Are 50 pound notes genuinely rare in the UK? - The Bear and Badger

MattyJ

Could there be a system where each server has their own little contactless thing so you could tip direct?

[Deleted User]

I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever seen £50 notes at work. Even then, I could count them on my fingers, possibly on one hand.

The shops not taking them is not so much the prevalence of fakes, as far as I know, but because they are so rare, fakes are less obvious to cashiers.

I don’t think it’s that amazing that they are so rare. There is very little need for them.

LivDiv

I'm sure it is completely possible to track tips to server's login numbers/wavey key jobbies.
I just dont trust owners to implement it properly, would rather give them some cash.

[Deleted User]

Anyone else see an app opportunity? Like PayPal, but anonymised, for tips.

MattyJ

Andy wrote:

Anyone else see an app opportunity? Like PayPal, but anonymised, for tips.

WE'RE RICH!

MattyJ

LivDiv wrote:

I'm sure it is completely possible to track tips to server's login numbers/wavey key jobbies.
I just dont trust owners to implement it properly, would rather give them some cash.

I believe some restaurants have policy where all tips are pooled and shared out anyway

Yossarian

I heard somewhere in the world that there’s a system for beggars using QR codes which puts money into some sort of account for them, so the tech clearly exists.

Tempy

Just give your bar staff the change from your round it it's under £3. Don't the the guy who pays for a £100 round with notes then gets £2 and keeps it.

Yossarian

I can’t recall the last time I paid for a round in cash.

Frosty

Don't think I've ever had a 50 pound but I've seen a fair few from when I worked in retail.

You get them all the time in Ireland and its kind of an inconvenience. Two twenties and a ten is just easier to deal with and I don't need to feel bad handing it over.

I always assumed it was because pounds were worth a bit more and things tended to be much cheaper in the UK.

LivDiv

A lot of wallets don't fit a 50 do they?
A 20 pretty much just fits in my wallet, almost like it was designed for it.

Tempy

Yossarian wrote:

I can’t recall the last time I paid for a round in cash.

Typical yuppie

LivDiv

Tbf cash is pointless in London when a totally unassuming pub is charging over £5 a pint. You get through it too quickly.

mk64

I used to get fifties when I worked in the pub. A lot of tradesmen get paid in fifties, labourers etc.

High percentage of fakes and the fact most small shops won’t take them mean they’re a pain to get.

It’s like getting a Scottish note. It’s legal tender but a ball ache to get accepted unless it’s a chain shop.

Tempy

LivDiv wrote:

Tbf cash is pointless in London when a totally unassuming pub is charging over £5 a pint. You get through it too quickly.

True, typical Londoner.

mk64

Also my friend has a greyhound and goes to the dogs a lot to gamble. He often has some

Frosty

In Scotland you can get 100 pound notes. Try spending one of those in London.

LivDiv

The new £20 note is out next year.
So in a few years they are likely going to have to make a call on updating the £50 or dropping it I would have thought.
I can see it getting dropped now most people use cash for smaller values.
It benefits HRMC to make large cash exchanges less convenient.

Kow

I didn't think tipping was a thing in bars in Britain. It certainly isn't in Ireland. Or wasn't at any rate. Maybe things have changed.

poprock

Yeah, I never see fifties. It’s because ATMs don’t give them out. Only people who actually take cash out of the bank in person hold fifties nowadays.

LivDiv

On the other end of the scale I see way more fivers than in the past.
I remember starting uni and being amazed that the campus cash machine dished them out.

Since the updated note I see them all the time and regularly get them at cash points.

The old ones were seriously fucked up as well, I remember most were barely holding together, unlike the £10 notes which were normally pretty good even before the update.

Paul the sparky

I very rarely tip bar staff, even though all the change is a ball ache to carry around. Taxi drivers, waiting staff, the delivery driver from my weekly take away all get a tip. I've started using my card in pubs now so I don't suppose I'll start.

Five pound a pint is regular up here these days, although you can still get a pint of Guinness for £2.50 in the Bigg Market.

LivDiv

When I meet up with mates who still live in London I get all the standard news like how family, friends and friends of friends are doing but I will always be guaranteed to get a "Guess how much a pint is now in ..." or "...paid £6.50 for a pint the other day" story.

[Deleted User]

I don’t often tip in bars any more. Partly it’s the prices. But mostly (at the risk of sounding like a boomer and inflaming Tempy) I can’t remember the last time I was served by a bartender who seemed to want tips.

Tempy

We all want tips cos we get paid minimum wage and deal with assholes all day!

poprock

Paul the sparky wrote:

… you can still get a pint of Guinness for £2.50 in the Bigg Market.

Yes, but then you’re in the Bigg Market.

I was married to a barmaid. And my Mum was a barmaid. I always tip.

Paul the sparky

Sneer all you want, it's a nice pint in a small friendly pub and they have the football on. Winner.

[Deleted User]

poprock wrote:

I was married to a barmaid. And my Mum was a barmaid. I always tip.

My mum was a barmaid, too, throughout my entire childhood. And my dad was a barman for most of my teenage years.

Armitage_Shankburn

Yeah I never tip. I fight for your right to a living wage instead.

Spoiler:

Armitage_Shankburn

It's going very well.

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