Tipping in London
 

>>Can you give me suggestions for tipping

justairports car service are tips included If not how much ?

restaurants in general?<<

OH my - :omg: - you are going to regret posting this ;)

As for justairports - just a small tip. Max £5 if you have a boat load of luggage has has to schlepp. If the fare is say £38 cash -- I give the driver £40. But I travel carry on only.

In restaurants check the menu/bill closely -- more and more are tacking on a 12-ish% service charge. If so just round up a little (or leave nothing extra). If no service charge is included I'll round up to a max of 10%. Sometimes just a tad more in very posh places.

Abandon your tip everybody 20% American habits when you step off the plane.

How much do you tip the pilots?

Nothing.

This person is new-ish to the forum and seeking your advice. I'm sure they would appreciate serious replies (like janisj) not just horsing around (like PalenQ).

In fairness to Pal, the "tipping the pilot" thread is a running joke here (an oldie but goodie) and not intended to be snarky, I don't think. Usually when these tipping threads appear, it's time to get the popcorn out.

Re. the original question: what JanisJ said up thread. That's all you need. Be aware that many times when using your credit card in London you need to confirm that you wish to pay in local currency on the card machine.

What Janisj says. The majority of restaurants now add service charge to the bill, usually 12,5%. If you pay by cc there is often not even an option to add anything extra.
We never add a tip if the 12,5% is included.
If the restaurant does not include service, this will be very clearly marked on the bill.

Taxi's; round up to the nearest round amount, or a few pounds, depending on the service.

Tip as you feel the level of service WARRANTS and not what somebody tells you is THE amount. That attitude should not be left behind or on a plane.

>>Tip as you feel the level of service WARRANTS and not what somebody tells you is THE amount. That attitude should not be left behind or on a plane.<<

I know you like to tip in Europe. But I meant one should not bring their habits from home when traveling to other places. When in Rome and all that. Over tip if you wish and it makes you feel good. Absolutely your choice. But IMO not good advice for those asking for useful guidance . . .

I agree with Janis. If there were to be the 12.5 per cent service charge on restaurant tab, you could leave some extra cash to round up to 15 or 20 per cent.

I am generous to barmen in pubs.

Thin🐩

Not even Google will come up with Oxford from Oggsford... speech to text might work, though.

We don't usually tip bar staff in pubs (though I've noticed some machines for contactless card purchase seem to include a stage of asking you if you want to include a gratuity, I've also known barmen to cancel that before presenting the machine). On the other hand, if it's quiet, you'll probably find "And one for yourself?" isn't refused.

Coronation Street is in many ways true to real life and in many more ways a gross exaggeration - but it's in the daily things that I think it must portray average Brits - like tipping - many folks in the Rovers pub will say keep the change. But many will not. But listen to the Brits above and take their take on tipping to heart - leave your American ideas at home.

This is a reasonably accurate guide to tipping in the UK but it's only a guide:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel...Etiquette.html

You don't have to tip, you won't get chased down the road like some places in the US. You may find some hostility to this question as those of us that live here don't want tipping to escalate (and be expected) to the "crazy" amounts that are common in the US.

Yes, and I also believe in remembering the invisible chambermaid who cleans your room daily.

Quite often the 12% added to the bill is optional meaning you don't have to pay it. I've asked for it to be removed on several occasions. Once because there was a large group of us, we had paid a substantial amount for a 'chef's table experience' yet the service was poor so I requested it to be removed and paid a more appropriate figure. Another time I've asked for it to be removed because the service was appalling and left no tip whatsoever (after all, a tip is for recognition of good service) and another time I requested it to be removed and gave the waitress a cash tip direct because the restaurant was one that was notorious for witholding a percentage of tips intended for staff.

That tripadvisor link is pretty much spot on.

>>That tripadvisor link is pretty much spot on.<<

Yes - a very good guide --

Rabbies the bus tours last I knew said in its brochures 'tipping is not required but to be honest our staffers love tips' or something like that obviously aimed at Americans. Yes everyone loves tips and may even work Americans for tips but take word of locals.

BTW - Oggsford was used in the Great Gatsby to mimic a working class pronunciation of Oxford.

We know how the the term Oggsford came into being which in itself makes it offensive, but try using it in the UK or especially in/at Oxford and you'll be laughed out of town or treated like a leper during the medieval ages.

I only rejected the (now almost always present) circa 12% optional service charge one time in my life in the UK. The service was awful. It was a fairly well known place in central London. I was very polite and the manager became enraged that I was refusing the "optional" service charge. I had good reason to refuse it but if it's truly optional then there should not have to even be a reason. If it's not truly optional, then VAT needs to be charged on top of the service charge.

Tipping is often a sore subject between Brits and Americans, with many Brits firmly convinced that the Americans have got it all wrong. Well to me, tipping seems pretty consistent in the US and there is a pretty common understanding/expectation between customer and wait staff. While some Americans may prefer it if customary tip percentages were less, it seems most are happy to tip well for good service. Many seem to think that someone who tips "too little" is the lowest form of life (down there with someone who steals from their grandmother or a child molester).

But in the UK, many would tip 0, others a few coins, and still others around 10%. All over the place. Then almost overnight several years ago, you started seeing the 12% service charges all over London (less common outside of London and the more cosmopolitan suburbs). So the UK skipped the part about good service and went right to adding 12% to the bill. And then the many scandals regarding staff not receiving the service charge. Then there's the whole "living wage" flimflam.

Seems that the UK might be able to learn something from the US tipping practices. In summary, generally Americans appreciate good service more and are willing to pay for it. Brits have very poor expectations for service and don't really want to pay for it, but regardless, now in 2019 we are "forced" to pay for it through ubiquitous "optional" service charges that sometimes don't even end up in the server's pocket!

Instead of deriding the Americans for their tipping practices and the overall service model, we should look at ours with a critical eye. If you do, it's pretty easy to conclude that "tipping in Britain" is working about as well as Brexit is working.

Excellent post.

Apparently not!

I'd be interested to know the restaurant you mention. Did you raise the issue with anyone higher up (assuming it was a chain or someone more senior than the manager you dealt with)?

The duty manager of the restaurant where we had the 'Chef's Table' was a bit taken aback then I refused to pay the 'optional' service charge. I explained politely and calmly that it was an optional charge, we weren't obliged to pay that figure, if at all, and explained the reasons why we were leaving a lesser amount. I'm not sure whether it's training or they are not used to people challenging the service charge but she acknowledged my rationale.

In any country, I always try to leave a tip. The amount of tip depends on the quality of service. I also pay attention to the cleanliness of the institution and the quality of the kitchen.