hsmall

I assure you the US is very foreign to many FT-ers!

User Name

You're right - sorry. My mindset when it came to this thread is that the only people who really needed help on the tipping front were Americans as it's simply not a big deal in other countries whereas Americans do tend to obsess about the subject just a little!

RichardInSF

For Sweden, I've stayed at hotels where if you use the services of a porter, a per bag charge is added to your bill. I've only seen this outside of Stockholm. You might want to ask on check-in if that will apply.

donottipinfinland

Hi. Could you change this to:
Finland
W/W: Never
P: Never
TD: Never

We Finns storngly discourage tipping in our country. It is not a culture we want here. We just don't do tipping and we expect that visitors to our country respect our culture in all sense, including the no tipping culture. Thank you.

chanp

Thanks for the guide. My local friend in London doesn't tip taxi drivers much. Once time I tried rounding up, the driver got mad at me

cat 35

There is no real need or expectation to tip anywhere in the UK. London cabbies will not mind at all giving out the right change, although the done thing is to say (for say an £8.50 fare) 'call it a tenner'. Rounding up to the nearest pound or two is the most common thing.

Never tip in a British pub (unless you are eating, but even in this day and age thats still a bit 'modern' for some). If you have been having a chat with the staff or landlord you offer them a drink at some point when you are buying yours. Usually they just take the money instead, but discretely, after you have left.

flyingfkb

About Sweden: Most travelguides say that it is very unusual to give a tip in restaurants. Swedish people don't do it.

Custardthecat

Or when receiving change in the pub (the 'boozer' / 'drinker') and it turns out to be about 10p....'stick it in the charity box'....RNLI, RAF benevolent Fund, Marie Curie, British Heart Foundation, etc etc

User Name

Some might do this but they're in the tiny minority. It might be a good suggestion but the purpose of this thread seems to be to help non-natives to understand cultural norms.

hsmall

I have to agree. Suggestion to Brits: let's all try it (provided it is a secular charity like those mentioned of course )

Custardthecat

Many British Pubs have a charity box, placed often on the bar. It's a minority that are doing anything with the change other than putting it in their pocket but it is common enough to be a recognised part of pub culture. The charity boxes are not for decoration and they (the publicans) are rightly proud of their accumulated contribution, which is sometimes commemorated in photographic form somehwere. Sums of several thousand are not uncommon. Donations are not overtly solicited for them they just quiety sit there, in plain sight, and accumulate small amounts of change now and again. If I'm carrying 4 pints of beer from the bar (two in each hand), I'm not waiting for the 5p, it's a case of 'stick it in the box' and in my 30 years of propping up bars all over the UK it's heard often enough. If you see a empty gallon bottle of Scotch on the bar with a small fortune inside it, thats the charity box. In some cases it's something else, like an RNLI Lifeboat model but it's clear enough what it is. There is absolutely NO requirement to feed the thing, it's just part of the pub culture but appreciation is accorded, especially if the Landlord is 'behind the jump'.

User Name

Yes - I know all this. My point still stands. This thread is to help people who are not used to a country and its tipping practices to know what to do. Your post was neither about tipping nor about what the majority of people in the UK do, and so is entirely irrelevant to this particular thread.

Why don't you start your own thread promoting charitable contributions if this is what you want to achieve?

Custardthecat

No probs, no dramas, really! It was just suggested as an option with small amounts of change. I didn't want to start a game of ping pong with it. It's just an option, that's all. I was just trying to be helpfu and be informingl. I'm not involved in any way with charitable donations, nor is any member of my family, or close friends (just to be clear). Neither have I any interest in starting a thread and am not out to achieve anything in this respect, only pointing out a little thing that goes on in our pubs. However the majority of people in the UK? I think most seasoned drinkers have indeed donated at some point. Hic!

jamieqpr

for what its worth, as a UK citizen, i very very rarely tip over here. Im sure its probably the same in all countries, but over here most restaurants when paying on Credit Card have a seperate screen within the Card Reading Machine to add a tip to the bill. As many others have commented if i do tip it will usually just be to round up a bill i.e a £27.50 bill rounded up to £30.00.....

As commented, most taxi drivers here will volunteer change if for example you pay an £8 bill with a £10 note, although its commonplace to offer them to 'keep the change'....

SkiAdcock

Oh geesh - I forgot I started this thread! I'll look through it this week & update the first post.

Cheers.