'62% of Britons are reluctant to tip', says survey

Most Britons begrudge paying tips, regardless of the quality of service they receive, according to a survey.

The poll found that 62% of consumers were reluctant to pay a service charge, with greater pressures on disposable income believed to be the main reason.

More than half (58%) of those polled by lender FridayFriday.com were unsure what the correct amount to tip was, with 16% saying they took a best guess.

Almost two-thirds of those surveyed (62%) felt annoyed when a service charge was added to their bill, and women were found to be more generous than men when offering a tip.

Strikingly, more than half (55%) said they used tipping as a way of getting rid of loose change, regardless of the service they received.

A spokesman from FridayFriday.com said: "For many years there has been a serious effort to move consumers further towards the US model of tipping for a wide range of services.

"However, it seems the majority of us still begrudge paying extra.

"The US model is based on tips supplementing the low wages of service industry workers, but in the UK, with our minimum wage, it appears many consumers believe that average service does not deserve any further reward.

"The research also found that many consumers are unclear what they want when it comes to tipping, stating that they didn't appreciate having a service charge added to their bill, yet were not confident of calculating a fair tip on their own."

PA