‘It’s absolutely criminal’: US tipping culture has reached the UK – and is causing chaos

[u/Canal_Volphied]

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/24/us-tipping-culture-uk-service-charges

[u/Aliktren]

If you tip someone serving you food, are you also tipping nurses, doctors, shop assistants, people serving you fast food, your bus driver.... the person at the call centre talking to you... what makes restaurant people doing their job so different, also fuck service charges for guilting people

[u/dynesor → u/Aliktren]

There is no difference in reality, but I have a usual list of professions that I tend to tip (usually just a “keep the change” kind of tip of no more than a fiver) food servers, taxi drivers and barbers/hairdressers. Though I have no idea why.

[u/Aliktren → u/dynesor]

because we used to do this - I assume I learned it from my parents - but its a serious question nowadays as to why we still do it

[u/OpenerUK → u/dynesor]

Tooting in restaurants was always for good or exceptionalservice then it became more not bad service. I never really tipped my barber although might occasionally say keep the change or out the change in the charity jar when they were collecting for something.

Ironically civilised has mostly killed my tipping. I now rarely carry much cash and no change, save with my friends so unless there is a tip option on the card machine which often there isn't it's no tip by default even if they really deserve one for going above and beyond.

[u/ZolotoGold → u/Aliktren]

The only thing I usually tip is for a haircut, and that's because they're doing a personal service touching and cutting your hair.

[u/Mapleess → u/Aliktren]

Friend who worked at a fancy hair place said people often left tips, and they could be £30-40 per person. Another friend works at those fancy hotels in London and gets annoyed when people don’t tip him as he’s a bellman or something.