How much do you tip? 10 per cent? Or is 12.5 the new norm?
One thing is for sure: The UK’s tipping habits are changing. In the past year, research from RSM UK has found a 100 per cent increase in the number of businesses using the tipping function on their card readers. A survey of thousands of hospitality venues has found that the average tip size in bars and pubs is now up by 54 per cent since last year. Cafés and restaurants have seen a 13 per cent uptick.
This news comes just as new tipping laws come into effect. From 1 October, service workers will receive all of their tips, even if the gratuity has been paid on a card reader. With all these changes in the world of tipping, what are the new social rules? Are we expected to tip more? Is the service charge optional? On a bright autumnal afternoon, I went to Hyde Park to ask the general public.
“Do you want a Yorkshireman’s opinion? For me to tip, it’s got to be exceptional service,” says Ian Ironside, from Beverley. He is in London on a short holiday with his wife Susan. “I don’t see tipping as the standard. It’s a reward for a job well done,” he says.
Susan nods in agreement. “If it’s great service we will tip 10 to 15 per cent. That’s the rule of thumb, isn’t it?”
In the last ten years, the couple has noticed that expectations around tipping have increased. “It’s the American influence, isn’t it? It’s so much part of their culture,” says Susan. “When we go to America, you feel it there, and it’s becoming a part of our culture more over here, I think.”
Ironside is appalled at the idea of tipping for a coffee or a drink at a bar. “Coming to London, I have seen the price of a beer. You’re not going to get any more out of me.” The couple have felt particularly under pressure to tip in the capital. “It’s not as much of a thing in Yorkshire. The hotel we are staying in at the moment announced when we checked in that there would be a £15 service charge per day, which is optional. I think that’s quite a lot. It then becomes a default rather than a treat.” Ironside won’t be giving that full tip. “We probably won’t give all three days, maybe a few.”
Nathaniel Smith is in a rush when I stop him. “Tipping? I am only stopping because this is something I care about.” He is enraged by tipping. “The Americans have got a lot to answer for. It’s seeping in here. I’ve got American friends. They come over and they start tipping. I say, do not tip. It’s just not the culture here. It’s culturally awkward for us. If there is a service charge on the bill, I can deal with that. I don’t have to think about it. No decisions. It’s part of the price. But voluntary tipping? I hate it. I just bought a shake from Juice Baby this morning and there was this dreaded Californian Style tip menu.”
Smith has resented tipping for a long time, but it really started to wind him up after Covid. “It’s been on the rise since then. I spent a month in Spain this summer. I did not tip once. No one expects it there. No one is angry. Let’s stop this nonsense. America has done a lot of fantastic stuff, but they have got that dead wrong.”
Amanda Marsh, 63, is taking a leisurely walk with her friend Mary Stanton, 60. Neither of them tips at a restaurant, especially if the price of the food is already expensive. “But I always tip my masseuse or facialist. Maybe it’s because it’s more personal. You’re having a conversation for two hours. I would also tip in taxis and a hotel,” says Marsh. Stanton agrees, although she wouldn’t refuse to tip just because the service was bad. “Everybody has a bad day,” she says.
How much are people tipping? The common response was 10 per cent. “It depends on how big the bill was,” says Carol. “If I go to an expensive restaurant, I will tip 10 per cent. If it’s a bit more reasonable, 15 to 20 per cent.” Carol is walking her two black labradors when we speak. She is the only person I meet who will tip in any circumstance. “I used to work in hospitality. I think tipping is great, but I think it’s so important that the tips go to the staff. I’ve heard about situations of it goes straight to the manager. That is totally unfair.”
Harry from Brighton agrees with a healthy 10: “I would generally tip 10 per cent but then I might go up or down based on how good the service was.”
For the majority of people, tipping at a restaurant, bar or café is still considered optional. “I try and aim for like 10 per cent, but if I’ve received bad customer service I’m not tipping,” says Maria, 28, dressed in athleisure and holding a takeaway coffee. She believes tipping is important because staff might be underpaid, but she draws the line at tipping for a coffee or a glass of wine. “I mean the cost of a coffee is so expensive now anyway.”
In Hyde Park, the dog walkers, tourists and workers that rush through seem to be united on one thing: requests for gratuity are increasing. “I have noticed it a bit more. I don’t necessarily tip more because of it,” says Maria. Harry has even noticed it in his local pub when ordering a pint. “The card system has gratuity but the bar staff just automatically press no for you,” he says. “They don’t expect you to do it. So I don’t feel pressured. I’m originally from Australia. Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but I just don’t feel so much like it’s a big thing here. It’s more of an expectation if you’ve done a good job.”
Carol doesn’t believe in abolishing tipping, although she knows many countries don’t tip. “It’s an interesting one. My twin sister lives in France where you don’t have to add the tip. It’s not a thing over there. It’s included in the price,” she says. “In the UK, I have noticed that gratuity is offered on the card reader more. I can feel more pressured to tip even if I know the service is included, and a member of staff might be looking at you to add more in.”
Still, Carol usually leaves one anyway.
