Yeah like Oprah said, your tips are s'posed to come out to over min. wage but it doesn't account for the fact that the economy's shitty and a lot less ppl are eating out and if they are, are usually tipping less. It just sucks, plain and simple.

And also that some people are just mean!

I got more tips working behind the bar than I ever did waitressing. Then again, I was a crappy waitress ;D

Oh yes. I get plenty of assholes who act nice when I'm serving them and I'm chatting them up... and they leave me NOTHING. >____< Thank you for making me waste time on you ass.

I've literally done this my entire life so I've perfected the art of "oh you're so smart smile" on the outside, the minute I turn around I'm smiling and muttering in Chinese what an ass you are. I love being trilingual. XD

Living expenses are higher here, but still I agree it's a HUGE difference.

But at least it means restaurant staff are less dependent on tips, and we don't have to tip bar staff!

I can't think of anywhere that tipping is mandatory in the UK. If there was such a place, I wouldn't go there. I don't get tips and I work in the leisure industry with lots of customers... I work for my wage that comes from my employer. Good customer service is part of the job description and is expected regardless of the fact that we don't get gratuities. With that said, I do like to tip good service when I'm at a restauraunt or something similar.. as long as the waiting on staff haven't been rude or lazy.

Agreed.

And nobody over here ever tips over 10% (that I know of). But that could be because restaurants here are much more pricey!

I was a waitress, and I still am a very small tipper. Thats how I am. I tip 5 percent if we are at a buffet, because really you did nothing except bring me drinks, and half the time we have to flag you down to get those drinks. I tip 10 percent at regular places because I am sick of the attitude I seem to always get, it doesnt matter that I bring in two kids and have to drill you about what is made with eggs and milk, you should respectfully tell me and not moan and groan and bitch to your fellow workmates about how shitty I am for asking. If I send something back because the cook cannot follow simple directions, again you have no right to bitch, you need to just do it politely. We have a lot of allergies in my small family of 4, so I have many things I cant have, like spicy food because of my ulcers, so when I ask for the chili on the side thats what I need to get. Only once have I left a huge tip, and that was because this girl at Red Lobster on Valentines day was the best server I have ever had. She was polite, had our drinks replaced before they were empty, had a full basket of their bread on the table at all times, and was just over all amazing. On a 40 dollar bill she got a 20 dollar tip.

PS. I have no problem not tipping if you do not do your job to my satisfaction. Tips are a way to show that you were pleased with the service, if I am not pleased, I am not tipping.

Hmmm, well the bitching is always going to happen (although it's not your fault, food allergies are a bitch), those waitresses are fucking retarded. I bitch about my stupid customers all the time but I have the intelligence to do it away from the hands that feed me. I have no problem w/ ppl who tell me they have allergies, it's not like you can help it. It's when ppl persist to be assholes when I'm clearly busy or when they ask me the most RETARDED questions.

I understand that bitching happens, I was a waitress and I know how stupid people can be, but in my opinion once I walk into a place with kids I automatically get attitude, and that pisses me off. We have gone into the same place, got the same waitress without our girls and she is nice, when I have my kids she turns into a bitchy monster, and thats crap to me. I know that many people dont clean up after their kids, but shouldnt you at least PRETEND to be nice so you get a good tip? lol.

Yeah that makes sense; I like kids, I just don't want to be their babysitter. I've seen too many ppl (not saying you ^___^) just let their kids run amuck and all I can think is, if 1 of them falls, WE'RE going to be the ones taking the blame instead the parent not watching their kids. @____@

I HATE THAT! I see it in stores, laundrymats, everywhere, and it makes me want to beat those parents senseless. We were washing clothes on day, back when we didnt have a washer and this lady was letting her kid climb in the dryers. I was watching my girls and they wanted to play with her, I told them no and to come by me, as I was loading the dryer the little girl came by us, fine, she then thought it would be funny to push my two year old in a dryer and try and shut the door, I told her no, moved her out of the way, and here comes the mom yelling and ME for touching her daughter. Some people shouldnt have kids.

Exactly. I babysit a lot for kids that are 5 or under and when I'm w/ them those kids do NOT leave my side. It's 1 thing if it's at a playground, it's another if it's anywhere else. I'm sorry, my waitress or another adult is NOT the babysitter.... >____< If you're going to procreate then freakin watch your child! How hard is that. >____<

And real smart lady. Letting your daughter... play in a dryer. Good job.

Exactly. My girls do nothing unless I am right by their side, and some people seem to think its insane, but I will not let my child run all over a store, and put them at risk for getting kidnapped. I dont get people. At all.

Exactly. I see ppl letting their toddlers run in front of them in a PARKING lot and I'm like, WTF are you thinking?!?! Hold their hands!!! Jeez!!

I currently work as a hostess, and one of my main jobs is to turn over tables (bus them) so the server can be seated again. I can't tell you how many times I watch parents let their kids throw food, mash it into the seats, the carpet, the walls, and generally make the place look like a tornado touched down. These are usually the parents who also let their kids run wild. We've even had kids who try to run into our kitchen, and the parents get pissed at us for taking the kids back to the table. Honestly, how hard is it to make sure your child behaves in public? Or to even behave yourself? I get it, you go out to eat so you don't have to deal with the clean-up. But could you not make a huge fucking mess and act like you're amazing because you left two dollars on the table?
It's common courtesy, folks. It's not hard to be just a little more respectful when you leave your house.

Exactly. I had a lady once order ice cream for her toddler, no big deal right? I bring it to the table, it's in a bowl, all cute and what does she do?!?! She turns the bowl over, AND PUTS THE ICE CREAM ON THE TABLE. I stared at her in complete and utter shock. She didn't get the ice cream for her kid to eat but to play w/. Then when she was done, she left and stiffed me w/ a giant mess on the table, floor, chairs, everywhere b/c her kid was playing w/ the fucking ICE CREAM. I couldn't believe it. >____

Who does this? Seriously? That would gross me out, melted ice cream makes me sick, so you can bet your yearly salary I would never let my kids play in it.

Oh! I've also had a kid who didn't run into the kitchen, but LAID down right in front of the kitchen doors. I literally tripped over him as I was flying out of the kitchen to get food out to my table. Of course he starts crying and the parents try to yell @ me for tripping over their kid and say their going to sue. Luckily my manager saw the whole thing and essentially said well if your kid wasn't LYING IN FRONT OF OUR DOORS he wouldn't have gotten tripped over.

HAHAHAHA! Some people, i tell you, they just need to be sterilized. Seriously. If you cannot even halfway clean up after your children then you dont need them. My girls are 4 and almost three. They make messes, not bad though because I have actually TAUGHT them to eat like a civilized human being. I dont understand parents who dont. If they drop something on the floor I pick it up, for the most part, unless its a spilled drink (at which point I ask the waitress for towels) or if its something in really tiny pieces like crumbs or rice. Then I ask the waitress if they have carpet sweepers. But to let your child destroy an establishment is absolutely pathetic. I know if my kids leave a big enough mess that the staff has to use considerable MORE effort to clean it up, I will leave a HUGE tip because I feel guilty.

It's NOT hard. My child learned at a VERY early age that when we are at a restaurant, the ONLY time she gets up is if I am taking her to the restroom, or we are leaving. She is polite to the wait staff, and is VERY well behaved. It doesn't take much to teach a child how to behave. Honestly, it irritates me to see children running wild ANYWHERE. My daughter is very vocal about them, too. She'll say, "Wow, mommy, those kids are WILD." or "Those kids are NOT making good choices!"

As far as tips, I tip if the waiter/waitress deserves it. If not, I don't tip. Plain and simple. There has only been one or two times that I have not tipped. I think the system here is terrible, and that restaurants should NOT be able to pay UNDER MIN wage... but there's nothing *I* can do about it.

i do think it is ridiculous that waitresses get paid alot less than everyone else. but, i do agree with the fact that if you had horrible service, than you should get no tip. i tip very nice, especially if i'm out with a group of my friends because i know the connotation that we get (i'm 17) but if you act snobby to me because of my age, or you are in a bad mood and take it out on me, then no, i don't think you should get a tip. your service reflects your pay, i wouldn't expect to be paid my full wages if i half-assed my job..that should be the same with waitresses.

Completely agree, it is pretty ridiculous how much less waiters/waitresses get paid. And as for me, like Kelsey said, when we go out with our group of friends, we make sure we tip well since we always get looked down upon for being immature/rude/inconsiderate for our age. I always tip as well as I can in comparison to the service the waitress/waiter gave me. If I feel like you did an adequate job, then the tip will parallel the service. I even tip if it was crappy service. Though, there is one time that I have never tipped. And that was at a coney island, and we had to physically get up from our table and go grab our food off of the counter because the waitress forgot, + we also had to get up and ask for our own boxes and refills from the counter. It was pretty bad.

Saw this on Yahoo today - and it reminded me of this thread.
http://customsites.yahoo.com/financiallyfit/finance/article-108915-4280-1-when-to-tip----and-how-much?ywaad=ad0035

Ditto, I usually tip @ least SOMETHING even if the service is shitty. I know how hard it is to make a living on waitressing so I try to always leave at least something.