What constitutes a good tip in the UK?

[Sekhmet]

On 7/18/2022 at 4:03 AM, BuckeyeMark said:

I started this thread so maybe I can add to it now that I've been over to the UK.  I was more than a little surprised at the places/people where there was no tip jar, and no one put their hand out expecting one. The folks here who said "nope, it's not much of a thing" were (not surprisingly) spot on. Tipping is nothing like what it is in the US.  Nothing!
That said we tipped all our excursion guides and they seemed to appreciate it.

 

20 hours ago, Harters said:

No-one is going to be unappreciative of being paid extra. 🥲

An earlier post also mentioned donating to a charity collection.  Not quite the same, but I am a bar steward volunteering on a Heritage Steam Railway;  occasionally I am offered a tip (usually after serving beer!), and I always gratefully accept it but tell the donor it will be passed onto one of the restoration projects (also largely volunteer run and funded) on the Railway. 

[Harters]

On 7/19/2022 at 5:50 PM, Globaliser said:

places where offering a tip can be perceived to be an insult.

But, on this thread, we're talking about the UK.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Harters

[cruisegal415]

On some of the excursions I booked, it says that tipping is expected.  Not sure if that means the driver, the tour guide, or both.  They suggest £5 per person.  Is this not a thing?

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, cruisegal415 said:

On some of the excursions I booked, it says that tipping is expected.  Not sure if that means the driver, the tour guide, or both.  They suggest £5 per person.  Is this not a thing?

As mentioned up thread, they are exploiting American attitudes to tipping and, in my view, should be avoided! 

[markeb]

1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

As mentioned up thread, they are exploiting American attitudes to tipping and, in my view, should be avoided! 

Absolutely! I’d like to hope this is an aberration…

[markeb]

2 hours ago, cruisegal415 said:

On some of the excursions I booked, it says that tipping is expected.  Not sure if that means the driver, the tour guide, or both.  They suggest £5 per person.  Is this not a thing?

Give them a quid if you feel generous! Especially if they’re advertising they’re looking for tips!

 

No, this is not a thing!

[Simon-t]

15 hours ago, cruisegal415 said:

On some of the excursions I booked, it says that tipping is expected. 

 

At the risk of sounding cynical, it may well be that a tip is "expected" from American tourists but is not  expected from us Brits!😀

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by Simon-t