Should You Tip in Scotland? 

We live in Scotland. You don't need to tip in Scotland; there is generally no expectation of a tip. However, we (and our friends and family) tip here if the service is good, or above average/ expectation. We tip: Restaurant and Café staff, Car wash/Valeters, Taxi drivers, Tour guide, Bus/Coach driver if on a long drive or tour, etc... but that is normally decided as a group by the passengers. We generally do not tip, for example, serving staff in pubs when only drinks are being served, we never tip at the bar or serving staff in shops or fast food staff. When we do tip, we start at 10%. 0% for expected or ok/average or mediocre or below par service. 10% for good or above par. 15% for very good. 20% for exceptional service, and is a very rare occasion for us to tip at 20% When we tip we want the money to go to that individual who gave us the good service. We disagree with included gratuity charges, or adding gratuity onto a bill. Or house policy to pool tips for distribution amongst staff. We are tipping that person for their service, not the business. The last time we tipped was last weekend, lunch at a cafe, bill was £35 we tipped £4 Before then was a birthday meal at a resteraunt for 5 people, bill was £190, we tipped £20. Always general left on the table. Happy holidays guys, and happy tipping... or not, the choice is yours 😉 Alba gu bràth!!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤😎

From liverpool and tipping is rare here. You may round up to the nearest £5 in a restaurant but that is usually it. Same at pubs, you would never expect to tip in a pub unless it is just a little loose change. It's generally seen as rather patronising.

Coming back from Edinburgh, it should be noted that many places make you tip 10 percent, they automatically add it tp your bill. So the best thing you can do is to ask if there's a mandatory service fee/charge. I know a couple of places like Maggie Dickson's and Bun and scoop (both central and a bit of a tourist trap, the later I think don't really ibform the customers about this so absolutely not okey) do this. Don't be afraid to ask and good luck!

When I used to work in a bar people wouldn't take their change, we would always take it back to them at their table unless they specifically said keep the change, no tip was ever expected, One tip though is if you do tip waiting staff always do so in cash, some restaurant owners will keep card charged tips and use it to towards staff wages.

I'm an American who worked as a waiter in a high end hotel in Scotland for a year. Servers in Scotland receive a "living wage." The living wage is determined by your age. The older you are, the higher your living wage up to a certain point (I think you reach the height at 25 years old). When I accounted for UK taxes and the exchange rate, my take-home pay in my early 30s was $7.20 an hour. Because of socialized medicine, EU trade deals keeping grocery costs reasonable, paid vacation time, and a better network of mass transit; it is possible to live on that salary. However, it makes for a very humble lifestyle without much upward mobility and likely only one day off out of every seven or eight. Tipping is not as much a part of the culture in Scotland as it is in the US. However, it is obviously appreciated. Because servers make much more in terms of salary than American servers do, it would be best to use 10% as your starting calculation, and go up or down from there depending on how much you appreciated the service. Most establishments in Scotland pool tips and distribute among the entire staff. Just like in the US, servers work extra hard during the Christmas and New Year's holiday; which means tipping around these times is especially appreciated. There is another thing to keep in mind about servers in Scotland. Because the owner has to pay the living wage to their staff, they are not likely to have as much staff on the floor at any given time. They take a significant financial hit by paying three servers when two will do. This means that you are likely to receive less attention from servers in Scotland simply because there are too few to manage the entire floor and still provide the level of service we are used to in the US.

only tip at a restrsnt is the food and service is exeptional

The girlfriend and I spent two weeks in Edinburgh this May at a hotel with an attached pub. There was a tip jar by the bar for donations. Saw similar in many of the restaurants and pubs.

Sorry but the idea of not tipping in Scotland (or anywhere in the UK) is about 30 years out of date. The minimum wage for servers, especially younger ones, is not very high at all. Yes it's true they don't rely on tips as they do in America, but an extra few quid at the end of the week can buy a little luxury, such as a few drinks with friends. The minimum wage is not as good as people might think and barely pays for the essentials in life, like rent, utility bills and food. If you've received good service and a nice meal, it's most definitely not considered rude to leave a gratuity.

We do tip in Scotland at certain times. Predominately in restaurants, and sometimes in bars. Or we sometimes buy the barman a drink. Tip at your own discretion. That's if you think the service merits it.

It's not really as complicated as that. It's simply something that you can do if you feel like it and normally only happens if you've received service that you genuinely really enjoyed beyond the standard you were expecting. Although as you move up the class heirchary you do get tipping cultures more akin to Americans but out of a wanting to appear charitable attitude. It's just in Scotland the regional culture/identity is more defined by the working class rather than the middle class that often seen as being wannabe English. The general US culture tends to be the opposite but of course varies by state.

You can tip if you want to show appreciation for good service, but it is not required. The expectation is that you should get a good service and the worker is getting a good wage.

In a bar or pub I offer a drink getting food and sitting in if it's good I leave money all the time. If food is bad I don't.But for carry outs no. But if food is delivered I give something.

So, Eric, would you be expecting a tip if I made a visit to USA Kilts? :-)

Or to put another way, the wages for servers in some US states are so low, $2.13/hour here in Utah, tips are essential to their wage. I’m not arguing wether that’s good, bad, or indifferent. Just saying it’s ingrained in our culture.

I think it’s great that they pay their people a full wage. That way severs aren’t beholden to the whims of their customers, or whether their shift had a lot of customers to see what they actually get paid.

I've heard from locals that you should tip

In pubs and restaurants you should tip,same with taxi's. I'm afraid your friends are just tight arses.