‘To tip or not to tip?’ – when should you pay the extra?

It’s an embarrassing moment at the end of a meal in a restaurant or pub.

“Was everything OK, sir?” asks the waiter handing you the card machine.

“Perfect, thank you,” you lie as you slip your card into the machine after spotting the bill has exceeded £100.

Then the machine asks if you’d like to show your appreciation by adding a gratuity, recommending various percentages of the meal’s cost.

You cover the screen as you hunch over the machine, while the waiter pushes up on tiptoes to spy on your response. You feel guilty as you tap ‘No’ in response to the machine’s query.

You quickly enter your pin number, hand the machine back to the waiter and usher your fellow diner to a rapid exit, noticing the smile evaporate from the waiter’s face.

Outside, you hail a taxi, in which you are treated to a conversation-less trip from a cabbie, who only breaks his silence when he pulls up outside your home to announce you owe him £11.34.

Former County Gazette chief reporter Phil Hill. (Image: Phil Hill)

As you hand over a £20 note, he expects you to say, “Keep the change” while he fumbles around to give the impression he’s struggling to find the £8.66 that is rightfully yours. When he finally coughs up, there’s no response to your ‘Good night’ before the taxi speeds off.

(I should stress neither of these experiences has happened to me locally).

I’m not anti-tipping per se, but it does seem to have become the expected rather than a reward for excellent food and service or a pleasant drive home. It’s my money and my decision whether or not to pay the extra.

Tipping has been in the news after a new law came into force at the start of this month.

It forces firms to hand on all customers’ tips to workers and allows staff to take tight-fisted companies that hold on to the cash to an employment tribunal.

And the ‘bonuses’ earned by the staff must be passed on by the end of the following month, although recipients should remember they need to pay tax on their tips.

Hopefully, most businesses already hand over the rewards to their employees, but it’s good to see that now enshrined in law.