How much to tip car service in UK?
February 23, 2022 11:24 AM Subscribe
I will be traveling from the airport to my final destination in the UK using a car service (based in my destination city). The drive will be about 1.5 hours and will cost about 125 GBP. How much should I tip?
NYC-style car service is called a minicab in the UK.
Tipping for a cab isn’t expected but it’s not uncommon. Are you paying with cash? If so, for a trip of that length it would be acceptable to round up to £140. Otherwise 10-15% would be the most anyone might tip.
posted by theory at 12:59 PM on February 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
Tipping for a cab isn’t expected but it’s not uncommon. Are you paying with cash? If so, for a trip of that length it would be acceptable to round up to £140. Otherwise 10-15% would be the most anyone might tip.
posted by theory at 12:59 PM on February 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'd be thinking "10% and round up to the nearest £10, especially if it's cash" -- so yeah, what theory said.
posted by holgate at 1:03 PM on February 23, 2022
posted by holgate at 1:03 PM on February 23, 2022
On the couple of occasions I have had to take a car from Heathrow to Cambridge, or vice versa, I have tipped the driver 10 pounds.
posted by briank at 1:08 PM on February 23, 2022
posted by briank at 1:08 PM on February 23, 2022
NYC-style car service is called a minicab in the UK.
The airport pick up ones are often much nicer than your standard minicabs. A neighbour of mine runs an airport car service and the cars are all really nice big Mercs or Jags and his drivers wear suits and ties.
I'd say tip £20, and also make sure your phone and earbuds are charged up in case of right-wing blathering.
posted by essexjan at 1:29 PM on February 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
The airport pick up ones are often much nicer than your standard minicabs. A neighbour of mine runs an airport car service and the cars are all really nice big Mercs or Jags and his drivers wear suits and ties.
I'd say tip £20, and also make sure your phone and earbuds are charged up in case of right-wing blathering.
posted by essexjan at 1:29 PM on February 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
If you're tipping in cash and the fare itself is pre-paid, then a £20 note I think, albeit perhaps on the generous side. If you're paying in cash completely, agree that rounding up to £140 is right. My rule of thumb is that if you're going to tip then make it at least 10% but a round number rather than scrabbling about for exact money is more dignified.
posted by plonkee at 1:40 PM on February 23, 2022
posted by plonkee at 1:40 PM on February 23, 2022
Honestly, tips are not really expected in the UK for cabs, and many people don't tip.
Personally, I would have done £5, so rounding it up to £130, and maaaaaybe £10 if I'm feeling flush. Also, I would do £1-2 tips or just rounding up for short trips under £20, for comparison.
posted by moiraine at 2:29 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Personally, I would have done £5, so rounding it up to £130, and maaaaaybe £10 if I'm feeling flush. Also, I would do £1-2 tips or just rounding up for short trips under £20, for comparison.
posted by moiraine at 2:29 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
I think the key things have already been set out. In this case, I'd perhaps tip £5 or £10 (at most), unless the service was indifferent or poor.
More generally, in the UK, there's no etiquette on tipping a fixed percentage. Things you might tip for: restaurant service (maybe £3 for a small lunch, £5 for a family meal, £20 for a big extended family group); taxis - round up to the nearest £1 for short trips ('keep the change'), or as above for long ones; apart from that, you might tip the person who delivers your milk or newspaper at Christmas. We're not a big tipping culture, by and large, and nobody is going to give you the side-eye if you don't tip them, ever.
posted by pipeski at 3:08 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
More generally, in the UK, there's no etiquette on tipping a fixed percentage. Things you might tip for: restaurant service (maybe £3 for a small lunch, £5 for a family meal, £20 for a big extended family group); taxis - round up to the nearest £1 for short trips ('keep the change'), or as above for long ones; apart from that, you might tip the person who delivers your milk or newspaper at Christmas. We're not a big tipping culture, by and large, and nobody is going to give you the side-eye if you don't tip them, ever.
posted by pipeski at 3:08 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
I would tip maybe 10% at restaurants in the UK, so I'm not a no-tip person, but I would probably not think to tip a car service. A tenner would not go amiss, but bear in mind in the UK that salaries are not based on the expectation of tipping, if that counts for anything.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 7:13 PM on February 23, 2022
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 7:13 PM on February 23, 2022
I also would aim to tip around 10% at restaurants, and would not have thought to tip a car service.
That said, the one time I booked an airport taxi service to get to Heathrow, the driver harangued me for leaving my "elderly" (late 50s!) mother in the UK while I lived overseas, and decided not to give me my change, which I think would also have been about 10%. (Hence "the one time".) To err on the side of caution for your trip, I would probably round £125 up to £140.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 12:44 AM on February 24, 2022
That said, the one time I booked an airport taxi service to get to Heathrow, the driver harangued me for leaving my "elderly" (late 50s!) mother in the UK while I lived overseas, and decided not to give me my change, which I think would also have been about 10%. (Hence "the one time".) To err on the side of caution for your trip, I would probably round £125 up to £140.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 12:44 AM on February 24, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
Having said that, I’d probably tip £10 if it was ok. £15 if better and £20 if super brilliant.
You have a reasonable chance of getting a driver who spouts right wing drivel, in which case all bets are off.
posted by JJZByBffqU at 11:39 AM on February 23, 2022 [2 favorites]