Social customs such as tipping etc.

[Davros]

Originally posted by Donut: Buying rounds is a social thing, always remember whose round it is and be aware who is in the round.

And try not to spill your drink on your new friends best mates coat [img]smile.gif[/img] - I did it once, but I think I got away with it. WHY you ask - well apart from being a likeable fellow with a wide array of effective hand signal communication, I bought my round early on in the shout [img]smile.gif[/img]

[harleyquinn]

I once had the same question about tipping hair dressers and asked a hair dresser. What I was told by her is that if the salon is in a mall or is a chain (like "Fantastic Sams") that you don't need to tip because they already get paid pretty well. (Doesn't mean that you can't if you feel you'd like to, just means it isn't expected). But, if it's a privately owned, not in mall, shop, then you should tip because these people don't make too much otherwise.

I agree about what everyone said that waiters/waitresses should get at least minimum wage and then if they do good service and get tips, it's just a bonus.

In NY, 15% is the customary tip for service in a restaurant (same for room service, at least that's what I was told). If you're at a bar, I usually only leave a buck for a tip (if anything, depends on if it took me 15 minutes of jumping up and down to get the bartender's attention or not). Usually if you have food delivered (like pizza delivery) or pay for a cab ride $2 or $3 bucks max unless your blown away by there service and want to give them more.

If you're in a situation, and your not sure, ask a fellow customer, I think most people would be honest enough to give you a straight answer.

[Timber Loftis]

Harleyquinn, unless it's an odd occurrence, or at a SuperCuts, that hair dresser lied to you. In most private shops, the hairdresser keeps 30-50% of your total bill, and keeps a higher percentage of the product you buy.

I tip the hairdresser a bit over 10% - $5 on a $40 cut, $10 if I haven't been in a long time or if the job was exceptional. Of course, I really like my hairdresser (she's a very nice older classy Lebanese lady with cool stories and a wacky attitude).

In the US, the previous post was correct:
no tip = you are an a$hole
10% = bad service
15% = average/good service
20% = good/exceptional service
In a fancy restaurant, where the bill for 2 folks can run over $100, DO NOT INCLUDE THE COST OF WINE in your calculations. This is customary.

Most restaurants pay waiters 1/2 minimum wage in the US. The IRS and the minimum wage laws assume they make 8% of their sales in tips. A waiter MUST claim 8% of his gross sales as income to the IRS, even if he/she actually made less.

I found tipping less expected in England, as our British members have noted. In restaurants there, I used the same standard indicated above. I found that tipping is accepted but not expected at all in pubs, and is usually just a quid per round or so. I found that tipping is more accepted in night clubs, but still not expected.

Donut and other Brits: did I commit a social faux pas by tipping in pubs?? I thought I saw others do it.

[Donut]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: Donut and other Brits: did I commit a social faux pas by tipping in pubs?? I thought I saw others do it.

Yeah - but they were Americans too! [img]smile.gif[/img]

It is very unusual and you may have got some funny looks. It was probably more acceptable in the West End where they are used to dealing with foreigners.

In restaurants in the UK zero tip is given for poor service, 10% for ordinary service and 15-20% for above average service.

Tipping in the US is very difficult for most Brits to get their head around. They often don't tip a bartender and this has led to problems in states like Florida where there are so many UK tourists. My experience is that staff now take the tip without it being offered and there are even signs up to this effect.

[WOLFGIR]

Well here in Sweden the tip is generally already taken care of in the price, that is, everything is calculated into the wage of peoples salary, and the tip is a bonus you have to pay taxes for, but nothing that should be expectyed to have a living on.

Tipping have started to be more common here but in general when you go to a store and they offer you something with a pricetag set in plastice numbers, you don´t tip.

Services you can tip. I would never tip my hairdresser, she is cute and very nice and all, but after every time I cut my hai (never improves my looks anyway ) I say to my self that I will get a can of razorfoam and shave it all off next time instead

Most things here are pretty expansive, just go out at a bar and have a beer, and you feel they are stealing from you and tipping is generlly sone to make the bartender acknowledge you later on when it is monkey wars around the bar to get a drink.

Pretty risky when you get abroad and don´t know how much or when to or not to give tip.
First time in London, we got a crash court by a Swedish friend living in London about tipping, and then he said that if you tip a waiter only in the copper coins, you are very displeased with the food and the service. Don´t know if that is still valid or ever was?
This waiter forgot our order twice, and it was not worth the one hour to wait for a pizza. We tipped him all spare copper change we had..

Bah.. how to express that in Euros??

[Hayashi]

In case anyone wants to visit Singapore, tipping is not the usual custom, although at the more fancy eating establishments you may wish to give a tip (10% of the bill is the norm) to the waiter/waitress for exceptional service.

But many restaurants add a 10% "service charge" to the bill. Plus taxes the bill could come up to 115% of what you ordered. So my policy is that if there is a service charge (it's supposed to be shared amongst the waiters, etc - emphasis on the word "supposed"), I don't tip unless the waiter who has served my table was really good. At those places which don't charge the 10%, then I may/may not tip - it's not customary, but I may tip if I feel that service was above average.

Taxis - no tips expected, but the cabbie always appreciate keeping the change .
Bars, etc - no tips expected. Plus they WILL slap the 10% service charge anyway.
Barbers, hair dressing salons - tipping is unheard of.

[harleyquinn]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: Harleyquinn, unless it's an odd occurrence, or at a SuperCuts, that hair dresser lied to you. In most private shops, the hairdresser keeps 30-50% of your total bill, and keeps a higher percentage of the product you buy. I tip the hairdresser a bit over 10% - $5 on a $40 cut, $10 if I haven't been in a long time or if the job was exceptional. Of course, I really like my hairdresser (she's a very nice older classy Lebanese lady with cool stories and a wacky attitude).

This must be one of these things that is different in NY then in Illinois. The person that told me that is not my hairdresser but a good friend of 10 years who happens to be a hair dresser.

I agree with most of the sentiment I'm reading here. It would be SO much easier if either tips were not expected or at very least, added to the bill like in some places in Europe. Especially since some "rules" are so varied not only from country to country and state to state, but also from areas of the state to different areas (I'm sure there's things we don't tip for up here that they do tip for in NY City, for example).

[Charlie]

Originally posted by Seraph: Quote: Originally posted by Charlie: TIPS is short for - To Insure Proper Service. At least that's what I heard on TV not so long ago.

'Tip' is an old word, and it has nothing to do with either acronyms or the act of attempting to influence quality of service. Although the word has many meanings, both as a verb and as a noun, the use of the term as it applies to monetary rewards to servants dates to the 1700s. It first appeared in this context as a verb ("Then I, Sir, tips me the Verger with half a Crown" from the 1706 George Farquhar play The Beaux Stratagem) and was first recorded as a noun in 1755. However, the use of 'tip' to describe the act of giving something to another (where that list of possible 'somethings' could include small sums of money, intelligence on horse races, or the latest silly joke) goes back to 1610. 'Tip' slipped into the language as underworld slang, with the verb 'to tip' (meaning 'to give to or share with') being used by shady characters as part of the then-current argot of petty criminals.[/QUOTE]So what are you trying to say?

[Charlie]

Originally posted by Donut: Some good advice q-man but not on the business of buying rounds. Don't buy 'as you can afford to', buy the same as everyone else. If you buy more, people will think you are flash. If you don't buy when it's you're turn people will think you're tight. If you can't afford to buy a round don't accept a drink in the first place. Buying rounds is a social thing, always remember whose round it is and be aware who is in the round.

First Class Advice.

[Chewbacca]

I will always tip more (15-20%) if the service is friendly and timely, especially so if my drink glass and bread tray are rarely left empty. I never shaft a server for an honest mistake if it is treated as such.

Unless the server is overly rude or incompetent I will always leave atleast 10% due to consideration of a living wage. As it has probably been stated, In America, servers depend on tips to make a living.