Not tipping your waiter

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about the importance of tipping your waiter, and it still holds true.

It’s rude to not tip, especially since waiters only make a couple bucks an hour, with the idea that they MIGHT get to minimum wage if customers are decent tippers.

One of the many things that stunned me when I got to the UK was that tipping isn’t as ingrained into the culture here.

I didn’t have to discover that on my own. They told us on the first day of orientation that we weren’t expected to tip.

As I explored the restaurants around town, I realized this was true.

Oftentimes, menus say that a 10 percent gratuity will be added to parties of large number her. Many restaurants in the States do that too, but that’s where it ends.

It’s still polite to give something, but it’s not expected, and customers shouldn’t usually give more than 10 percent.

The reason, I learned, is that waiters here actually get decent salaries. Not high salaries by any means, but they’re making more than a couple bucks an hour. The result is that they aren’t reliant on tips.

The other result is that they’re not trying to turn tables like mad, so they’ll let you sit there as long as you want. It’s actually kind of weird that they don’t care how long you’re there.

I spent the weekend in Edinburgh, England, and I grabbed a meal at a place called Garfunkles. Granted, I was there during that weird time where the lunch crowd has long since left, and it’s way too early for dinner.

Even reading a book and taking more bites of each fry than was strictly warranted, I was done with my meal in half an hour, and they cleared away my plate. I contemplated ordering a cup of tea, just to sit there and read/people-watch a bit longer, but they didn’t seem to care.

In fact, a full hour after I’d finished, I decided it was way past time to go and caught a waiter’s eye so he could bring me the check.

In the time between when he’d cleared away my plate and the time he handed me the bill, not a single person had come over to see if I wanted a drink or dessert or the check. It was nice. I spent far longer there than I’d planned, but it was nice.

And it was a big change from home. I went to lunch with a friend one day during the summer, and the waiter kept asking us if we’d like the bill or if we needed anything else about every five minutes since we’d started slowing down. The place wasn’t crowded, and it was just annoying, so we just asked for a to-go box and left.

With that experience in mind as I sat in this place, I couldn’t help but think it was an excellent change.

It’s not so great, sometimes — the cheap chain places I tend to go to for lunch fill up quickly, and no one has any incentive to leave when new customers come in looking for a seat.

However, I think it’s better for the employees and better for the customers. It builds a better relationship when no one is trying to rush you out.

And I definitely support an atmosphere where waiters are treated like valuable employees by the owners instead of relying on the generosity of customers because let’s face it, too often, the customers aren’t that generous.


E-mail: hanns@indiana.edu

Sarah Hann is currently studying abroad in London.