Tipping yes or no?

Question

I went into 3 places in London, sat down looked at the menu, at the end of the menu, states 10% service charge added to bill, so 3 times I got up and walked out....I do not have a problem tipping if the service is good, But a tip is voluntary in my eyes and given up on the quality of service, and meal, would you be prepared to walk out on this basis?? and no I am not tight

clevergirl, if the bill comes to £50.00 it means you tip a fiver, wheather you like it or not, the meal may have been crap ...and honest I am not tighe, maybe careful

James no matter how hungry walk out there are plenty more places,

Mary Jane s 10% was just a figure, I have seen 20% I didn't want to seem like I was exagerating...

I believe in the uK if the meal is bad you must offer to pay at least a pound, this way you will not get done, if you refuse to pay then the law is on there side, although never tried it

Answer 1

All tips and service charges are not mandatory. At the restaurant I worked at it said on the bottom of the menu that 10% service charge would be added to the bill for tables of 6 or more, but you could ASK for the tip to be removed. Some of the waitresses grumbled a bit when asked to do so, but then found that the customers actually ended up tipping more than the 10%. Some people do not tip at all, perhaps because they have little money but that doesn't mean they did not enjoy the meal. Indeed they might recommend us to someone else instead which is worth much more than a tip. I would not have worked out, I would have asked for the service charge to be removed as this is within your rights. If it was compulsory they would just charge more for the food which would be less confusing.
xx

Answer 2

I always tip at least 10% if the service has been good. The tip is service charge so nothing to do with the quality of food, in my opinion.
I hate it when they put 10% on the bill, I am not in any way stingy, but I refuse to pay this extra 10% if the service is awful.
I went to a hotel last week and the food was gorgeous, and quite expensive. The meal came to well over one hundred pounds and normally I would leave £15ish tip. However, the waitress was moody, rude and horrible so I did not give 10p on point as I feel it should only be given if deserved. She should have paid us, not the other way round.
Needless to say I did not go back.
Tipping, yes but voluntary, not compulsory.
Given TOTALLY on the quality of service.
x

Answer 3

There's a place here in the town where I live.. They make you pay up front for your meal and ask you before you're even seated how much you are going to tip them. I've learned to politely say "I haven't decided yet.." If the waitress makes a big deal out of it, I'll always just thank her for her time and say we've changed our minds and are eating elsewhere. The first couple times I ate there I tipped 15% up front. They were already given a tip and therefore offered very poor service. If you have a waitress that's willing to earn her tip, she won't have any problem with waiting to find out how much it is. If they give you any problems, walk away- better than having your food spit in.

Answer 4

Out of principal, I would love to have your guts to walk out, although I feel you may be shooting yourself in the foot if the food and service is actually good, but I agree in the sense that you should be told that a 10% tip is recommended, but it should not be enforced upon you. If the service was slow, waiters rude and food burnt, why would anyone want to show gratitude for that. And what incentive does that give the staff to actually make your meal a more pleasurable experience....after all, you are a paying customer, with or without a tip.

Answer 5

If there is service charge, then you need not feel obliged to tip.

If there is no service charge, tip 10%.

If the meal is so bad that warrants a complaint to the manager, or service is bad (eg long wait for your meal), and pay by cash the amount for the food only (not the service charge). Don't use a credit card where they will type in the amount including service charge.

Answer 6

I hosted a birthday party with about 20 people at a restaurant and at the bottom off the menu it said that there was a service charge of 10% for groups over 10....well that's all they got....had that not been written there they would have got much more, we should of walked out

Answer 7

Tipping is voluntary, and I don't like it being asked. 10% is low, and maybe the restaurant gets a lot of stiffs.

I never tip at 10% anyway. At least 20%. IF the meal is lousy, I would complain to the manager, and I might walk. If the service is lousy, they got 10%. Anyway, I go to a restaurant to eat and enjoy, not be finicky and miserable.

Answer 8

I agree with you that they shouldn't have service included. I think if I had bad service but the food was reasonable, and the service was included, I would deduct the service charge from the bill when paying.
Otherwise you might be missing out on a lot of otherwise good restaurants if you only eat at those that don't have the service included.

Answer 9

You have the right to refuse to pay a service charge as long as you tell the restaurant before ordering that you prefer to add your own tip to the bill. If they say they it's compulsory they're either lying or don't know the law. It's becoming more common and IMHO only acceptable if it's a restaurant I know and am sure I'll get good service.

Answer 10

You could have easily refused to pay the tip if the service was bad. The reason they add 10%, especially in London, is that many tourists do NOT tip and many waiters / waitresses rely on tips as a top-up on their wage. So next time I would suggest you stay and eat and then you decide whether the service was worth the tip or not. Remember, you can always refuse to pay it.

Your choice.