Tipping in Britain.

On Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:01:13 +0000, Padraig Breathnach wrote:

> Tim Challenger <tim.challenger@aon.at> wrote:
>
>>... The customer *might* be king, yes, but which customer?
>
> In many establishments, it is the customer who spends the most.

Cynic.
By then it's too late. ;-)


--
Tim C.

On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 14:14:15 +0100, The Reids wrote:

> Following up to chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn
>
>>> do they put a beach towel on it?
>>
>>Before breakfast? :)
>
> I might have told this before, but WTH, hotel in packageland on
> Mallorca, full of Germans and Brits, some Germans had towels out
> in the *evening*. ....

:-)

You may feel some sympathy for the Austrians who generally are also overrun
by holidaying Erics doing the same things here. The TV short series "Piefke
Saga" isn't too far from the truth.
--
Tim C.

In article <1157772733.183934.241530@e3g2000cwe.. com>,
gary.hendricks.user@ () wrote:

> *From:* gary.hendricks.user@
> *Date:* 8 Sep 2006 20:32:13 -0700
>
> Tipping in Europe isn't as automatic and generous as it is in the
> United States, but in many countries, tips are appreciated, if not
> expected. As in the United States, the proper amount depends on your
> resources, tipping philosophy, and the circumstance. That said, there
> are big tippers and misers the world around.
>
> Tipping varies widely by country, but some general guidelines apply:
>
> At restaurants, check the menu to see if service is included; if it
> isn't, a tip of 5-10 percent is normal (see more details below). For
> taxis, round up the fare.
>
> Tipping for special service is optional. It's thoughtful to tip a
> couple of euros to someone who shows you a special sight and who is
> paid in no other way (such as the man who shows you an Etruscan tomb in
> his backyard).

Interesting you mention that - it's one circumstance where I'd never dream
of tipping (unless the person obviously expected it).

In article <4mi1scF64rmkU1@>, wowfabgroovy@
(Ian F.) wrote:

> *From:* "Ian F." <wowfabgroovy@>
> *Date:* Sun, 10 Sep 2006 09:49:15 +0100
>
> <gary.hendricks.user@> wrote in message
> news:1157772733.183934.241530@e3g2000cwe. ...
>
> > At restaurants, check the menu to see if service is included; if it
> > isn't, a tip of 5-10 percent is normal (see more details below).
>
> 5% is not acceptable as a tip in the UK. 10% is the bare minimum,
> 12.5-15% is more usual.
>
> > For taxis, round up the fare.
>
> I'd like to see you try rounding a fare of, say, UKP9.80 up to UKP10
> for a London taxi!

It's easily done:

1. Get out of cab.

2. Hand driver ten-pound note.

3. Walk off.

On Sat, 09 Sep 2006 08:53:44 -0500, barney2@cix.compulink.co.uk wrote:

>In article <1157772733.183934.241530@e3g2000cwe.. com>,
>gary.hendricks.user@ () wrote:
>
>> *From:* gary.hendricks.user@
>> *Date:* 8 Sep 2006 20:32:13 -0700
>>
>> Tipping in Europe isn't as automatic and generous as it is in the
>> United States, but in many countries, tips are appreciated, if not
>> expected. As in the United States, the proper amount depends on your
>> resources, tipping philosophy, and the circumstance. That said, there
>> are big tippers and misers the world around.
>>
>> Tipping varies widely by country, but some general guidelines apply:
>>
>> At restaurants, check the menu to see if service is included; if it
>> isn't, a tip of 5-10 percent is normal (see more details below). For
>> taxis, round up the fare.
>>
>> Tipping for special service is optional. It's thoughtful to tip a
>> couple of euros to someone who shows you a special sight and who is
>> paid in no other way (such as the man who shows you an Etruscan tomb in
>> his backyard).
>
>Interesting you mention that - it's one circumstance where I'd never dream
>of tipping (unless the person obviously expected it).

Actually, Gary didn't mention it. He copy/pasted his response from the
Rick Steves website and failed to give the proper attribution.

It may be that Gary is just lazy, or he may be a bona-fide
douche-nozzle; it's hard to say.

But that bit of tipping advice is from Rick Steves. As ever, Rick is
generally correct, but his advice is easily picked away at because
Europe really is a big place with a whole bunch of cultural practices,
so nailing down "how the Europeans do it" is a fairly fruitless
endeavo(u)r.

- TR