# Social Norms for tips in UK?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-norms-for-tips-in-uk/369332>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 19, 2006, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-norms-for-tips-in-uk/369332 "2006-08-19T10:01:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![I\_am\_a\_Doughnut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@I\_am\_a\_Doughnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_am_a_Doughnut)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-norms-for-tips-in-uk/369332/1 "2006-08-19T10:01:15Z")

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I live in England. Reading all the recent ‘tips in the US’ threads, where several people seem to be unsure about social norms, has made me think I may be unclear as to what is ‘expected’

UK Dopers, does this sound right to you?

Fancy restaurant with waiter service. ~15% if no service charge added. ( I don’t go to these very often)  
Takeaway/Pub meal. No tip  
Delivery £1-2 if delivery is uncharged  
Barbers: £7 for a £6 haircut. (Those using more advanced stylists and a more expensive cut ~15%)  
Taxi: 10%+round up to nearest 50p  
Casino Dealers: No tip

Advice for any other situations I neglected to mention would be good too.

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-norms-for-tips-in-uk/369332/2 "2006-08-19T10:07:56Z")

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What I give: 10% for reasonable table service. Similar for taxis, but only if it’s an ungodly hour or they’ve been particularly helpful. And that’s it (although I should point out this excludes barbers!)

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**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-norms-for-tips-in-uk/369332/3 "2006-08-19T12:02:21Z")

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Do tip (grudgingly):

Waiters/waitresses  
Taxi drivers  
Barbers (apparently - I haven’t paid anyone to cut what I laughingly refer to as my “hair” since 1990)

Don’t tip:

Anyone else - otherwise, what’s the point of _wages_??

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-norms-for-tips-in-uk/369332/4 "2006-08-19T14:24:53Z")

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Pizza delivery, I round up to the nearest £ or two - for a £13.50 order, I’ll round it up to £15. If the delivery is late or off, no tip.  
No tips in pubs.  
In restaurants, the tip depends upon the quality both of the service and the food - I’ve been known to tip the chefs but not the wait staff. I’ve tipped 30% before, but it’s more usually 10% plus round up to the next £5.  
Like **seosamh** , I haven’t been to a barber’s in years: I cut my own hair.