I hate all of this. The entirety of it. We just came back from Japan and LOVED their model. They seat you and then you call them when you are ready to order. They don’t pop by right after you took a bite and ask how the food was and you have to gulp it down to reply. Need another drink? Call them. When done, most bring the bill and you go to the front to pay. DON’T LEAVE A TIP!
We would love to see this model come to the US. So much better. Also, restaurants in Japan are universally good. The food quality appeared to be much higher.
I find the UK approach to tipping a bit hypocritical. The common practice is for restaurants to add a “service charge”, usually 10 or 12.5 percent, to the bill and to itemise it as such. This charge is discretionary, so the customer can refuse to pay it; but since it is included by default, you’d have to go out of your way to tell the waiter you don’t want to pay it, thereby exposing yourself as a cheapskate. The option is there, but I think most customers (including myself) perceive there to be a significant psychological barrier that deters them from doing this. The end result is that in most cases you do end up paying it, but the incentive for the waiter to serve you well is reduced because they expect to get the default tip anyway.
Maybe off topic slightly, but having to do math to understand cost due to taxes is another, lesser evil of how the restaurant industry operates in the US.
I’m in Rome for a few days, and just finished a meal… the total cost was exactly the sum of the menu prices for each item I got. No additional tips or taxes. Makes it very easy to budget, and to understand your commitment as a customer before the bill arrives.
I have worked as a waiter in Cape Town, South Africa and London
In SA, I hated the “10% tip” which occasionally appeared as a suggestion on the bills of various restaurants I worked at, because as a decent waiter I often got 20%.
In London, fuck me, if I could get a 1% tip that would be a good day. I worked low-end, but those dickheads who work in the “goldern mile” out from their financial jobs for a liquid lunch apparently could not afford a single pound reward for service - and I am a good waiter!
Worked silver service at the Millenium Hotel, most famous for the poisoning of Litvinenko, no tips. I think that was hotel policy.
I was making £5 an hour
At that rate, I needed to work 2 hours to cover just transport. I often walked, because a 10-15km walk costs nothing.
One of my favourite books is George Orwell’s “Down and out in Paris and London” - worth a read.
The quality is better in fast food as well. I just want to throw in my anecdote about how amazingly good Big Macs are in Tokyo (and I’d assume the rest of Japan, too).
It seemed much more carefully put together and so fresh with just the right amount of pepper sprinkled on. I think that they are likely using higher quality ingredients as well. So good. Made me wonder whether it’s the actual Big Mac recipe that is considered so junky and bad in the US or if it’s the way they are made here.
I mostly grabbed noodles for lunch in Japan, but i, too, was extremely happy with the service at restaurants there. And in Spain, which i just visited, you do need to flag the waiter for everything other than initially ordering food, but when you do, they come over quickly and take care of you. Very pleasant.
Yes, we also preferred the service style in France and Spain. They also leave you alone when you are eating but come over when you need something.
It never fails that wait staff interrupts to ask how the food is, right after I’ve taken a bite. So freaking annoying. And then I feel obliged to leave a tip for their rudeness (not that it is their fault). Who likes this style of service? How do we lobby Big US Restaurant to be like other countries?
It’s gotten very bad. Now, if you go into a place like “Subway”, for example, the credit card machine has a tipping prompt, and the server stares at you while you are paying. It used to be that you tipped for table service, but not for fast food service. Now, they want a tip for handing you a bag and ringing your bill. Also, if you tip less than 18% now, you get a dirty look. They expect 20% or more.
The long and the short of it is that it is a definite economic factor in eating out, and so it has to affect how often people eat out and how much money they spend. I hate our system.
But you do this in every provider-customer interaction anyway, regardless of whether there is a tip involved. If I hire a plumber and he puts the faucet on upside down so water shoots up in the air, I’m judging his handiwork and not paying his fee unless it’s fixed. Likewise, when people seek my professional assistance, they judge my work, and if it doesn’t meet their standards you can bet I’m fixing it or not getting paid.
In either case, of course it’s the consumer getting to decide if “they like your service”. That’s exactly how it should be. Who else should get to decide? I don’t see it as “because I’m superior to you”. I see it as “because I’m paying for it”
I think the difference is that you aren’t going to pay the plumber if he doesn’t actually provide the service you are paying for - you don’t pay him if he puts the faucet in upside down, but you don’t pay him less if you don’t like his mood, or more if he gives you free services that his boss expects him to charge for. You don’t adjust his pay because he chats too much or too little for your liking.
Yeah, even at a drive-thru burger joint…granted, the’re usually very nice and whatever…but I ain’t tipping shit for that!
Even walk-in pizza joints where you walk in, get a slice, and leave.
In the latter case, I was a few times somewhat guilted/pressured to be the “big man” by a gal I was seeing, but c’mon.
No, I’m not tipping no fucking drive-thru person, nor a pizza jockey. They do good works, and I appreciate them by being polite, patient, and courteous.
Besides, some card-based tip…how do I know that’s going to the staff? And I’m pretty sure handing a few bills to the server to stuff in their pants is going to cause some problems for the contact.
Yeah. Yet another good reason to plan one’s meetings or socializations elsewhere than at the trough. Solution: don’t eat out, or only eat/drink/socialize at the bar.
I get it and I understand the distinction. Still I think the general point holds. The customer has every right to decide how a service was performed. I was more annoyed at puzzlegal’s insinuation that there is some kind of classist judgement being made in the server-diner relationship. It has nothing to do with that for most people. There are very basic things they should be able to expect of a server while dining out; fill my water glass, address any concerns or issues promptly, treat me with at least a modicum of respect, etc. It is not affecting an air of superiority if you judge a server to have not met those expectations.
It’s not the act of having expectations, it’s the monetary compensation itself.
The roots of gratuity are the Middle Ages. Here’s what wikipedia has to say.
Bolding added.
Plus, tipping isn’t fair because it isn’t solely based on service.
To sum up:
Tipping originated as a master/ serf relation, based on noblesse oblige.
Tipping was originally resisted in the US because it was anti-egalitarian.
Tipping became acceptable as the form of wage for former slaves after emancipation.
It became popular in restaurants and hotels during Prohibition, when owners were losing money from alcohol sales, shifting some of the expense to the customers.
Contrary to popular opinion, tipping in practice is determined more by appearance than quality of service.
I pretty much tip 20% (up from 15%) these days no matter what level of service I get. I’m even mindful of what the working environment is like. i.e. If service is a bit slow but I can see the waiter working his ass off I’m sure not going to punish him for that. If I can’t see why service is slow, I give my server the benefit of the doubt and tip 20%. I agree, what percentage given has little to do with the level of service I get.
Read your cite “Some have argued that…” Some have argued that the earth is flat.
This is part of some writers taking everything they dont like- police, gun, whatever, and saying it originated with slavery. They have been wrong 100% of the time.
It may or may not be what’s on some people’s mind - but it’s no coincidence that traditionally, the owner of a business was not tipped, even if he or she acted as a server or did the haircutting. It doesn’t have to be on someone’s mind to be a classist custom.
