i hate this subject…..
Its another thing thats come straight over from the other side of pond, like pulled pork and shitty chilly cheese fries. There is no minimum wage in some states so tips are a massive chunk in some of these waiter/waitresses wage.
In the UK everyone gets minimum wage. A person who cleans the toilets or cleans the streets doesn’t get tipped. They probably get the same money, for a job which i think should get tipped.
Ive been on both sides, I worked as a flotilla engineer one year, and usually looked after 4-10 boats for 1-2 weeks ever week for 6 months. The pay was shocking, but i didn’t pay for anything, and i went out of my way to give a great quality service all week. At the end of their holiday they usually tipped all 3 of us a few euros. I never asked for it, but i never turned it down. I knew the wages were poor and having a few extra euros each week kept me from withdrawing money from my account. so i was happy.
Ive been in london for the past few weeks on business and it seams the 12.5% service charge is on every bill. I ask them to remove it and give the server 10% if its good, if its poor nothing. Tipping is not compulsory and i don’t think we should have to pay for it. If you want extra money get a job that pays better or do some over time.