Where are the stingiest tippers in the UK?

The British are notoriously bad at tipping, but we shouldn't all be tarred with the same brush, because a new study has revealed that some Brits are far worse than others.

The research identified people in the North East as the stingiest tippers in the country - and accused those over the age of 55 of failing to leave a tip as often as their younger counterparts.

David Cameron became something of a poster boy for poor tipping in August 2011, when he hit the headlines for failing to leave a tip for two coffees at a cafe in Tuscany.

The outcry over his attitude reached such a pitch that he returned a few days later with his daughter and tipped extravagantly - leaving €4.90 on a €5.10 bill. However, he's not alone in his poor tipping etiquette.

The study

A study, by Thinkmoney, found that people in the North East are the worst tippers in the UK - where 35% of people say they don't tend to leave a tip. They are followed by people in the West Midlands, where 33% of people don't bother, and the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, where 32% of people fail to pay for good service.

We're not all bad though. At the other end of the spectrum - and defying the stereotypes - Scotland emerges as the most generous, where only 13% of people would walk away without leaving a tip. This is followed by London where only 16% don't tip. London also emerged as the area where people leave the most generous tips - 7% of people leave tips of between 20% and 30% of the bill.

The older that people are, the stingier they are likely to be: some 30% of those aged over 55 don't bother to tip, compared to just 12% of those aged between 24 and 35.

Internationally we make a poor showing too. A Tripadviser survey looked at tipping by eight nationalities, and the British came sixth - after only 26% of people said they always tipped for service on holiday. This compared to 60% of Americans, 49% of Germans and 33% of Brazilians.

Why bother?
You could argue that tipping isn't part of British culture, and we're not obliged to leave anything. You could also highlight that it's now illegal to count tips when ensuring that waiting staff receive the minimum wage in the UK - so it's not as if they need your tips to make ends meet.

However, Caterer.com points out that a typical waiter or waitress in London takes home £16,811 a year. Assuming they pay the average rent calculated by Gumtree of £1,516 a month, it means that the average wage doesn't even cover their accommodation.

The industry is based on you paying a tip - but is that a good enough reason for you to do it? Let us know in the comments.

Worst tippers
North East 35%
West Midlands 33%
East Midlands 32%
Yorkshire and the Humber 32%
North East 29%
East Anglia 29%

Best tippers
Scotland 13%
London 16%
Wales 23%
South West 23%
South East 25%
Northern Ireland 27%

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