American tourist’s observations about the UK go viral

[Mandieta6]

You're a dick if you don't tip. Waiters are legally allowed to get paid below the minimum wage in America because tipping is expected, so no they aren't "paid well enough".

I prefaced "In Spain", you doofus.

 

[Theodorakis]

I usually tip %10 (%20 if I find the waitress attractive, %25 if I want to fuck her), but if the bill is anything over $300 I don't tip over $30. while in spain, I was really surprised by the lack of appreciation of the tips I gave but I thought it was mostly because of the far eastern waiters' gestures. you know us mediterraneans like to overdo things.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

I tip well over 20% most of the time, especially at bars. IMO 15% is the lowest you can go without being cheap. So most of you are cheap.

There's really nothing to worry about. You don't tip at the supermarket. You don't tip at McDonald's. Honestly, unless you frequent bars, you won't find yourself tipping anyone more than once a week. I rarely eat at restaurants, so bars are pretty much the only place I tip. You are supposed to tip people like movers, but you can absolutely get away without doing it. You're still a dick, but it's not as horrible as stiffing a server.

 

[Mandieta6]

You do realise that most of us live in Europe, where we pay waiters by paying more for the meal, and then add a tip? If I had money, I'd probably be tipping around 10%.

 

[yoyo913]

It won't be complicated Az, just tip 15% every time you have waiter service.

Personally I've moved to 18% or 20% as my norm.

 

[Alex]

You're a dick if you don't tip. Waiters are legally allowed to get paid below the minimum wage in America because tipping is expected, so no they aren't "paid well enough". If you can't afford 15% on top of your bill, you probably should not be eating food that expensive anyway. On a $40 bill, that's $6. Pizza delivery really only expects $2. Even when I'm poor I tip well because I've had to live off tips in the past.

This is going to come off Jewy but, as a cash-strapped student who might be spending a while in the US, the whole tipping thing scares me. In Spain, tipping is largely an older man's game. Waiters are paid well enough and tipping is advised but not expected, certainly not from students. I mean, do you really have to tip for everything? What if you're poorer than the waiter?

You have to tip. It's not that complicated to realise it's not the same as tipping in Europe. Tips are essentially factored into the price. Staff are paid less, lowering operating costs, lowering prices. Look at it as a compulsory tax.

As Shifty mentioned, wait staff are paid below minimum wage as tips are accounted for.

We generally tipped 15% for standard service, higher for better (up to and just over 20%), and at the one place that our service was really poor 10-12%. We found service much better in the US because of tips though.

 

[Alex]

You do realise that most of us live in Europe, where we pay waiters by paying more for the meal, and then add a tip? If I had money, I'd probably be tipping around 10%.

Fairly sure everyone jumped on you because you said the tipping thing scares you.

As you said, the price in Europe (and Australia) is higher because if the higher labour cost.

Therefore tipping in the US shouldn't scare you at all

 

[Mandieta6]

I don't think anyone jumped on me.

Tipping scares me because I would likely be living off stipends and I don't think you get extra 'because tips are expected'.

Note that scares is hyperbole.

 

[Alex]

I don't think anyone jumped on me.

Tipping scares me because I would likely be living off stipends and I don't think you get extra 'because tips are expected'.

Note that scares is hyperbole.

Your called Shifty a doofus, Shifty called you a dick and loads of other people responded telling you why it's necessary to tip. That was what I was referring to.

Your second comment shows you've missed the point entirely. It's part of the price, and should be considered as such. Living off nothing is no excuse. As you mentioned, prices generally allow for higher wages elsewhere in the world. Prices are lower in the US because of tips not being added.

 

[Sir Didier Drogba]

Mandieta6, one thing is Europeans have to get used to in the US and Canada is the fact that, unlike here, the price printed on the menu or on the shelf is not the final amount you will pay. One most items in shops - be it groceries or porn mags - the sales tax is not included in the printed price and will be added at the til. Likewise, on food and drinks, there is a mandatory 15-20% 'tax' in the form of a tip, which you must add to the bill. It won't be a problem for you, you just need to train yourself to think to add 20% (to be safe with the maths) in your head every time - so if you want to spend $8 on your lunch, you must not order something above $6.50 on the menu. You will not be 'priced out' because eating and drinking out is comparatively cheap in the us, maybe not wih Spain but with the U.K. And other developed European nations - and I am sure your stipend will accommodate this. Actually, for the European in America trying to keep to a budget, I find the 'tab system', whereby you pay for all drinks on a bill at the end rather than one by one, much more dangerous than the tip culture, but I doubt this will be a problem for you.

With regards to personal attitude to tipping, I usually stick to around the 15-20 unless I'm really impressed or in a good mood. If, however, the server helps me by pointing out a good special deal that I hadn't noticed, or the restaurant has a pariculalr excellent price on something that I hadn't planned on when I made the decision to eat there, I usually pass the saving on to the staff in the form of a bigger tip. I gave a girl in Vancouver a 50% tip because she pointed out that I could get pretty much exactly the same thing as I had ordered but from their half price appetiser menu because it was happy hour and getting a portion of chips on the side. Sometimes I do go extravagant, I was tipping like crazy during my recent visit to Paris to the extent that once a waited came running out the door and chased me down the street to thank me.

What I don't like, however, is the expectation to tip for bad service. I don't mean really bad or really rude, for which I would be comfortable not to tip for and make it clear why, but for generally surly or lazy service whereby the server is so certain that they will get their tip anyway, they make absolutely no effort to earn it. If I thought that not tipping or tipping low would give these guys a message, I would, but in reality I know they will just mutter 'cheapskate' to their spotty colleague and it will make them feel justified in their bad attitude. It REAlLY pisses me off in North America when bartenders do that shitty 'you're lucky we're serving you at all' attitude thing that all us males get from time to time and still expect to be tipped. This is, of course, assuming I'm not being a drunken asshole. I'm probably being a drunken asshole.

In bars in the us and Canada I usually just tip a round number that sounds good, like a buck a drink or something. When I was back in the U.K. from Canada I tipped in pubs here for the first couple of weeks from force of habit, but met with such unexpectedly negative reactions that I quickly put a stop to that.

 

[Bobby]

This is going to come off Jewy but, as a cash-strapped student who might be spending a while in the US, the whole tipping thing scares me. In Spain, tipping is largely an older man's game. Waiters are paid well enough and tipping is advised but not expected, certainly not from students. I mean, do you really have to tip for everything? What if you're poorer than the waiter?

If you're eating at a dine-in restaurant, you won't be poorer than the waiter.

 

[yoyo913]

Stipends or not you have to take this stuff into considerations. If you can't afford it then don't go out.

 

[Alex]

Mandieta6, one thing is Europeans have to get used to in the US and Canada is the fact that, unlike here, the price printed on the menu or on the shelf is not the final amount you will pay. One most items in shops - be it groceries or porn mags - the sales tax is not included in the printed price and will be added at the til. Likewise, on food and drinks, there is a mandatory 15-20% 'tax' in the form of a tip, which you must add to the bill. It won't be a problem for you, you just need to train yourself to think to add 20% (to be safe with the maths) in your head every time - so if you want to spend $8 on your lunch, you must not order something above $6.50 on the menu. You will not be 'priced out' because eating and drinking out is comparatively cheap in the us, maybe not wih Spain but with the U.K. And other developed European nations - and I am sure your stipend will accommodate this. Actually, for the European in America trying to keep to a budget, I find the 'tab system', whereby you pay for all drinks on a bill at the end rather than one by one, much more dangerous than the tip culture, but I doubt this will be a problem for you.

Nailed it. Exactly my thoughts, much more eloquently (read: patiently) put.

With regards to personal attitude to tipping, I usually stick to around the 15-20 unless I'm really impressed or in a good mood. If, however, the server helps me by pointing out a good special deal that I hadn't noticed, or the restaurant has a pariculalr excellent price on something that I hadn't planned on when I made the decision to eat there, I usually pass the saving on to the staff in the form of a bigger tip. I gave a girl in Vancouver a 50% tip because she pointed out that I could get pretty much exactly the same thing as I had ordered but from their half price appetiser menu because it was happy hour and getting a portion of chips on the side. Sometimes I do go extravagant, I was tipping like crazy during my recent visit to Paris to the extent that once a waited came running out the door and chased me down the street to thank me.

In Paris!? I hardly tip in Europe and the UK. I just tip as I do at home...Up to about 10%, but generally just rounding up and leaving the change (depending on the service). In the US I was 15%+ every time except once.

What I don't like, however, is the expectation to tip for bad service. I don't mean really bad or really rude, for which I would be comfortable not to tip for and make it clear why, but for generally surly or lazy service whereby the server is so certain that they will get their tip anyway, they make absolutely no effort to earn it. If I thought that not tipping or tipping low would give these guys a message, I would, but in reality I know they will just mutter 'cheapskate' to their spotty colleague and it will make them feel justified in their bad attitude. It REAlLY pisses me off in North America when bartenders do that shitty 'you're lucky we're serving you at all' attitude thing that all us males get from time to time and still expect to be tipped. This is, of course, assuming I'm not being a drunken asshole. I'm probably being a drunken asshole.

I've heard that you're best to actually tip something small than nothing at all to make a point. Tip nothing at all, they assume you don't know the culture. Tip something really small, they get that you're being an arsehole.

In bars in the us and Canada I usually just tip a round number that sounds good, like a buck a drink or something. When I was back in the U.K. from Canada I tipped in pubs here for the first couple of weeks from force of habit, but met with such unexpectedly negative reactions that I quickly put a stop to that.

I was basically the same. Drinks wise, I'd often just tip a dollar a drink, or if it was a reasonable size tab that I paid at the end I'd rever to the 15-20%.

Even in Australia if I get 3 beers and they come to $17-18 - if the waiter was polite I'll leave couple of bucks

 

[Mandieta6]

Your called Shifty a doofus, Shifty called you a dick and loads of other people responded telling you why it's necessary to tip. That was what I was referring to.

Your second comment shows you've missed the point entirely. It's part of the price, and should be considered as such. Living off nothing is no excuse. As you mentioned, prices generally allow for higher wages elsewhere in the world. Prices are lower in the US because of tips not being added.

I guess we have interpreted the situation differently.

 

[Mandieta6]

Stipends or not you have to take this stuff into considerations. If you can't afford it then don't go out.

Yea I figure I won't be eating out much although as far as I'm aware I would be living on a campus that rewuires you to participate in a pre-paid eating plan. To those with experiemce in this sort.of environment, do you still tip?

 

[Mandieta6]

Mandieta6, one thing is Europeans have to get used to in the US and Canada is the fact that, unlike here, the price printed on the menu or on the shelf is not the final amount you will pay. One most items in shops - be it groceries or porn mags - the sales tax is not included in the printed price and will be added at the til. Likewise, on food and drinks, there is a mandatory 15-20% 'tax' in the form of a tip, which you must add to the bill. It won't be a problem for you, you just need to train yourself to think to add 20% (to be safe with the maths) in your head every time - so if you want to spend $8 on your lunch, you must not order something above $6.50 on the menu. You will not be 'priced out' because eating and drinking out is comparatively cheap in the us, maybe not wih Spain but with the U.K. And other developed European nations - and I am sure your stipend will accommodate this. Actually, for the European in America trying to keep to a budget, I find the 'tab system', whereby you pay for all drinks on a bill at the end rather than one by one, much more dangerous than the tip culture, but I doubt this will be a problem for you.

With regards to personal attitude to tipping, I usually stick to around the 15-20 unless I'm really impressed or in a good mood. If, however, the server helps me by pointing out a good special deal that I hadn't noticed, or the restaurant has a pariculalr excellent price on something that I hadn't planned on when I made the decision to eat there, I usually pass the saving on to the staff in the form of a bigger tip. I gave a girl in Vancouver a 50% tip because she pointed out that I could get pretty much exactly the same thing as I had ordered but from their half price appetiser menu because it was happy hour and getting a portion of chips on the side. Sometimes I do go extravagant, I was tipping like crazy during my recent visit to Paris to the extent that once a waited came running out the door and chased me down the street to thank me.

What I don't like, however, is the expectation to tip for bad service. I don't mean really bad or really rude, for which I would be comfortable not to tip for and make it clear why, but for generally surly or lazy service whereby the server is so certain that they will get their tip anyway, they make absolutely no effort to earn it. If I thought that not tipping or tipping low would give these guys a message, I would, but in reality I know they will just mutter 'cheapskate' to their spotty colleague and it will make them feel justified in their bad attitude. It REAlLY pisses me off in North America when bartenders do that shitty 'you're lucky we're serving you at all' attitude thing that all us males get from time to time and still expect to be tipped. This is, of course, assuming I'm not being a drunken asshole. I'm probably being a drunken asshole.

In bars in the us and Canada I usually just tip a round number that sounds good, like a buck a drink or something. When I was back in the U.K. from Canada I tipped in pubs here for the first couple of weeks from force of habit, but met with such unexpectedly negative reactions that I quickly put a stop to that.

Yeah, I'm sure I'll get used to.it rather quickly and that it balances itself out but it's definitely something I'll be wary of at first because the cultures are so different. I don't think US prices are significantly lower than Spain's either, what with the Dollar being stronger now and Spain being a nigh third-world country.

I do find it curious that American tip in non-food services (hotel maid, parking service, cleaners) although it's unlikely to be something I'll come across.

The whole greeting and saying goodbye is another thing to adapt to, as I'm used to always shaking hands or 2-kiss which I gather is not the norm.

 

[Sir Didier Drogba]

Nailed it. Exactly my thoughts, much more eloquently (read: patiently) put.

In Paris!? I hardly tip in Europe and the UK. I just tip as I do at home...Up to about 10%, but generally just rounding up and leaving the change (depending on the service). In the US I was 15%+ every time except once.

I've heard that you're best to actually tip something small than nothing at all to make a point. Tip nothing at all, they assume you don't know the culture. Tip something really small, they get that you're being an arsehole.

I was basically the same. Drinks wise, I'd often just tip a dollar a drink, or if it was a reasonable size tab that I paid at the end I'd rever to the 15-20%.

Even in Australia if I get 3 beers and they come to $17-18 - if the waiter was polite I'll leave couple of bucks

I tip the same in European restaurants as the US actually, though especially Paris because you get that super professional (if sometimes a little snobby) service and its old men with cool moustaches. I even give huge tips in Estonia because, even though there is not a huge tipping culture, the hourly wage is so low (not just for waiters but all low paid workers which in Estonia is all workers) that a four euro tip basically doubles their hourly pay and makes them almost faint with pleased amazement.

But in Australia I have heard tipping is so unheard of that staff will make a point of refusing your tips?

 

[Sir Didier Drogba]

Yeah, I'm sure I'll get used to.it rather quickly and that it balances itself out but it's definitely something I'll be wary of at first because the cultures are so different. I don't think US prices are significantly lower than Spain's either, what with the Dollar being stronger now and Spain being a nigh third-world country.

I do find it curious that American tip in non-food services (hotel maid, parking service, cleaners) although it's unlikely to be something I'll come across.

The whole greeting and saying goodbye is another thing to adapt to, as I'm used to always shaking hands or 2-kiss which I gather is not the norm.

Right now I think any country you go to with running water is going to cost more than Spain - I just hope your stipend amount is assessed on what you will need in the us rather than what you will need in Spain. Will your student visa allow for you to have a part time job?

UK we actually tip non-service staff often - if a guy delivers a fridge and installs it or whatever you always stick a fiver in his hand. It's basically a reward for not just dumping it on the front drive. In France if a hotel porter brings your bag to your room he will literally stand there and wait for you to get your wallet out, no matter how long that takes.

I also always tip taxi drivers, which some people consider strange

 

[Alex]

But in Australia I have heard tipping is so unheard of that staff will make a point of refusing your tips?

Certainly not that I've seen.

Hospitality industry still get tipped reasonably often. It's much the same as British tipping culture. In fact I earned more tips working in pubs in Australia and Starbucks in Australia than I did working pubs in England

 

[Alex]

I also always tip taxi drivers, which some people consider strange

Australians do this too. Not sure why.