Tipping in London is a major part of its culture and isn’t as simple as just giving money for a service received by a visitor. Where to tip, when not to tip and who to tip, are some questions that usually pops up in the mind of a first-time London visitor. You may have liked the Thai food in a restaurant or impressed by the qualities of a service apartment you stayed in London. In both the cases, a small tip will always be the courtesy and will not hurt your pocket as well. So, with these questions in mind, here we’ve drawn up an easy post to tipping in London. Let’s begin this piece of writing:
Tipping While Eating Out
Whenever you go to a restaurant in London to satisfy your hunger, you will see a service tax of approximately 12.5% in your bill. After paying this service tax, a question may strike in your mind; do Ineed to pay the tip separately or with the bill? Well, it’s up to you. If the service provider gives you a bill with additional service charges and you find the service satisfactory, then there is no need to pay for a tip. You can pay the tip as low as £2 to the server if you find the service excellent. In short, there’s no hard and fast rule for tipping in restaurants.
If you visit a restaurant with no service tax rule, and you find their service worth paying and outstanding then you need to pay at least 10% of the total bill sum. In London, most of the people usually pay 15% of the bill amount.
Image by Lea Latumahina via Flickr
Tipping in a Pub
The scenario here is wholly different. Tip is not mandatory in pubs if you just go there for drinking purpose. However, if you order something to eat then the member of staff serving at table expects you to give money as a tip. Some pubs also do not charge any service tax for food or drinks, there you can £2 and this amount is enough for tip. You can pay as per your wish. You can hand the tip over if the staff offered you exceptional service. Again it’s your choice whether to give the tip and the amount you’re willing to pay to staff.
Tipping at Eateries
After finishing your meal at good eateries, you cannot just evade the service charges or tipping. There world of Smartphone is brimmed with apps that assist you choose an eating point that provides good services devoid of shattering your pocket.
Image Via: visitlondon.com
Tipping Minicabs
The cab driver or the cabbie in brief usually waits for 10-15% tip as a courteous gesticulation of service offered by him/her. These licensed minicabs or black cabs are booked in advance and cannot be hailed off the road as it is against the law in London and will land the cabbie in problem.
Image by Daniele Zanni via Flickr
Tipping in Hotels
Akin to restaurants, majority of hotels in London present you the meal bill with service tax of 10 to 12%. If the meal is free from this tax, then 10-15% of the bill amount is usually paid by the visitor as a tip. For room service you can leave money as per your desire. Tipping for door staff and gatekeeper is discretionary in London.
Image by Cory Gurman via Flickr
The End…
As we have stated above that theirs is no hard & fast rule for tipping in London places. It is better to get familiar to the surroundings and see how locals are going through their everyday interactions with different service providers.
Author Bio
Henry Will works for Short Let Apartments and loves to write about travel and Real Estate. He has wide knowledge of London Travel and Property Market. You can find him on Google+