HIDDY

Indeed. ^

After finding out how much they were earning I stopped tipping Glasgow black hack drivers many years ago. Only tipped private cab drivers if they helped with luggage.
Here, taxi drivers don't expect a tip which is refreshing to see.

ppp909

You'll also find that a significant number of minicab drivers aren't white men, and those who are are often from outside the UK.
Being a black cab driver is a career move. Many people who decide to do it move from another career, particularly where that career ends early (like firemen, for example). A lot of time, money and effort needs to be invested to become a London cabbie.
In contrast, minicab drivers often find themselves doing it because they need a job to feed their families. I tend to chat with them and have discovered that quite a lot of them do consider the move to getting a full-blown licence. Some do, as the extra money and job flexibility is worth it for them. Others don't, as they don't see it as being worth the effort.

All I can say for women is that while some of the men I know would consider it (one actually has done it) none of the women would.

As for tipping, I tend to round up a bit. If the driver has made an effort or has been chatty then I might add a few more quid. I tend to avoid black cabs as a rule though. Most of them are fine, but I've had one or two being really offensive and I prefer not to take that risk.

antichef

My usual habits too ^

Jenbel

I don't tip my hairdresser, but that's because she also owns the shop and doesn't seem to expect it. For a junior, I would... it's an odd tipping etiquette thing!

As for the rest, agree!

exilencfc

I tip taxi drivers... One of the few things in the UK I do tip - taxis and restauraunts

waterbug111

Perhaps fewer women are willing to spend the 24+ months required to do the Knowledge, learning the city streets and routes of London via scooter, and then take the required tests/appearances to get their badge. As a general rule, the London "ply for hire" cab trade is unlike almost any other city - these individuals work for themselves, not a cab company/dispatch center, and they take pride in their accomplishment.

In NYC, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, SFO, Chicago, DC...name the city - reliance on sat navs and expectance of a generous tip have become common place. At DFW, it took a cab driver more than 5 minutes to try and plot the route to my company's office via sat nav, not find it, and then ask us to get in another cab. But in London where, despite whatever street or bridge de jour is closed, a black cab driver can still get you from point A to B (and then C) efficiently and as quickly as London's onerous traffic will allow - when a quid or two is appreciated, why would someone be so stingy as to not provide.

There are always exceptions, but as a rule, the London black cab experience beats any other city hands down. So why not round up a pound or two?

shefgab

In the UK, I never tip hairdressers, and I believe that tips in restaurants should be in line with service recieved....poor service = negligible tip, excellent service = ~10%. I find it galling in the US where you are expected to tip up to 20% even if the service is very sub-par. And tipping a bartender to pass you a drink across the bar?

Taxis....I don't tip in percentages, but round up to the nearest pound + £1. I'm more inclined to tip minicab drivers as for a comparable distance, the fare is much more reasonable than black cabs.

antichef

Standards seem to be slipping. Last week I took a black cab taxi from the LHR T5 taxi rank to a LHR hotel (I know there are other cheaper options, but it was 2245hrs after a long day and I had to be out at 0600 as I was in transit). The cabbie asked me if I knew the postcode of the hotel and he put it into the satnav to get there. That's a bit much for a cabbie at LHR in my experience.

It was to the Crowne Plaza and cost £25. With hindsight it would have been cheaper to hire a car for the 7 minute 4.5 mile trip each way.

BearX220

In a crowded American bar, tipping a barkeep for a first drink is how you insure a timely second drink. One of the few situations in which the apocryphal TIPS acronym (To Insure Prompt Service) fits.

jedikiah

A survey for HMRC, admitted done some time ago came up with the average tip given to a taxi driver in London to be around 9%, which kind of falls in with what a few have said above.

Outside of London tipping in cabs is probably less than this.

Jenbel

In Edinburgh I round to nearest £ and the guys are always grateful for that, so I guess not everyone does.

aceman

That really is a ridiculous comment.....

Firstly I can see why few women do it given the solitary nature of the job and picking up men in the car at all hours. Secondly being a cabby is very much a family trade, usually from east end and essex families, and is multi generational, with fathers, uncles and sons sharing a cab and taking it in shifts making the money go much further. Having spoken to almost every cab driver about the knowledge (a good friend of mine is midway through it right now so I always chat about it) I've never heard any of the non-white drivers express any sentiment of racism whatsoever.

Why is it that in a city that is 25% non white and 50% female that 90% of minicab drivers are non-white and exactly 0% are female? Perhaps its one of the most entrenched bastions of the anti-white movement in the uk?

Christopher

I usually round up the fare when paying a London taxi - if the fare is £9.50 I'll make it £10.00 but if the fare is £19.50 I'll probably make it £20.00. But I don't have a hard-and-fast rule and tend to do what is easiest for both parties at the time. I have known a London taxi driver refuse a tip when it would have make the change more difficult, and some drivers seem mildly surprised when offered a tip.

philemer

And? You can set your tip to 0, 10 or 15%. Do you tip? Why? Why not?

I use Uber also and tip 10%.

IAN-UK

additional question: is the 10% covered by a corporate account / expenses?



As for me... I round up metered fares, more for convenience and convention: but I don't tip on set or negotiated fares.