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#909927 by dickydotcom
13 Sep 2015, 07:50
Maximus wrote:I find Europeans get very hung up on tipping "rules", especially when visiting the USA, and some people can get really stressed about it. They shouldn't. If you get it "wrong" why worry? You will soon be forgotten as the staff deal with hundreds of people a day!



Having had holiday jobs in my youth when I relied on tipping, I can assure you some people aren't easily forgotten.
1968 working at Paddington station as a porter the comedian Bob Monkhouse gave me 6d. Americans would a few shillings.
Wind the clock forward to a meal in the US earlier this year I gave the waiter a very good tip because I don't tend to bother with change. He came back to the table twice to check I didn't want the change and to say thank you. We ate there again a week later and got amazing service.
Dick D
#909941 by Snora
13 Sep 2015, 13:36
not about tipping in a Clubhouse I know - but tipping when it means a huge deal to the service provider .... Just this year we were staying in Knysna SA and drove to one of the most popular restaurants for lunch. We hadn't planned on the parking being such pain, but were waved forward by a cheery South African guy who may or may not have been employed by the restaurant. He guided us along to a spot we would never have parked in and so.... hubby gave a pretty generous tip. Our guy was 'over the moon' and shook our hands.

We returned on our last stay at Knysna (the food was amazing) and he remembered us and called us forward out of a queue of about 10 cars and told us to reverse about 100 yds and he guided us onto a private parking spot telling us the owners were fine about it as long as it was during the day. If it hadn't been for him I doubt we would have made it into the restaurant before they finished lunch service.

we doubled our tip ...... and had a great chat with him as we were leaving. Happy customers and happy server - best result.
#909944 by Maximus
13 Sep 2015, 16:01
dickydotcom wrote:1968 working at Paddington station as a porter the comedian Bob Monkhouse gave me 6d.


That was a small fortune back then wasn't it Dicky? ;-)
#909947 by SussexHoop
13 Sep 2015, 17:49
I was in the clubhouse in LGW earlier this year with my family. Service was excellent. The lady who looked after us throughout was very busy but gave us service with a smile. Nothing was too much trouble. I gave her a tip as we left - she was very surprised which suggests it's not common.
#910034 by Martin
14 Sep 2015, 18:57
I was in the Gatwick clubhouse a few weeks ago and the lovely shoeshine man there took my shoes away and cleaned them.
When he brought my shoes back, having done a superb job, I gave him a couple of quid as a tip and he said: "You really don't have to tip here".
I insisted anyway, but I think it underlines that in the UK clubhouses, it is not expected or needed.

He was very friendly and chatty with all the guests as all the Gatwick CH staff are. Much as I love the Heathrow clubhouse, I find Gatwick and SFO are the most friendly and personable.

Martin
#933324 by NV43
05 Mar 2017, 15:40
Smid wrote:
sythe20 wrote:I'm shocked about the Delta bar laced with dollar bills! To be honest, I disapprove of tipping in all accounts EXCEPT where the service has been exemplary, discreet and non-assuming - i.e. they weren't visibly fishing for a tip.


This is possibly why servers/barstaff in the US have a big sigh when they hear you are british. I like to surprise them by giving 20% tips across the board, but it sounds like I'm in the minority.... Tipping rarely, like they do in europe, rather than tipping always, like you should do in the US, well you just make the brits look like uneducated tourists...

And as for assuming and fishing, I'd call that "educational".


'Like you should in the US'

Tipping appears to be a hot topic.

We will tip when service exceeds our expectation, that includes when a waiter-person does not engage in saliva dribbling pleasantries.

We're not going to drop 20% on flavour-less food, over-cooked sea-food, steak, or anything else; we're going to complain.

If you want a tip; deliver something exemplary, rather than just expecting it.
#933326 by NV43
05 Mar 2017, 15:48
sythe20 wrote:Just out of curiosity, wondering if anyone ever tips in the Clubhouses, especially in the US based ones where tipping is more expected?


My tipping fell off a cliff face when VA limited their 'free' treatments.

Previously, I would tip £5.

I guess that it's, probably, the employees loss?

I still enjoy tipping at the shoe shine and luggage check, as they provide a service; I hope that they do too.
#933329 by Silver Fox
05 Mar 2017, 17:43
I think we normally leave £10-20 in the LGW clubhouse as we have always felt really looked after, and they always try to hand it back but we always insist they take it.

Eating out with US friends, I normally tip 20% but they always usually chastise me as they think it is too much so always amend it. It does get me thinking especially with the collapse of the pound whether I should be a little frugal in these austere times! :) That said I will leave a poor/no tip if I don't think they have done a good job.

The other interesting thing I have found with some of my friends in the US is that if they order 3 bottles of wine/lots of alcohol, they don't add the total cost of the wine/alcohol into the calculation of the tip, they tip x% on the food, but then just add a few dollars for the drinks. Their rationale is that there is no way that they are going to leave a 20% tip on a $50 bottle of wine.
#933340 by narikin
06 Mar 2017, 08:58
As a New Yorker of many decades. I can tell you with 100% confidence your friends are very wrong. You tip 20% on the whole bill. Wine included. Period.

I also tip in both clubhouses, US and LHR. Especially US one as they are not VS employees and dont get the perks UK ones do. Just $5-10 per person. It's quite simply the right thing to do.
#933353 by Tallguy
06 Mar 2017, 14:26
In the USA there are different levels of minimum wage in many states - one level for tipped employment and the other (which is always higher) for non tipped employment.

I only tip if the service is exceptional. Sadly I've never been in a Virgin Clubhouse but if the service was really good I might leave a fiver. If I got an 'on board upgrade' by the FSM then he or she would get a 'handsome tip' as I left the aircraft along with a thorough 'thank you very much indeed' and a letter to Crawley saying what a nice person they were (without mentioning anything else). Remember some of the staff in the Clubhouse won't be Virgin employees....

The largest tip I ever left was in the USA, My ex girlfriend and I had enjoyed dinner, cocktails, bottle of Champagne etc in the restaurant at the top of the Hancock Tower in Chicago. We had the same waiter all evening who was just superb, cracked a couple of jokes with us and looked after us like we were royalty. The restaurant bill was about USD$675.00 as I remember. We paid the bill in cash (in USD$10 notes as was our usual trick) much to the fascination of those in the restaurant who were watching us count out the bills. The waiter then re counted the money in front of us and agreed the total.

I then gave him 3 crisp USD$50 notes as the tip - yup - USD$150.00. You should have seen the size of the smile on his face - but I tell you what, he damn well deserved every cent of it.

We went back for lunch a few days later on my last day in Chicago and the waiter spotted us in the queue at the welcome desk. He came over and led us to a window table ahead of everyone else in the queue. The bill second time around was somewhat less, but he still got 25% tip. In cash.

But there have been plenty of places where I haven't tipped.
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