Where Do Tips Go?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Tipping is about showing appreciation for good service whether it’s food delivery or a haircut by giving extra cash to the person who rendered service to you. It’s a show of gratitude.

However, tipping is not a universal practice. It’s ultimately your choice whether to slip or skip that gratuity.

Let’s listen to the audio to learn more about tipping at restaurants.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-211021

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to some employers not giving the tips to their employees?
  2. Should tips be taxed? Explain your stand.
  3. Is tipping a custom in your country? What are some of the common occasions when you leave a tip?
  4. Can you think of jobs where tipping is important?
  5. What’s the smallest and biggest tip you have ever left? Why was that so?
  6. What alternatives to tipping could you offer if you didn’t have any cash?
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4 replies on “Where Do Tips Go?”

1. What is your reaction to some employers not giving the tips to their employees?
I don’t think tipping is a fair system nowadays. In my view it reflects an anomaly in the system as let employers not to be responsible for the wages of their employees. A fair salary should imply not being depending on the tips of the customers.
I don’t think tips should continue existing anymore. If an employer wants to compensate to an efficient and good worker should put into effect an incentive system as many other companies do.
2. Should tips be taxed? Explain your stand.
It’s no sense. They are a result of an old life-and-thinking way (here I’d repeat what I said in my previous paragraph).
3. Is tipping a custom in your country? What are some of the common occasions when you leave a tip?
Yes, indeed. Tips are very common in some occasions and in many jobs. In general, I don’t like to leave tips. However I understand that a lot of restaurants don’t pay well to their bartenders, so when I have a really good service from a waiter or waitress I tend to give them a tip; if a knew the tip wasn’t for the waiter/waitress who served me, I wouldn’t leave it.
4. Can you think of jobs where tipping is important?
Perhaps restaurant service (waiters and waitresses) is the most influenced by tipping but not at the same level it is in other countries (US, for example).
5. What’s the smallest and biggest tip you have ever left? Why was that so?
Many times I leave no tips.
The biggest one maybe was 3 years ago to a fibre optics installer, although I must confess I felt a little uncomfortable afterwards as it opposed my way of thinking.
6. What alternatives to tipping could you offer if you didn’t have any cash?
Very few times I’ve told the bartender to charge me a little more in my credit card but I tend not to tip in those cases.

Always good to have new person on our blog! Welcome! Thank you for choosing to use the PE blog as you strengthen your English writing skills.

Here is one thing you can still revise. Note the word order in this sentence:

However I understand that a lot of restaurants don’t pay well to their bartenders, …

However, I understand that a lot of restaurants don’t pay to their bartenders well, …

Until your next entries!

What is your reaction to some employers not giving the tips to their employees?
I can understand that employers already pay their employees, but the customer leave these tips not to the restaurant, but to the server that made the whole experience better.

Should tips be taxed? Explain your stand.
I think that since it’s a convention between customer and server in a straightforward manner, it shouldn’t be taxed. Also it’s not a huge amount of money, if it were 2000 euros per month I guess things would be changed to tax these tips.

Is tipping a custom in your country? What are some of the common occasions when you leave a tip?
Definitely yes, it’s a widespread custom in Spain, we often leave from 50 cents to 2 euros depending of quality of service overall.

Can you think of jobs where tipping is important?
I guess all jobs that are customer-facing work can be related to the tipping protocol, for example, restaurants, home delivery service, and that includes both packaging service and eating service.

What’s the smallest and biggest tip you have ever left? Why was that so?
As far as I can remember the biggest tip was in Sweden during my honeymoon, they often reserve 10% of the total
amount of the meal price for tipping, and restaurants there are really expensive. On the other hand, the smallest tip was once at a restaurant which server was really rude to us, and even he wanted his tip, he got
only a penny.

What alternatives to tipping could you offer if you didn’t have any cash?
There are a smart alternative by increasing the total amount of the service with the desired tip in the bill.

We do appreciate all the efforts you put into your comments. Impressive work! Do keep it up.

Here is just one sentence you can express a bit better:

On the other hand, the smallest tip was once at a restaurant which server was really rude to us, and even he wanted his tip, he got only a penny.

On the other hand, the smallest tip I’ve ever given a server was once at a restaurant and it was because he/she was really rude to us. , and Even if he wanted his tip, he only got a penny from us.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

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