And finally…Scottish diners are UK’s leading tippers

TipThe weary stereotype of the stingy Scot may be well-known the world over, but new research has revealed that we are actually the most likely people in the UK to leave a tip.

Restaurant booking service OpenTable, found that 91 per cent of Scots are likely to tip, the highest rate recorded in its survey of 2,000 UK adults.

The study also found that half of Aberdeen’s diners always leaving a tip and 47 per cent of Glaswegians still leaving a tip even if they receive less than perfect service.

Yorkshire, meanwhile, was revealed as the region most likely to never leave a tip, with only 1 in 5 saying they would leave a gratuity.



The research also revealed that Londoners tip the most, with the average spend in the capital being £5.68, compared to a UK average of £4.18.

The average UK dinner will leave a nine per cent tip after a meal and 87 per cent of adults will always leave a tip.

But men are much less likely to tip in a restaurant than women, with 17 per cent of men never leaving a gratuity compared to just 10 per cent of women.

A friendly service seems to be key to diners leaving behind some extra cash.

But many diners said they are unafraid to ask for automatic service charges on bills to be removed if service is not to their liking.

More than half of diners from Yorkshire (51 per cent), for example, admitted they had asked for the service charge to be removed.

York was also considered the UK city with the least friendly restaurant staff, according to those polled.

When it came to reasons why people chose not to leave a tip - rudeness was cited as the number one reason (76 per cent) with slow service (61 per cent) and forgetting items (44 per cent) also making their way into the top three.

Leaving a restaurant as fast as possible is also a common occurrence with reluctant tippers.

One in eight diners (14 per cent) admit to having walked out of a restaurant quickly to avoid paying a tip.

Almost a quarter (22 per cent) of Brighton’s diners admitted to only tipping if their fellow diner does.

In the North East, 69 per cent of diners are happy to leave cash on the table compared to 43 per cent of people from Northern Ireland, who prefer to hand it directly to their server.

Mike Xenakis, managing director of OpenTable, said: “Our new research shows that the UK is a nation of discerning diners.

“Most of us are happy to leave a little extra for the restaurant staff - as long as the service diners receive is of a high level.”

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