badger wrote: »

I dont carry any resentment. I was paid to do a job, I did it to a high standard and that was how it went wherever I have worked. I never found myself in a job where I expected customers to pay me bonuses on top of my pay because I wasn't useless at my job.

Artful_Badger wrote: »

I understand what a tip is and in Ireland its not any portion of a persons wage. Its cash bonuses given on top of an agreed fee for a service.

Tips are not bonuses. They are a service dependant portion of wages paid by the customer, and provide direct feedback as to the service level.

But that in bold is the problem right there. Thinking a sunny disposition in a customer service job constitutes extra work or that doing a good job is going above and beyond. Its not, its just called doing your job.

I gave historical reasoning. I believe a portion of it is still true. A maitre'd sees your car pull up in the rain, he send a waiter out with an umbrella. Deserves a decent tip later.

There is nothing that a server generally does that isnt already part of their job description. So why on earth should it be expected to tip them for extra work as a default ??

Their help in choosing a wine, a steer away from a dish that is very rich, a suggestion as to a dessert. All things that could not be done and you would not fault the service, but when they are done they should be recognised and rewarded.

DebDynamite wrote: »

Do you tip the chef too MadsL if you get served great food?

I would hope the wait staff share tips with the kitchen - the norm anywhere I worked. I sometimes make a point of going to the window if it is an open kitchen to congratulate the chef if the meal impressed.

SweepTheLeg wrote: »

Never bothered with tipping. I'd leave the odd few Euro if its left over but wouldn't go out of my way. Not my fault some employers don't pay the waiters properly and expect customers to make up part of their wages.

Not what tips are for...they are a service dependant portion of wages paid by the customer, and provide direct feedback as to the service level.

Lewis Savory Clergy wrote: »

I think we either move in different circles or different countries. I eat out regularly and in very decent restaurants. In every case I have a table booked and don't have to tip anybody to avoid a queue. My table is usually ready when I arrive.

I'm was generally talking about very busy restaurants that don't take reservations.

If I attempted to tip a "hostess" (what a condescending title to give somebody)

What is condecending about 'host/hostess' - standard industry term for anyone who greets/seats diners in the absence of a maitre d'. Why is it condescending ?? Better than 'greeter'.

before any service, I can assure you anywhere I go she would be quite confused and probably refuse it.

Have you ever tried?

If, and I stress if, the restaurant has good and bad tables I'll ask politely when booking that we are not seated at the bad table (by a door for example) and it has never been a problem.

You could ask to be reseated, assuming you have never been there before, and a small gratuity would not be out of place to help with 'placement'.

I truly believe you are deluded to think waiting staff etc remember what every person tips when they come in again another night.

If you think some regulars, especially good tippers are not remembered, you've never worked in the restaurant business. Regulars are a restaurant's lifeblood.

I found tipping in the US to be extremely over the top and that Americans are very anal about it. But then again they hardly pay their staff.

Over the top? It's 15 -20% everywhere (pretty much) how is that OTT and anal??

Hotels don't upgrade rooms because a guest arrives at reception and slips them a bribe. That is a deplorable way to do business and an insult to other customers.

Lol. Enjoy your budget room. Of course hotels don't do that, no way. (excuse me miss any chance of an upgrade? *slips €20* Oh great, thank you) No, no, they never do that. Airlines don't upgrade you if you ask either. Nor car rental places...

Are you getting the picture at what you have missed....?

osarusan wrote: »

Left a tip with the bill in a decent restaurant in Japan a few years ago. The staff literally ran out of the restaurant and down the street to find me and hand it back to me.

Asian culture, very very different.

Systemic Risk wrote: »

You sir are infuriating. We are discussing tipping on an irish discussion board and 99% of people are talking about irish restaurants which you may not realise are very reasonably priced, especially over the last number of years. Also staff are paid a very reasonable minimum wage in ireland unlike in many places in america.

I lived in Ireland for 15 years, part of it in hospitality. Some Irish staff get minimum wage in exchange for minimum service. Not a patch on US service staff.

I do tip when i can afford it, which if im going for a proper meal i almost always can as these occasions are few and far between. Many are not in a position to be spending extra on a tip. Even 5-10 euri makes a difference to many these days. The tip in ireland has always been seen as an optional extra for really good service. It should not be expected.

The service or the tip? In my experience the lack of tips is to the detriment of the service.

You are stubbornly applying cultural norms from america to ireland

Tipping is an English custom.

and refusing to listen when others point this out.

Err..I posted examples from Irish restaurants.

The norm in america might be for customers to make up for very low wages with tips. In ireland the expectation is that employers pay a fair wage for a fair days work with tips being an expression of gratitude for a server being particularly attentive, friendly and helpful.

Shame that many are tight-wad bastards then, when the staff are actually attentive, friendly and helpful. I know how that wears you down.

This is a fairer system in my opinion as it means customers who cant afford to flash the cash can still expect as good a level of service.

In all honesty, if you can't afford the tip, you really should not be dining there.

There are exceptions but thank god the exceptions are not the rule. You may be able to tip a maitre'd to allow your elderly parents skip the queue. Im sure there are others with elderly parents who you are skipping. That would be frowned upon and seen as quite vulgar here.

Oh I'm sure there would be many up at the bar spitting with indignation. Sorry, but when you breezed past the maitre'd without a moments thought, that's where it got you. A little recognition and consideration goes miles, it doesn't always have to be monetary. Enquiring how their night is going, and a polite request to be seated quickly can work wonders, but ultimately everybody speaks the language of money.

Sorry to shatter your egalitarian view of how the world should work...

suicide_circus

I tip everyone. waitresses, bus drivers, shop assistants, nurses, office workers, rabbis, postmen, police, binmen, flight crew....why? cause i'm a freakin moron.

MadsL

suicide_circus wrote: »

I tip everyone. waitresses, bus drivers, shop assistants, nurses, office workers, rabbis, postmen, police, binmen, flight crew....why? cause i'm a freakin moron.

goes around, comes around man, ya dig?

suicide_circus

MadsL wrote: »

goes around, comes around man, ya dig?

do you know who used to tip me when I worked minimum wage service industry? not a ****ing soul. Hey I guess you're right!

MadsL

suicide_circus wrote: »

do you know who used to tip me when I worked minimum wage service industry? not a ****ing soul. Hey I guess you're right!

Me too. I make a point of tipping now...

Legs.Eleven

The Spanish don't tip and 4 years here, you start adapting their ways but this is one thing I simply can't adapt to. Waiters here earn about 600 a month working full time (and full time in Spain basically means you work as many hours as they want you to), so if anyone needs tips, it's them. I don't tip for service because it's usually awful but I tip because they need it and if I can afford to eat in a restaurant, I can afford a 10% tip.


I think the reasoning behind it is that everyone earns ****ty wages here, so why should they get more for simply doing what they're already paid for. I don't agree.

suicide_circus

MadsL wrote: »

Me too. I make a point of tipping now...

hey Im not saying I don't tip, I do but the fact that only food servers and taxi drivers are singled out for special appreciation is gauling to me.
if the service in a restaurant is in any way second rate I won't tip.
I see tipping in the same vein of thinking of places giving cops free stuff, like if you don't, maybe your service won't be so great.

princess-lala

Jaysus I tip everyone!

I work in an industry where tipping is huge but I would never comment on a tip, its all what the customer can afford!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

MadsL wrote: »

Tips are not bonuses. They are a service dependant portion of wages paid by the customer



Not what tips are for...they are a service dependant portion of wages
I'm was generally talking about very busy restaurants that don't take reservations
Tipping is an English custom
Sorry to shatter your egalitarian view of how the world should work...

Oh where to begin? Firstly this is a discussion on boards.ie not .USA.
Tips are not in Ireland designed to fill the void between a living wage and what an employer pays. We actually pay our workers in this country!
Busy restaurants that don't take reservations? Well I can assure you they wouldn't last long here if they seated people who arrived after others but had bribed the staff for a table.
An English custom? Relevance to here?
You want to tell us how the world is run? Cheek. It's run here how we wish to run it and not by american customs.
During my years in the US I found people uptight about tips and under pressure to tip even when they could not afford it or where service was dire. Tipping post men, hairdresser, binman, grocers.... JUST PAY THEM A WAGE.

dimal

I don't tip. Don't understand even a reason for tipping.
Agree with many posts above that we have loads of people on minimum wage who don't get any tips. What's reason to exclude waiters or taxi drivers?!

Artful_Badger

MadsL wrote: »

Tips are not bonuses. They are a service dependant portion of wages paid by the customer, and provide direct feedback as to the service level.

Once again this is not true, might be in America or other places but not here. You started off trying to argue service charges were added everywhere in Ireland, now you claim tips form part of peoples wages. As a previous poster pointed out its not the cultural norms of Ireland. If you want to talk generally about cultural norms of America go to the appropriate forum. I'm starting to see now why you got so much grief on "Location based arguments" its because you're refusing to accept things are different here than where you are.

I gave historical reasoning. I believe a portion of it is still true. A maitre'd sees your car pull up in the rain, he send a waiter out with an umbrella. Deserves a decent tip later.

Which as a general statement about tipping in the service industry in Ireland is simply idiotic. Next time the maitre'd sends a waiter out with an umbrella to shepard me in from my rolls I'll make sure to tip generously.

Their help in choosing a wine, a steer away from a dish that is very rich, a suggestion as to a dessert. All things that could not be done and you would not fault the service, but when they are done they should be recognised and rewarded.

Thats called making sure the customer is satisfied, its either selling an item or recommending one when asked and is already part of any customer service job description. You must have low standard if you think doing your job to any decent degree is going above and beyond and deserves extra payment.

Systemic Risk

Masdl, i give up. So many people are explaining to you that they do tip when the service is very good but you keep applying american norms and saying that the tip forms part of the bill. Now you are saying people should not go to restaurants if they cant afford a 15-20% tip. I assure you restaurant owners would disagree here and so would servers when the owners start cutting back on their hours due to less custom.

If i were in america i would not go to a restaurant if i couldnt afford the tip because thats the culture there. As for calling people tight wads. Maybe cop yourself on a bit. Just because you are doing well it doesnt mean everyone else is. There are plenty of couples in ireland with really low disposable income at the moment who would seriously have to save to allow themselves a dinner and few drinks as a treat. Why should they have to give an extra payment to someone who is already paid and may have more disposable income than them if they cant afford it. That was quite a nasty comment on your part.

As for my egalitarian view of the world as you put it. I believe in fairness. I know ireland is a lot more equal than america and this may be colouring your views. You assume that the people you are skipping by tipping the maitre'd just breezed by. Again what if they were lovely and pleasant and couldnt afford to tip him/her before the meal as they only had enough for dinner, wine and 20% tip after the meal. Do your elderly parents deserve a seat before theirs? Actually dont answer that. Im out of this thread.

KERSPLAT!

I don't be out that much to do it I suppose. Usually tip a lounge boy if he gets me a pint, maybe a Euro each time, little more if it's a big round. Eating out in a restraunt I'd probably leave a fiver if it was just me tipping or if there was a few of us, say 4, we'd throw in €2/3 each. If the service is crap, food is crap or the waiter was a knob I wouldn't leave a cent.

A Rogue Hobo

Tipping seems to becoming much more of a "expected" thing to do these days. Mate of mine was a waiter for a few years, used to get annoyed if he got a low tip if the bill was large "because we live off of tips" when he was earning more than minimum wage anyways plus tips on top of that. I felt it was a horrible opinion to have to expect a tip from everyone, if someone tips then great, but to be annoyed about not getting tips seems pretty entitled to me. Most waiters aren't going to any more effort than any good salesman in any half decent shop are, so why is it only waiters should be tipped? Never understood the logic.

coffee_cake

Artful_Badger wrote: »

Once again this is not true, might be in America or other places but not here. You started off trying to argue service charges were added everywhere in Ireland, now you claim tips form part of peoples wages. As a previous poster pointed out its not the cultural norms of Ireland. If you want to talk generally about cultural norms of America go to the appropriate forum. I'm starting to see now why you got so much grief on "Location based arguments" its because you're refusing to accept things are different here than where you are.

Indeed. In ireland, it's a bonus. That's it.

Thats called making sure the customer is satisfied, its either selling an item or recommending one when asked and is already part of any customer service job description. You must have low standard if you think doing your job to any decent degree is going above and beyond and deserves extra payment.

Not to mention some places in the states do charge explicitly for this pairing stuff anyway

Saw some americans try to tip a barman in the pub last night. He gave it back ^^