To tip or not to tip? That is the question

My first thoughts on hearing of the proposed move to introduce a ‘tipping’ law, if unscrupulous restaurant operators do not tow the line, were unprintable. I say this from the position of someone who has been in the service industry for over 30 years, and who has from time to time benefited greatly from the generosity of others, although I have usually been paid a fair day’s wage to begin with.

The largest tip I ever received on one occasion was £500, although very often I get nothing, or just a token sum. It goes with the territory as those I work for feel that what I do is par for the course, part and parcel of what passes for my job.

As a professional hotel and restaurant inspector however, I am faced with the tipping dilemma on a daily basis. The majority of establishments now add a tip into the final bill, often without making it clear to the customer. This is common practice when parties of six or more are dining together, something that I fail to understand.

There are few occasions when I have refused to pay a tip but one occasion in particular stands out. During a visit to a restaurant in London’s Chinatown the service was so poor and the waiter so rude that on being presented with the bill, complete with service charge, I asked to borrow a pen and crossed out the amount, deducting it from the total bill, telling them in no uncertain words why. Thankfully in this country we are not liable to arrest for refusing to pay a service charge, as is the case in the USA.

There are arguments for against tipping and whether or not it should be left to the customer to decide. I believe that it should. I do my best to reward good service, usually aiming at between 10 and 20 per cent, although not always on the total bill, which may include a significant amount spent on wine requiring little more than the waiter opening a bottle and leaving me to get on with it thereafter. Regardless of the establishment’s policy I prefer to tip personally and believe that staff shouId be rewarded for going above and beyond, as an expression of gratitude for a job done well.

The restaurant business is unpredictable. Things do go wrong and it can often be the ability of wait staff, or the chef, to turn things around, averting disaster and turning a dismal evening into something splendid. Such skill should not go unrecognised but as a customer when I am faced with scruffy, untrained staff with a poor attitude and served with poorly prepared food, which may well not be what I ordered, I can think of no reason to reward them. Of course, it is the management that are to blame, and they who in many cases are creaming off the best portion of the combined tronc.

What we must not forget though is that restaurant employees are in the business of providing a service and should not automatically be rewarded for doing the job they are paid to do. In agreeing to compulsory service charges we are complicit in the practice of low pay.

One final note. I have worked in a number of private, very wealthy households, where it is not unheard for employers to purloin tips intended for domestic staff.
My advice, give any gratuity straight to the person you intend to receive it.