European travelers and tipping in the USA

S

superbot

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There is more than a hint of ignorance in this post. The markup in booze does not go to the workers, it goes to the owners. What he should have done is continue to educate the ignorant fucks and tell them that in the US waitstaff are compensated by tips.

That others will give tips does not excuse others who received good service from not leaving a tip
People go to restaurants to enjoy a meal and and each others company,not contemplate the staffs' working conditions.These people are on holiday and almost certainly never gave the whole tipping thing a second thought.If you people are stupid enough to work in those conditions then thats your fault,you need to challenge the bosses and not the customers.So don't refer to these people as 'ignorant fucks' just because most European countries safe guard their workers rights by giving their staff the right pay for the job they do.
A tip is a measure of how much someone has enjoyed (or not) the service offered by a particular establishment,it's not an entitlement.
Paying ANYONE two dollars an hour in 2012 is positively third world.So buoycott anyone paying these wages,things will soon change...!!
 
S

superbot

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Look how easy it is now thanks to the internet... Restaurant Tipping Guide For the US.

Travel Guides Gratuity & Tipping When you are traveling. All of this information was available to me and anyone else who wanted to find out prior to the internet.
That's not tipping.Thats expecting the public to subsidise workers wages so the bosses can get away with paying their staff what amounts to a tip and not a wage.Definately a case of 'putting the cart before the horse...'
 

nudeyorker

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That's not tipping.Thats expecting the public to subsidise workers wages so the bosses can get away with paying their staff what amounts to a tip and not a wage.Definately a case of 'putting the cart before the horse...'

Save it. You sound just like the horrible people who were just too damn cheap to leave a tip and pretended they did not know the norm in the US.
I have some advice don't come to the US and expect good service from the same restaurant twice with that attitude. There are several places like McDonalds where you don't need to tip.
 
S

superbot

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Save it. You sound just like the horrible people who were just too damn cheap to leave a tip and pretended they did not know the norm in the US.
I have some advice don't come to the US and expect good service from the same restaurant twice with that attitude. There are several places like McDonalds where you don't need to tip.
...Er,I think you'll find that good service is something that should be given regardless and NOT bought.
If and when you come to the UK you will be given the option to tip or not to tip AND NO ONE WILL BAT A EYELID which ever you chose and has got nothing to do with being tight fisted, so don't be so arrogant as to suggest you know these peoples motives for witholding paying a gratuity.If someone hasn't had good service or value for money of course they're not going to leave a tip....that's their prerogative.
As for your 'attitude' comment,my concerns are for the staff who are clearly being ripped off,which I clearly stated above.If that doesn't concern you like-wise,then it damn well should.
 
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nudeyorker

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I've been to the UK many times. I always tip if the service is above and beyond.
Have you ever been to the US? If the answer is no then I think I speak for every waiter/waitress and bartender in all 50 states. "Stay Home!"
It sounds as though you have never been a waiter or to the US so take your own advice and don't be so arrogant to think that you even know what you are talking about.
 

rayray

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Why would a server want a customer who does not tip to visit again?

Servers in the US are paid around $2 an hour, and all that money goes towards paying taxes. If you don't tip you are stealing from the server. The government assumes that each customer will tip and forces the employee to pay taxes on a percentage of the bill. Also many restaurants will take a percentage of a servers sales, up to around 5% (1/3 or expected tips that night) and give it to the busboys, food runners, bartenders and sometimes hosts.

If you don't know how to tip or don't want to please eat at McDonald's.

That is how the system was set up int he US so restaurants can have waiters working and not have to pay them much. So if it was different all food prices in restaurants would be 15 or 20% higher.

I don't know how to do wrap around quotes, if someone would be kind enough tp PM me and tell me how to do it..Anyway there were a lot of good comments.Let me say first that it was in very poor taste to approach a customer about stiffing me, i have never done that before.I have to defend "Nudeyorker" for his greeting to his tables in Hawaii..Very few people would shut him up. The customer especially at a Island resort wants to enjoy the dining expierience . I live in a resort area in Sarasota Florida..I will say the customers dont know there way around to the best beaches, restaurants, etc...In the United States and by the way was referred to a third world country for their customs. I believe someone from Great Britain said that..Just remember and this is off subject but if you were to get attacked, the USA would be their in a heartbeat.The tipping, how it goes like this here..Based on total sales say $1700 for the night, as a server i am required to claim 15% of those 1700 dollars in sales which comes out to 255 dollars, another 3% would be deducted from my total sales which is 41 dollars for bus and bar..So i am taxed on those sales and i receive a voided check with double zero's..Someone mentioned the price of cocktails ? Yes this would boost the check by quite a bit. These people i confronted all had Iced Tea with free refills..They received excellent service and ran the hell out of me, which never showed on my face and affected my attitude..What they did do was come in at closing time. I am used to that because i closed tjr restaurant everynite. What i did not mention was the previous table did not tip either..I don't dicriminate but this ethnic group was known not to leave a tip..I will probably receive some flak back but this is how it works here...
 
S

superbot

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I've been to the UK many times. I always tip if the service is above and beyond.
Have you ever been to the US? If the answer is no then I think I speak for every waiter/waitress and bartender in all 50 states. "Stay Home!"
It sounds as though you have never been a waiter or to the US so take your own advice and don't be so arrogant to think that you even know what you are talking about.
If, as you say, you speak for all the waiter staff in the US,you'd be better employed standing up for their rights and demanding they be paid 21st century wages by the people who employ them and not expect them to be dependant from living off tips.
For your imformation, I worked as a barman for three and a half years and don't recall ever been given a tip, the occasional free drink yes.But then again my wages were £12 per hour (in 1988) so I didn't feel a need to chase customers down the street and give them the third degree!!!!!
The situation in your country is that everything is geared towards the big corporations who rake in huge profits and in return give their employees the the most basic remuneration.
Anyone working in a bar or restaurant who has, say 20 customers in a day, means that they're weekly wage packet is going to be peanuts.This is not looking after your staff,this is scraps from the table!
If, as you say, you enjoyed tipping generously whilst in the UK, so be it,that's your choice,but again, I repeat,had you chosen not do so,you would not have been challenged or made to feel guilty about the staffs working conditions.
Instead of slagging me off and those holiday makers (whose side of the story you haven't heard) you'd be better off accepting that a persons right to tip or not to tip is just that, a right.
And yes I have been to America,but what relevence that has to the arguement,god only knows.
 

D_Miranda_Wrights

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I actually met an Aussie who not only didn't tip, but thought it was a terrible practice. He thought it was condescending (since they should be paid a decent wage, not have to "work" for it in a special way) and borderline bribery. Dude was pretty intense about it.
 
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798686

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I must admit it sounds odd to me. The standard over here as far as I am aware is to tip 10% for good service.
Yeh, I've always found the norm is about 10% over here whatever it's for - eating out or taxis. Not everyone does it, but most do. I'm also aware it's higher in the US, and compulsory in France. :p

It's also not automatically expected here - the staff don't ask for one but seem pretty grateful when you do tip them (which I always do, incidentally).

On a slightly different note - I've also found a difference in the way Americans and Brits treat the service staff. Over here, American tourists seem to be a lot more demanding and less polite throughout the meal, but tip more - whereas the Brits are generally appreciative throughout. Not sure if it's the same throughout the States, but maybe Americans expect more from their waiters - and pay accordingly?
 

rubbernuts

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I actually met an Aussie who not only didn't tip, but thought it was a terrible practice. He thought it was condescending (since they should be paid a decent wage, not have to "work" for it in a special way) and borderline bribery. Dude was pretty intense about it.

I'm an Aussie but not the one Young Native has met :tongue:

However I agree entirely with what he has written. If 'good' service deserves a tip, and 'normal' service no tip, are we [the diners] entitled to get a refund out of the waiter's pocket for 'bad' service?

If you [a waiter in the USA] go to see a movie and the presentation is excellent [no flashes from bad reel splices, image in sharp focus, etc] do you tip the projectionist? And if you think my analogy is poor, try checking up projectionists' wages in the US! :mad:

Really guys, the employment conditions stink if 'the system' is such you need the tips to survive :eek:
 

Jason

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I think there has been a change recently in the UK "norms" on tipping.

The biggest change (it seems to me) is corporate entertainment where say a company takes a client or clients out to a meal or where a group of employees are taken out by their employer. It is now pretty much impossible for a tip to be put through on expenses - companies just won't reimburse the tipper (I suppose because it causes some problem in their accounting if they have paid a gratuity). It isn't practical to ask a client to contribute to the tip. Either the "host" tips out of his/her own pocket, or more usually a tip isn't given.

There is indeed a UK view that a tip patronises the waiter. I've once had this view expressed by a waiter (and it was a respectable tip!) This is of course exceptional, but there is a real sense in the UK that employees should be paid a decent wage and a tip should not be necessary. There's also a view that a tip is a form of bribe, and action which suggests a tip is wanted (holding out a hand say, or asking for a tip) would be regarded as begging.

UK tips tend to be only for more formal meals, particularly evening meals. A cafe-style lunch would not require a tip. For evenings, 10% tends to be tops. Often the system is that of rounding up the bill a bit rather than contributing a fixed percentage. A group of four people who ran up a bill of say £153 might decide to put in £40 each (easy for them) - in effect a £7 tip which is less than 5%.

In the UK, tips will not be given for service that is in any way poor - there is no particular problem in not tipping. A few restaurants automatically add on a "service charge" - if service is poor many people would correct the bill to deduct this. There are even people who deduct it on principle (which might be why the idea hasn't really caught on).

I think the UK tipping trend is firmly downwards. The idea is increasingly that the employer should pay a decent wage and that gratuities, backhanders, bribes and charity is something that is characteristic only of strange foreign lands. Tips are taxable income - the law requires that waiters declare tips on their tax return. If you believe a waiter will not declare their tips you are committing a crime in giving a tip!

If I become aware that a particular restaurant is not paying a decent rate then I would not use it - and more importantly most companies would not use it. UK minimum wage is £5.93ph (going up a bit in April) which is what (say) McDonalds pays at the bottom of its scale (and absolutely no-one tips in McDonalds). In a very modest restaurant, waiters are mostly on £8-£10ph; those in higher end restaurants will be on more. £8ph x 40 hours pw = £320, say £16,000pa.
 

SilverTrain

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I'm an Aussie but not the one Young Native has met :tongue:

However I agree entirely with what he has written. If 'good' service deserves a tip, and 'normal' service no tip, are we [the diners] entitled to get a refund out of the waiter's pocket for 'bad' service?

If you [a waiter in the USA] go to see a movie and the presentation is excellent [no flashes from bad reel splices, image in sharp focus, etc] do you tip the projectionist? And if you think my analogy is poor, try checking up projectionists' wages in the US! :mad:

Really guys, the employment conditions stink if 'the system' is such you need the tips to survive :eek:

Having said what I said earlier in the thread, and picking out this one comment among many others of its ilk, I would submit that telling people how their country ought to be run is the very kind of thing people tend to complain about Americans doing.
 

GB_GB

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I wouldn't have done that to foreigners, not even too Americans. They could've been on a travel budget. I have a friend who'llactually calculate 15% of his tip at the table. It's annoying to see. The little a customer gives you, be content with it. At least they were considerate enough. If you get nothing, then forget about it and hope for a cooler customer to serve.
 

Gecko4lif

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I dont tip unless im ordering delivery or service really was quite excellent



I tipped this waitress 50 bucks on a 20 dollar meal one time because she practically fellated me during service
 

B_subgirrl

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I actually met an Aussie who not only didn't tip, but thought it was a terrible practice. He thought it was condescending (since they should be paid a decent wage, not have to "work" for it in a special way) and borderline bribery. Dude was pretty intense about it.

Most (although not all!) Aussies tend to think this way.

Mostly, we just don't do tipping here. It's not required. It's not expected. It's not standard (at least in middle of the range places and lower).

SOME Aussies will tip sometimes. Usually it's for particularly good service, although it's often just because they couldn't be bothered waiting for change (particularly when the change is a small amount).

I've done a waitressing type job, and tips were nice when we got 'em, but they were a BONUS. They weren't necessary because our basic wage was as good as that of anyone in a job that didn't require special qualifications.

If I were to visit the US, I KNOW I would forget to tip at least once, despite knowing it is expected there. I'm just not in the habit of tipping, unless the service stands out as particularly good. It wouldn't be that I was disrespecting US customs, or the minimum wage wait staff (who I feel for terribly!). I would just have forgotten.
 

gymfresh

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Really guys, the employment conditions stink if 'the system' is such you need the tips to survive :eek:

The difference is that, by tradition here in the US, working "front of the house" foodservice is effectively work done "on commission". Waitstaff get a very basic wage, one that is exempt from the standard minimum wage, so in many cases the bulk of their income is from tips. It's not icing on the cake here in the US. Tips are what waiters and waitresses depend on to make their car and rent payments.

Under "the system" you decry, a typical waiter in the US might make $15,000 a year in salary (under the special reduced restaurant wages in our law) and $20,000 in tips per year for a 40-hour workweek. Because we're a tipping culture, it was decided long ago to factor that into what's paid to employees in service industries, hence the exemption for employers from the standard minimum wage laws.

What do you suggest; that the entire nation of foodservers go on strike for a different system? I admit I like the Aussie system, but ours works fine as long as diners understand that there is an expectation of paying, on average, 15% above the menu's listed prices for consistent and pleasant service. If it's intrusively poor or unpleasant, you leave less. If it is memorably professional and enjoyable, you generally pay more. It's basically pay-for-performance.
 

Jason

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What is the tax position in the USA on tips? I've just checked the UK HMRC website and confirm:

"You'll have to pay Income Tax on any tips you get when you're working. But you may not have to pay National Insurance contributions. You'll usually pay the tax and any National Insurance contributions through PAYE (Pay As You Earn)."

Basically tips have to be declared and the tax paid. HMRC (the tax office) is clear that not declaring tips is tax evasion. It also points out that it is wrong to encourage someone to evade tax, and giving tips can be seen as encouraging tax evasion.

The UK reality is that we still tip in restaurants and a very few other circumstances.
 

Guy-jin

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Tipping is not considered offensive in Japan. It simply isn't done, and if you do it, they will likely chase you down an give your money back. Big difference from the US. And yeah, that's why Japanese are notoriously bad tippers.

Tips are reportable income in the US and are taxed, but many people who have a tipping job do not report all tips.
 
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