What is a quid??

Can someone please tell me what a "quid" is?  Also, is the tipping the same in London as US?  Generally 15-20% for waitstaff, hair stylists, ect??  What about cabs?

Sorry, I always get embarrassed when I do not know the proper way to do things...  We are moving to London March of 2010.

Thanks so much!

Natalie

£1.

It's another word for a pound.

Sorry, I don't know about tipping in London, I've only ever visited there.

It's slang for a pound. Like how a dollar can be called a buck.

Tipping is not the same at all in the UK as in the US. It's also not easy to explain.  Do an advanced forum search on here and you will find a number of threads on it.

Generally we don't tip hairdressers or cab drivers. Sometimes I give the taxi driver a quid but they don't expect it. Hairdressers generally just tipped at Christmas.
Bar staff you don't tip, again it's not expected.
Waiters you do, but 10% is usually fine. We just tend to round up - for example last night we went out with friends and the bill was £72, we just put £80 down.

Yes. Also, if you insist on giving a tip at a bar, you offer to buy them a drink - don't give them cash, it'd be regarded as insulting.

Yes. Also, if you insist on giving a tip at a bar, you offer to buy them a drink - don't give them cash, it'd be regarded as insulting.

Really?  My hubby tips with cash.  I would think some (most?) bartenders aren't allowed to drink while working.

I always tip my hairdresser!

Really?  My hubby tips with cash.  I would think some (most?) bartenders aren't allowed to drink while working.

Yeah, give him one for himself. He'd just have a half, and whilst I'm sure some bars don't allow you to drink, most others don't mind if you keep it cool or just do it when you're shutting down.

BBC, as always, puts it better than me:

"All British people know this: you do not tip cash at the bar in a pub. If you are impressed with the barkeep's service, you can offer to buy them a drink. Such an offer will be genuinely appreciated, even though it may not be accepted. If it is, the barkeep might take the tip in the form of cash to 'have one [a drink] later'. This will generally be for half a pint of beer, or a small measure of spirits - you would not expect them to take for a larger drink unless you specifically asked them to."

Yes. Also, if you insist on giving a tip at a bar, you offer to buy them a drink - don't give them cash, it'd be regarded as insulting.

in my local, when we pay for our drinks, we say 'have one yourself'.   They never actually *have* a drink, but put the cost of the drink (£2.90/pint) in a glass, and then the staff all divide the contents of the glass at the end of the night.

Generally we don't tip hairdressers or cab drivers. Sometimes I give the taxi driver a quid but they don't expect it. Hairdressers generally just tipped at Christmas.

Barbers maybe once a year (??), but not hairdressers...

I always tip my hairdresser!

Me too. And a pound or two to the girl who washes and dries me too....

in my local, when we pay for our drinks, we say 'have one yourself'.   They never actually *have* a drink, but put the cost of the drink (£2.90/pint) in a glass, and then the staff all divide the contents of the glass at the end of the night.

Yep, same at our local.... Not every round, but maybe once in a night, twice if we're there for ages. But then we know our landlord pretty well....

Yep, same at our local.... Not every round, but maybe once in a night, twice if we're there for ages. But then we know our landlord pretty well....

yeah, i didn't phrase that right... not every round, but at least once a night.

Ahhhh, but they are Scottish

Just a joke, but yeah, maybe it's yet *another* of those things which varies across the country? Maybe it's regional or is it just group by group?

The two pubs I've worked at in London, on the rare occasion someone did buy us a drink, we just drank it once we had a break or things were quiet and tried to catch the eye of the person who bought it to thank them.

I think it really depends on the pub. Some pubs/bars leave out a dish or two for people to put cash tips into. I generally wouldn't tip in a pub but I used to tip the bar staff at a club I used to go to (in London). They left a dish on the bar for that purpose.

maybe it's yet *another* of those things which varies across the country? Maybe it's regional or is it just group by group?

I'm not in Scotland....

I probably wouldn't do it in a pub that I don't go in often - I think I've only ever done it in our various locals.