Researching Tips & Tipping

[Mountainjoe]

I am writing a book on tips and tipping, and trying to canvass views from people within the catering and taxi businesses (the two dominant tipping cultures) and customers. What is the point of tipping? Is it out of control? Should customers bear any responsibility for "topping up" service employee wages? Should tipping be mandatory or discretionary? It's a minefield, but all opinions welcome.

Thank you.

[merciasounds]

I've been in the catering industry on one level or another all my working life I once spoke to a union rep who told me that the reason why catering was so poorly paid, just the basic was because of tipping. I've been to restaurants where there was a 10% service charge added on, and I've deducted it for poor/bad service. I hate automatically a service charge is added on, tipping to me should be discretionary, not manditary.

[JB]

Well until recently, my OH was a self-employed private hire driver. Because of the local authority regulations, he was unable to take his own bookings, only bookings through an operator. The tariffs are also set by the local authority, and are obviously set by mileage, not time. Often, he would wait for up to an hour to be allocated a 'fare' and then get paid the princely sum of £1.90 for a journey of a few hundred yards (after loading shopping bags, luggage etc) before being returned to the back of the queue for his next fare. So out of courtesy, I would say yes - tip your cabbie!

[boxtops]

Mountainjoe, there was a thread about tipping the other day - if you search in the box at the top, you might be able to find it.

[sara3]

no one's ever tipped me after I've prosecuted them :o/

[tamborine]

Staff should be paid at least the minimum wage to allay tipping.

I work/help out when needed & rarely get a tip but if I do it's usually 20p - lol. Am the 'junior' in a salon - that's even funnier....rofl, I get my hair done free :)

[Mountainjoe]

Thank you all. Greatly appreciated.