Tipping

I have been holidaying in the US for about 10 years now and one of the things that most impressed me has been the quality of service everywhere and when dining in particular. I am well aware of the 15 to 20% tipping guide and in general have followed this as a genuine respect for the quality of service and have always regarded it as part of the meal price that was optional should the service standards not been there.

However on my recent trip 2 things have stood out.

1. I was told by some english who claimed they were regulars as villa owners that these levels of tipping were rare and were certainly never matched by Americans. Basicaly just a tourist con. I don't go along with this and wondered what some of you think on the subject?

2. I was dismayed by what seemed a sudden increase of receiving a bill with the words "18% gratuity not included" "Sara :>)" or along those lines or bills with suggested tips printed on the bottom already calculated based on the size of the bill. This did miff me a bit and those places were not visited again and one of them was at the Outback and I love there. I even felt in some places the service dipped because we were English with a sudden change in attitude after we had paid with a tip.

I have to say we were staying on Marco Island and the eateries were quite quiet, never before have we been able to walk in and sit down without a wait at the Cheesecake Factory. I feel like going back next year wearing a T shirt with the words "yes we are English but we still tip for good service" printed on the front.

The American's that we go out with in USA always leave more than 15% and yet when American visitors visit our restaurant in UK most of them leaving absolutely nothing!! It never ceases to amaze me. (We do offer good service!!![msnwink])

It doesn't iritate me when they say things like "18% gratuity not included" , it's when they say "18% Gratuity included " which really bugs me. if it's mandatory at a set rate then it is a service charge and should be called as such. A gratuity is something that is given freely and discretionary.

When I was out with some girlfriends we were a group of 8 so they added a 'tip' (can't remember how much but it was a lot because I remember being shocked) but in the small print somewhere that it was discretionary so we got the waitress to take it off. To say they were hacked off is an understatement but so were we!! A tip should be left freely and not demanded or even asked for

This is something I feel quite strongly about! I feel tipping should be on merit and not because it is expected! If the gratuity is added to the bill I tell them to remove it as I think that this is a cheek!!!! However if I receive good service I have no problem with giving a. Good tip! And yes I have noticed on many occasions that American diners do not leave the same tip as uk diners do!!! I even heard two waitresses chatting about tips they had received from British visitors and how good they were compared to Americans!! And before I get off my high horse one more thing! A normal spend for us in say the outback is $ 150 if we leave 20% that is $30 if a waiter serves ten tables a day that is $300 dollars tips before they even get paid!!! If my husband earned that I could afford my dream home in Florida!!!

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Originally Posted by mexico

This is something I feel quite strongly about! I feel tipping should be on merit and not because it is expected! If the gratuity is added to the bill I tell them to remove it as I think that this is a cheek!!!! However if I receive good service I have no problem with giving a. Good tip! And yes I have noticed on many occasions that American diners do not leave the same tip as uk diners do!!! I even heard two waitresses chatting about tips they had received from British visitors and how good they were compared to Americans!! And before I get off my high horse one more thing! A normal spend for us in say the outback is $ 150 if we leave 20% that is $30 if a waiter serves ten tables a day that is $300 dollars tips before they even get paid!!! If my husband earned that I could afford my dream home in Florida!!!

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You think you will let your husband know about that dreamhouse you bought from his money? :)
(Just kidding ofcourse.)

We we go to frankie & bennys in the Uk and we pay with our card we get the chance to pay a tip but i always click no and i give the tip direct to who ever served us, only because i choose how much i pay, i think if i HAVE to pay what is expected then we could not afford to eat out all the time, i think its cheek to expect to pay up to 18% more in the US.
Saying that when we went last time our first stop was Disney dinning with winnie the poo & friends at that time we had just arrived and hubby just didnt feel himself and didn't want much to eat & wanted to go, we had been there a while but our daughter was waiting for Eeyore to take his turn to come to our table the waitress came over and asked why my hubby wasn't eating we said he didnt feel too good and we were waiting for Eeyore even though we had finished eating. She said we had to go because others were waiting for our table and Eeyore isn't due to our table for another half hour or so. I asked for the bill & i remember for four of us being $108!! i gave her $120 not expecting her to keep it! she thought it was a tip, my face was a picture as you can imagine, BUT within two minutes Eeyore was by our table & we were having photos with him, much to our daughters delight. :)

going to keep a better eye on this next trip as there will be just 3 of us, we never mnd tipping well at shake and steak cos they remember us and always treat us well and make pleasant conversation so they do a good job and get a good tip... hate leving a tip in IHOP i think the place is dirty and staff cant be bothered with anything... we ate at TGI's one particular trip and a lovely girl served us and she has a nice baby bump, she was lovely and couldnt do enough for us, felt bit mean cos she was running around after us, but we tipped her well cos she did a really good job and earnt it, wish we had seen her again... we have met some lovely waiting staff and those stick in our minds at times... but i think they dont bother with the friendliness cos its included in the bill anyway so they dont need to try nor impress us with speedy friendly service.... good topic

I have been sat here reading the comments and deciding whether to reply.

I understand how you can feel that 18% or thereabouts is a huge amount but in a lot of cases the wait staff do not get any/much in wages. There are get out clauses in the minimum wage legislation that allows restaurants to barely pay these people so the tips are important.

I do think that the fundemental difference is how wait staff are viewed on the opposite sides of the Atlantic. In the US many people choose it as a job because they can make a very good living. They aspire to the better restaurants as a career move. A waiter/waitress in somewhere like Jiko can make over $600 in an evening.

In the UK we tend to see it as a stop gap. There is still a 'service' type attitude towards it.

Personally I think a good waiter/waitress can make our break your whole experience.

No shoes - you have hit the nail on the head. In the UK waiting on tables is generally not a choice of a career and 'service' in general is poor. In the US 'service' is viewed totally differently and as you say something to aspire to and restaurant wages are surprisingly low so the 'tips' really are part of true wage.