Jay's Poll of the Week - Tipping; everybody's got their hand in my pocket!

[Jay]

Nowadays, it seems like everybody's asking for a tip, from the cab driver to the newspaper carrier to the fast food server.

Ok, I understand tipping a server when I'm eating at a sit down restaurant; the server delivers the meal, makes sure the water glass is filled and takes away dirty dishes and utensils. Eating at a nice restaurant is a pleasurable experience.

A cab driver? Sure! I want to reach my destination safely and quickly. But the local coffee shop? Or fast food emporium? I don't get it. I have to walk up to the counter and order. I don't understand why they should be tipped and I don't. However, I will drop spare change into the locked charity box at the cash register.

Do you tip? Who do you tip? Who do you not tip?

[Catt]

I tip waiters at a nice restaurant, the lady who cuts my hair and the young man who does the valet parking at my mother's doctor.

[Bambi]

I will tip at a nice sit down restaurant, any valets who park my car, the hair beautician (because she's a miracle worker when it comes to my baby fine hair), our dog groomer (because she comes to our house to do the grooming) and the people who bring me a free beer at the casinos!!

The fast food tipping bothers me. I've worked at a fast food restaurant for almost 8 years now, my hours 4am to 9am, I don't work with the customers, I like cooking. But when I was hired, there was a clause that said accepting a tip from a customer would mean automatic being fired. So what fast food places allows their employees to accept or expect a tip???

[kungfuhippie]

Tipping at a restaurant or a pub is a must, I always tip there. When I get a haircut I tip a little and also when there's valet parking somewhere. I never take cabs but that would be for sure as well.
One thing that drives me crazy is that there's a coffee place I go to sometimes and I often pay with a debit card. The debit machine always asks for a tip :S I'm so annoyed by that because it just a coffee drink at a counter but I have a hard time turning it down when it asks for a tip

[DiamondAura]

I tip my dog groomers and hair dressers all the time. I tip the delivery guy because gas is EXPENSIVE and I tip at restaurants because some of those waitresses are on their feet for twelve hour days and get minimum wage. And a lot of restaurants the tips also go to the cooks. OH and I always tip a cute bartender

[DiamondAura]

Oh and anyone who gives me a ride places, I pay their gas AND buy them coffee! I've even bought a cab driver coffee before, but it was 6am on the way home from the sleep clinic and i needed a coffee lol
The coffee shops around me don't ask for tip on debit, but if I pay cash and it's only a few cents, i tell them to keep it, or i drop it in the Timmies Camp box

[kungfuhippie]

I bought beer at the beer store a couple of hours ago and that debit machine wanted a tip too :S Thats a bit much - I went and got the beer and brought it to the counter myself!

[Acfan]

I'm a bit of a pushover when it comes to tips. I tip whenever I feel like there's expectation for me to do it. Thankfully, we don't have that debit machine thing going on, that would be a nightmare for me. My exceptions are when I really don't have the change or when I don't realize the expectation until after I'm gone.

I rarely take a cab here, but I never realized that its mandatory. I remember all the times I've taken a cab in other countries, never giving a tip waiters, hairdressers (good or bad), delivery guys, repairmen, and guards or random guys (really) who assists us in and out of parking in streets (dunno if that's applicable anywhere else)

[Jazzed]

Great poll Jay!


Seriously? A machine asking for a tip???
Wow that's pushing it a little isn't it, I would get so annoyed by that I would even try to persuade other people NEVER to tip..
The whole idea about tipping is that it is in the end optional, even if there is a social convention around it.

From what I understand, tips in the USA and Canada are generally expected to be a lot higher (and more frequent) than here in Europe in general - though it does vary between countries or even between city and countryside imo.

Here waiters don't automatically get minimum wage, so they are much less reliant on the tips they are given. I tip at restaurants or food delivery, because those guys generally do get minimum wage. Also obviously when going for drinks in a pub.

I've never seen anyone tip a hairdresser here but perhaps that happens in really upmarket hairdressers
I think the tipping culture in the Netherlands isn't as extensive as it would be in the US and I find my compatriots sometimes a bit stingy when it comes to that.

I have to say though, when I visited a friend of mine in Sicily it struck me that people were being paid for almost everything. At some point my friend paid a guy who was pointing at a guy to point out to us where we could park.
I was really surprised by that but according to him this is just the way things work in Sicily also on account of people being unemployed or receiving low government benefits. So it's more of a gracious way of helping people out/ sustaining their community and part of the social convention locally. That was kind of an eye opener to me though.

[Daniel]

Yeah there's a huge difference with tipping between Europe and US/Canada for sure, it's quite interesting.

Like Jazzed said, here waiters in restaurants are much less reliant on tips. It shows in the service IMO . I think the service by waiters in US/Canada is in most cases much better than the service here in Europe. In most restaurants here I feel that waiters don't really care about their customer treatment, they just see you as a customer that needs to be served and that's it. They don't really see it as a potential extra income. In The Netherlands, I only give decent tips in restaurants when the waiter is doing a good job and really takes care of its customers, or when the food is exclusively well made. When service/food is just average, I give a small tip, which in The Netherlands is perfectly acceptable I think. When the service is relatively bad I don't tip at all.

When I was in US/Canada, the service was always excellent, so I always gave a good tip. I don't like it when I have to pay at a counter though. I mean, the person behind the counter is not the one who served me when I sat down for my meal.

On another note, in Italy I find it very striking that they put a charge for service and tableware (“coperto“) on the bill, so when I'm in Italy I usually don't tip at restaurants xD

Tipping a hairdresser is indeed very unusual here I think XD I never tip cab drivers either as I find them way too expensive here. I usually don't tip tour guides either as these commercial tourist trips are typically way overpriced.

[Jazzed]

Originally Posted by Daniel

It shows in the service IMO .

So true..

On another note, in Italy I find it very striking that they put a charge for service and tableware (“coperto“) on the bill, so when I'm in Italy I usually don't tip at restaurants xD

Correct, same happens eg in some restaurants in Paris, you pay extra for an 'assiette', plate/cuttlery and the privilege of sitting down for a meal.
It's just customary there though so I accept it as such and still tip if I found the meal pleasing and the service good.
Which btw in Paris also definitely isn't always the case.

Tipping a hairdresser is indeed very unusual here I think XD I never tip cab drivers either as I find them way too expensive here.

Cabs are rediculously expensive here indeed and they drive around in big fat BMW's for the most part so I don't feel the need to tip them either.

[Acfan]

Originally Posted by Jazzed

At some point my friend paid a guy who was pointing at a guy to point out to us where we could park.
I was really surprised by that but according to him this is just the way things work in Sicily also on account of people being unemployed or receiving low government benefits. So it's more of a gracious way of helping people out/ sustaining their community and part of the social convention locally. That was kind of an eye opener to me though.

Same here. A lot of unemployed people here get permission (or not, not sure ) from different establishments to help assist in parking, with the only income being from tips.

And when I was in Europe, I tipped everywhere. I'll try to reread here if I go again and get into the mentality of tipping only when I'm satisfied

[Jay]

What about tipping people you never see? I pay for newspaper delivery quarterly by credit card. On the order form, there is a line for a tip which I always include. I'm not sure if I will continue in the future. After all, a paper's not the same as a hot pizza.

[Acfan]

Never

(mostly because we don't have those)

[kungfuhippie]

I pay for newspaper delivery by credit card also but its charged automatically monthly. They'd probably love to try and get a tip out of me, but they never thought of it I don't think I would ever tip on a form like that. A tip has to be more direct, from customer to service provider, not on a form.
I do give the paper delivery person a tip at Christmas. Actually she deserves something, her service is awesome, much better that the last guy who used to deliver.