WORCESTER diners are mean tippers and won't stand for any nonsense if they are unhappy with the service.

Restaurant owners in the city say customers don't part with their money easily and will let them know if something is wrong with their meals.

But this isn't how people in the rest of the country are, according to a survey released this week.

The study, by internet bank smile.co.uk, suggests we Brits are too polite to refuse to tip for bad service or sub-standard meals and will give too much as opposed to too little.

Research by the Evening News, however, found that local folk certainly don't fit into that category.

"The people in Worcester are not very good at tipping at all," said Franco Valentino, of Valentinos restaurant in Foregate Street.

"They either don't give very much money at all or they don't bother.

Conscious

"They are very money conscious and see paying a tip as extra for the meal, which they don't like.

"The younger people are particularly bad at paying tips.

"They smile at us and say thank you for the food, but they won't leave any money."

Mawgan Woodland, a waitress at Ostlers, in Severn Terrace, Worcester, agreed the younger generation was particularly stingy.

"We have had a decline in tipping recently, particularly with younger customers, as if it has become the trend not to tip," she said.

"People don't tend to tip if they have been unhappy with the service either, although we always make sure we rectify any problems as quickly as possible."

Barry Farehurng, brasserie manager at The Copcut Wine Bar in Friar Street, Droitwich, was left amazed when a complaining customer left a tip last week.

"The man had been complaining non-stop about the food when everyone else was happy with it, and I was glad when he went.

"Then I saw that he had left a decent tip and I couldn't believe it. I think that's the first time it has happened though.

"Usually people show their unhappiness by not leaving money."

Peter Don, of St John's, Worcester, thinks this is how it should be.

"I only tip if I am happy with the food and service and then I will normally give 10 per cent," he said.

"I see tipping as a sign of your appreciation and I don't think it should be automatic."

The telephone survey by smile.co.uk, of 1,008 people aged 16 and above, estimates £328m of a total of £1.6bn forked out every year tipping waiters is thought to be undeserved.

It also showed that people were unsure how much to give.

"We haven't quite reached the US situation where tipping is a part of the culture, so people are unclear about who to tip and how much," said smile.co.uk director of operations, Phil Garlick.

According to restaurateurs an acceptable tip is 10 per cent of the bill.

Despite some poor service, though, waiters are still the best-tipped workers in the country, with 76 per cent of the customers they serve dishing out a cash bonus.

Taxi drivers can expect 68 per cent of passengers to leave a tip, hairdressers 61 per cent, while toilet attendants do the worst with just 14 per cent leaving cash.

Special report by Suzanne Black.

Melanie Hall is on holiday.