What do you think of the custom of tipping?

When I was in Japan last month, at the first restaurant I ate at, as a force of habit, I left some money on the table as a tip for the waitress. Only to have the waitress come running after me to give me the money "I had forgotten to take with me." Then I realized, Oh yeah, there's no custome of tipping in Japan.

Is U.S. the only country where there is tipping? I thought about this . . . if I'm eating at a restaurant, shouldn't the server be paid by the restaurant? Or at a barber shop, since I'm paying for the haircut chouldn't that be enough? Or a cab ride? Even call girls demand tips. J/K! But if I go have the oil changed for my car, I don't tip the mechanic. If I go grocery shopping I don't tip the gal who's working the cash register. Who should and who shouldn't get tipped?

I've been a waiter myself in my younger days at a very busy popular restaurant in NYC in the mid 1980s. I averaged $80 a night, five nights a week, which was very good money then. The restaurant also paid us minimum wage (might have been lower) because tipping is compensation for serving the food, and the restaurant can't make the waiters do cleaning, supply-shopping, or other sundry work without paying a wage. The withholding tax on the tips came out of this wage, so the "paycheck" was literally a few dollars each week.

This is what would happen if there was no tipping.

If waiters can't make enough money to live on and the restaurant won't pay them a decent salary, they'd quit and find a better job. The the restaurant would have to raise the wages so that it can attract people to work as servers, and raise the prices of the food to make up the cost. If the restaurant increases the prices by 15 - 20 %, the customers are no better or worse off. If they raise it more, the customers end up paying more in the long run than had they kept tipping the servers.

Since there are many countries that do not have the custome of tipping, yes, the society would still run efficiently if there was no tipping. But in the case of the U.S., I say don't fix anything that ain't broke. However, if I get bad service, I ain't tipping as much, or AT ALL !!

There is a custom of tipping in Poland. Like give tips to the waiters, or cab drivers. Usually it depends on the service and the man who is serving us. If nice and helpful, I may leave a tip.

It is rather an option here, not a must-thing.

*points at this thread*

I hate tipping and think it should always be included in the bill (and consumption tax/VAT too). So the system in Japan or some European countries is ideal for me. The US is a nightmare.

jeisan said:

*points at this thread*

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Thanks. Wow, that's from 2002 ! No way I would've found it myself.

the original is lol it was revived for abit in october.

anyway yeah now waitresses are paid less than minimun wage, like $2.15 an hour here.

Golgo? Call girls? :souka:

There is tipping in Germany, but it's entirely optional. I don't have much money & I almost never tipped (well, not that I go to a restaurant all too often, anyway).

What is also interesting is the culture of distributing the tips among the employees. I heard from friends who've worked in restaurants, that in German ones the tips are shared equally among all members of the team. In Chinese restaurants all either keep what they get individually or, even worse, the boss gets it all.

kirei_na_me said:

Golgo? Call girls? :souka:

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Sorry, I should have said "Ladies of the Night."

Of course, I was joking, doncha know? :balloon:

I really liked not tipping in Japan. I don't like that it's an obligation in the U.S. Not leaving a tip is usually considered an insult. If I get great service (which is rare) I don't mind leaving a tip, but I shouldn't have to "bribe" my server to do his/her job. I think the burden should be on the employer to pay its employees a decent living wage - it works in other countries. I've worked in restaurants before, and of course I didn't mind when people left me some extra money, but I still thought that that shouldn't be the customers "responsibility" to do so. At my job now, no one gives me extra money when I do a good job and my paycheck is CRAP!

In Portugal, tipping is optional, and I must admit that in most occasions that I "tip" is just an excuse for not to have too much coins in my pockets. The only occasion that I give an all-hearted tip is when there is a big dinner or lunch party and I know that there will be a lot of grief put in the employees, so I convince the guys to give each one at least a coin to the bill plate. A coin doesn't look like much, but multiply it by 20-30 persons.

Oh, and one time, an Oporto taxi driver managed to put me in the airport in less than 20 minutes and my hotel was across town and I was running late. I only had a big bill with me so I let him keep the change. He must had a 300% tip, but he earned it.

If I had more money I'd probably tip a lot more, over 20%, because I know how hard it is to work in the industry (as being a waiter in my past life). As it stands Im poor as hell from grad school, so I can't tip as much as I like. In north america, people's livelihoods depend on tips, especially in canada where a ""servers wage" often exists below minimum wage (well it used to... I don't know anymore). So I suggest you tip well if your service is good.
Japan is one of the few places that tipping doesn't exist. I know its called "le Gratte" in france (I think)

I Always Try And Convince Myself....

with the young waiters , that I"m helping them pay for their college tuition.

Frank

:blush:

I know how it is. I worked as a waitress through high school and while I was in college, and it is not pleasant. Those picky people who have to have this removed, that on the side, this toasted, this left off, this added, no ice in that, I want my lettuce crispy, so wrap it separate, I want my BUNS steamed, and then have their party of 15-20 all pay separate!!! You put on a smile, act pleasant through all of this, and then they leave you a dollar or something! Okay, that's my outburst for the day.

If you want to be a tipsy, do so in moderation. If you don't want to be a tipsy, don't. It's a matter of preference. It does not need to be an obligation. :gohan:

jeisan said:

anyway yeah now waitresses are paid less than minimun wage, like $2.15 an hour here.

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Whoa, how is that possible? I thought it was against the law to pay below the federal minimum wage? If it wasn't why does the US have one?

To my knowledge(at least around here), all waitresses who earn tips do not get paid minimum wage. I guess they don't get paid minimum wage because of the money they make in tips. I believe they pay waiters/waitresses a wage that when added to the average of the money the make in tips, adds up to minimum wage, maybe more. I guess they are not required to pay minimum wage to wait staff if they make over a certain amount in tips.

In high school, I worked for a family owned business that was part drive-in restaurant and part dine-in. The girls working the drive-in part would get a little less than minimum wage, but the girls working the dine-in part would get a lot less, because they made a lot more in tips than the drive-in waitresses.

A Good Waitress Can Make A Ton Of Money!!

$80 to $100 a day is average at a good resturant. I think they have to work harder than a hooker by far with what they put up with!

Frank

:blush:

Whenever I'm in the states....

I try to tip well. Of course, it depends on the service! That being said, I love my barber and always tip him alot. Afterall, the man has a razor at my throat half the time I see him.



At your standard venue in the US, I tip according to how often my coffee cup gets refilled...

Frank D. White said:

with the young waiters , that I"m helping them pay for their college tuition.

Frank

:blush:

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With young actors in LA and NYC, you're prolonging a dream that will never come.

Frank D. White said:

$80 to $100 a day is average at a good resturant. I think they have to work harder than a hooker by far with what they put up with!

Frank

:blush:

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That was in 1984 I averaged $80 a night. And yes, I did put up with a lot of nonsense.

mad pierrot said:

I try to tip well. Of course, it depends on the service! That being said, I love my barber and always tip him alot. Afterall, the man has a razor at my throat half the time I see him.

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Then you'd hafta tip a call girl pretty well , too. Afterall, she has a very vital part of your male anatomy in her hands. :sorry: