Message 166 of 22774 in Behind the Bar

Share on Facebook |  Save to del.icio.us

> You just tip. That's how it is.

Not in all places. China, Japan, Taiwan, and most of Southeast Asia frown on 
tipping, and it is rare in such places. In fancy, high-class restaurants, a 
10% service charge may be automatically added to the bill, however. Tipping is 
officially illegal in Singapore! But tipping 10% is common in Hong Kong, Macau 
and the Philippines (because of the Western influences).

In India and other South Asian countries, tipping (baksheesh) is performed 
before the service. It's essentially a bribe.

> You tip 10% in Europe, 15% in the US. (I don't know about other 
> places). 

I remember it was 10% in the US in the 1970s. Somehow it mutated into a 15% 
"standard". I keep hearing people saying how "It's now 20%". Who decided how 
much "it" is? As a percentage, it should be immune from inflationary pressure. 
I tip 15% of the pre-tax total (in the US, taxes are not included in the price 
- another peeve of mine), unless the service is extraordinary, or the server 
is a personal friend; then I tip more. If the service is dreadful, I do not 
tip at all, I complain to the manager, and I never return unless the manager 
offers a free meal for my next visit.

> If I could change everyone's views about tipping, I'd go with 
> something close to Dan's views: the server gets paid in full by the 
> restaurant and the customer tips if the service is extraordinary. 

Yes, I think that servers should be paid an actual wage instead of this 
sub-minimum-wage nonsense, and tips should be what they were originally 
intended to be - optional.