London Local Custom Tips by phil_uk_net

Eye Contact
While travelling on the London Underground (and for that matter at any other time in London) avoid eye contact with fellow passengers at all times and under no circumstances talk to anyone that you do not know. Failing to heed this advice may result in accusations of you being insane, or worse. Why risk losing that wonderful sense of loneliness and isolation by meeting another friendly human being?
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Escalators
Another heinous crime in London is to stand on the left hand side of the escalator. If you want to stand, and let the escalator do the work, do so on the right. The left is reserved for those people who can't waste a second in life and need to run up and down escalators.
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Mind the gap!
A familiar announcement on the Underground. With straight train carriages and curvy platforms there is sometimes a gap between the platform and the train when you get on or off. Be careful, especially on very curvy platforms.

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When drinking in a group, drinks are bought in rounds. That is, one person will buy a round for the whole group and then the next person does the same, etc etc. English people find it peculiar when groups of foreign people (normally students) come into a pub and each buy their own drinks.
The exception is for those occasions when a very large group of people get together and there will not be an opportunity for each person to buy a round. What sometimes happens in this situation is that everyone will put some money into a 'kitty'. The keeper of the kitty will then do the drink ordering for everyone and pay from the kitty.

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Tipping allows the recipient of a service to reward the provider of the service if he/she would so like to do so. It is not obligatory.
Who should you tip? When arriving at a hotel it is customary to tip the person that helps you with your bags. I normally tip the person that cuts my hair. When eating out you should tip the wait person if service has been good but do not feel obliged to if service was bad. Do not tip the bar person who serves you a drink at a pub or a bar. This has obviously been happening at tourist places in London (probably unwitting Americans) and some places will try to encourage it by offering you change on a tray. I just take all of the change if this happens! I used to tip taxi drivers but cab fares are now so high I think I am paying enough as it is. If the driver was really good though I will tip a little.
How much? For bellboys and hairdressers 1 to 2 pounds should be fine. Restaurants - anywhere between 5% and 15%. Taxis - round up. If the fare was 5.60 you would probably round this up to 6 pounds.

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Despite all their shortcomings, the English have an innate sense of fairness. When waiting for something it is only fair that the people who arrived before you get to go ahead of you. This applies to all situations whether it is waiting for a beer at the pub, waiting to check in at the airport, or in a car waiting to get into a single lane of traffic.
People who flout this rule and try to jump ahead will not be popular in England.
And if you try, don't think people won't notice, as they will.
Let me give you an example how conscious people are. In a pub someone goes to the bar and notices that another person is already waiting to be served. The barman may go straight to the second person and ask what they want.The person will decline to be served telling the barman that the other person has been waiting longer. It is not uncommon for this to happen.

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