Forum Topic

Tipping in Indian Restaurants / Curry houses

There have occasionally been discussions about tipping (leaving tips!)on local Forums,and one such thread has just ended on W4.com.Whether your waiter gets your tip..or whether it's shared amongst the staff you may never really know...unless perhaps you ask!There's vagueness about whether the tips are taxed too(I think they are).However, at a London Road, Isleworth curry house that I go to once a week I enquired of the affable and competant waiter (Indian) if he received the tips that I left for him.  Sometimes I might leave £2 cash.. or £2 may be added to the credit card payment.   I was very surprised to hear him say that he and his male mates RECEIVE NONE of the money meant for them..it all goes to the boss!!  "It's the same in all Indian and Bangldeshi owned Curry Houses" he said... "it's the way they treat their staff!" The carried on and said "I know that English owners do let the staff keep the tips"  Is he correct about our Curry Houses?  Sounds outrageous to me! And if so, does the boss pay the tax on these extra increments?Any info?I asked my charming Polish waitress at the Harvester (ex The Royal) in Boston Manor Road last night..and she certainly gets her tips.

Jim Lawes ● 6736d5 Comments

If you recall there was a huge fuss about this very issue  before Christmas when a Union tried getting staff to join in a protest when it came to light if you didn't leave a tip in cash the boss took it and it helped pay their(minimum) wage in many restaurants, scandalous. In the U.S. the poor devils are taxed on tips that the taxman deems that they have got, so tipping is literally a lifeline for bar and waiting staff, the basic wage is pitiful so tips are what make up their wages, so if you don't leave a tip they will pay the tax anyway. No wonder you're not popular if you don't leave a reasonable tip! It really should be a bit extra you leave willingly as an appreciation of good service and nothing else.

Vanessa Smith ● 6735d

Thanks for your responses ladies.. most revealing.I must say that the Everest 53 Curry House does produce delightful food and the "complimentary plate of sliced vegetables" is most welcome. I'm puzzled by the tips practice though.  The waiters are perhaps are only allowed access into the UK if they have a job lined up..and so sponsorship from a UK curry house ensures their free passage...and bondage to a controlling employer.Must ask elsewhere too.  I've yet to visit Maxims... but topping up the glass continually..is just the tip of a cheeky trade. One local Chinese Restaurant didn't pay their staff at all some 15 years back....they just let the staff keep the tips!The Harvester at Boston Manor offers a free salad bar..which is always satisfying..but the meals are not too wonderful..overcooked..and a dodgy Bernese Sauce in my case.As you say Sarah, a smiling Polish waitress attends.. and she must do very nicely with the tios that she is able to keep!More reports welcome.

Jim Lawes ● 6735d

In my opinion the whole subject of tipping and service charges and who gets the money is an absolute minefield.  I asked my son in law who is a chef what the situation is in his restaurant and he says that the service charges go to the boss who used it to pay the wages.  If customers refuse to pay the service charge (which is the only way the staff get their hands on any cash) the boss would then however presume the staff were rubbish and get rid of them.  If cash is left then it is shared equally amongst waiting staff not with the kitchen, who lets face it produced the food in the first place.Further, I really object to service charges.  Last week my family visited Maxims in Northfields Avenue.  We hadn't been in the place 10 minutes when the £30 bottle of wine ordered had already been dispensed in huge glasses by the waiter to the 3 people drinking it.  This does not mean we had drunk the wine just that he could not leave the bottle alone and had to get it poured in record time.  As soon as he had poured the last drop he enquired "nuvver bottle" whereupon my newphew plunged in again.  The second bottle arrived and the waiter started again to pour into already full glasses.  I had had enough and asked him to leave the wine alone please as we could help ourselves.  He did not take heed.  In any event that's £60 for 2 bottles of wine, exclusive of the rest of the bill that's an extra charge of £7.50 for just opening the bottles which in my opinion is outrageous.  A lot of people don't want the embarassment or confrontation of arguing about service charges and would prefer that any tip left went to the people who earned it.  Therefore I believe service charges should be outlawed everywhere.

Bernadette Paul ● 6736d

Along with a group of friends I also go to a London Road, Isleworth curry house once a week and have heard the same about tips put on the credit card.  We always now try to leave a cash tip but the waiters are a bit vague when you ask them if they actually receive the money.

Jennifer Long ● 6736d

...and if its the same Polish girl who served us when we were last there, Jim, she certainly deserves her tips!  :-)

Sarah Felstead ● 6736d