Opinion: We are skinflints when it comes to tipping

THE funny thing about the news cycle is how short it lasts – but the problems it highlights continue long after the spotlight has been diverted elsewhere. A few weeks ago, it was all about Grok AI, last week it was all about the floods and for a very brief period what became known as the tap-to-tip issue.

At first, I didn’t know exactly what that was – but it soon dawned on me it was all to do with the difficulty people were having when it came to being asked whether or not they wished to add a tip to their drinks or food bill in pubs and restaurants.

I don’t know why they were getting so worked up about it – ask anyone who works in the industry and they will tell you the Irish are skinflints when it comes to tipping.

I’d go further and say most people are downright miserable and resent having to add anything extra onto their bill at the end of the night – and if they do, they think a couple of euro should be enough.

Well, it isn’t. You wouldn’t offer a child a couple of euro nowadays. Let’s face it, a few coins will buy you absolutely nothing in this country today. OK, if you have enough of them you will, but should that be the excuse for giving someone a derisory tip?

We all complain of the deterioration in service in this country. Once upon a time, you were practically guaranteed a warm smile from a chatty individual who went out of their way to make your visit to a pub or restaurant a memorable one. Today, we are amazed when that happens.

But in all fairness, it is difficult for someone working on minimum wage to give you a smile and a warm welcome when they have been on their feet for hours and are working for minimum wage.

Just to be clear, the maximum someone earns on minimum wage in this country is €14.15 per hour for someone over 20 years of age. It is €12.74 for 19-year-olds, €11.32 for 18-year-olds and €9.91 an hour for anyone younger than that. Don’t blame the boss because they have been hit with a whole raft of costs in recent times which they must try to absorb without driving prices through the roof.

Years ago, publicans got the blame whenever the price of a pint went up, but in truth they do all the hard work for the least benefit, what with tax, VAT, utility charges, labour costs – the list seems endless, but yet we complain about giving someone a ten per cent tip or more.

Tourists come home from the US – the home of tipping – and complain they were scalded having to tip for every item they purchased – down to a cup of coffee. We all know the reason for that and, by the way, we also knew that before we went there.

But we are not talking about there, we are talking about giving someone a welcome injection of funds into their wages here, where a euro buys you truly little nowadays.

Also, remember that not only one person gets that ten per cent you happen to leave on top of the bill or throw into a bowl at the cash register. Every employee in that premises gets a split because it took more than one person to provide that cup of coffee, sandwich or three-course meal.

Here is a startling statistic for you – in the past 21 years, 2,119 Irish pubs have closed their doors, be it because of lack of business, retirement or they were just not able to make the books balance at the end of the year and gave up the fight or will to do so. In 2024, the number of closures was 65 pubs, but it is estimated that over the next decade a further 600-1,000 more pubs are at risk of closure.

I’d hate to count the number of restaurants that have come and gone over the same period. Every week, we read of restaurateurs announcing on social media that they have decided to call it a day. There have been a few locally. They all say they are doing so for the same reason, rising costs.

When it comes to the tap-to-tip issue, I make no bones about examining the bill at the end of the night and even going so far as to asking if a tip, service charge or whatever they want to call it, has been added on.

I also make a point of telling staff that I will not tap to give a tip, but instead will give cash, even when paying the bill by card. I’m not embarrassed to do so, why should I be?

Equally, I have yet to meet someone working in a pub or restaurant who is too embarrassed to take the cash. They always say it will be added to the rest of the tips and shared among the staff at the end of their pay cycle.

As far as I could tell from the storm in a teacup concerning the tap-to-tip issue, it was mostly generated by people who resented having to put their hands in their pocket to give that little bit extra. Something tells me that these are the same people who are quick to complain about anything if they thought they could save a few bob.