In message , at 21:48:37 on Wed, 29 Feb
2012, Adam H. Kerman remarked:
Tipping in restaurants is largely optional here in Britain and the
amount is completely up the patron's discretion.

Do your restaurants pay much higher straight wages than US restaurants do?
In the US, it's largely understood that the waiter is compensated in
part by the restaurant through straight wages and in part by the customer.

In smaller restaurants, including pubs (bars), the waiting staff are
often the proprietors or their relations, so the manner in which they
are paid isn't really the concern of the customer. If you want to leave
a tip it's more for the establishment than the waiter. Paying
individuals for the service you'd expect to get anyway feels a little
like bribery.

I know it's different in the USA, and waiters there are more likely to
be assigned to tables and customers, rather than there being a pool of
waiters and a pool of tables all 'belonging to' the establishment.
--
Roland Perry