I don’t think that’s true at all. I’m with Leaffan on this - I’m surprised to learn that’s weird in the US… it’s absolutely standard for tea to come with milk (or at least be offered) in 100% of the Canadian restaurants I’ve been in.
I keep reading this thread and wondering if the egg was poached to soft boiled.
Stranger’s comments go too far. It is completely “accepted”. It’s just not the default. I’ve had milk offered to me and no one looks at me strange when I ask for it. With coffee it’s always offered or brought as a default- I have to explicitly say I prefer my coffee balck. With tea it is sometimes offered or brought, but it is not generally the default. However, it is not seen as weird when i ask for it (at least in my experience).
It’s a small cultural difference.
Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten somewhere that brought milk automatically with coffee, much less tea. If it’s too classy to have little cups of creamer on the table a la Perkins, they ask if I want cream when I order the coffee and that’s the time to request milk.
Most diners or mid-range places I’ve been at bring the little dish of creamers (which my kids always stacked into pyramids and towers 
). Higher end restaurants almost always ask if I want cream for my coffee, but only rarely ask if I want milk when I ask for tea. They don’t blink if I request it though.
So you are saying the quality of the food has nothing to do with what tip you leave?
The things I learn here… I, in fact, drink my tea and coffee black, but the 100% default here in Canada is to make sure milk (or cream) is served with both coffee and tea. I just cannot imagine why it would not be the default everywhere!
Yes, different cultures, etc. But I had no idea.
Exactly so.
I don’t like eating out by myself anyway so I tend to buy take away or browse the supermarkets.
Or I order room service and without exception a surcharge is already added as part of the costs so no need for any other tipping.
That’s correct. How the server reacts if I report poor quality food impacts the tip. But a fantastic meal doesn’t earn the server a big tip unless they were instrumental in the experience (recommendations, wine pairings, etc). After a great meal I may be more inclined to be generous, but that can be achieved by several glasses of wine as well.
What’s the difference between fast food & a sit-down restaurant? You walk in, peruse the menu, someone takes your order & then delivers your food & you eat. In one you do everything seated while the other you carry your tray to your seat. I’ve never seen someone tip in McDonald’s.
I think it’s totally ridiculous that we should pay people extra to do their jobs, whether it’s waiter/ess, bartender, taxi driver, bellhop, or other. Unfortunately it’s part of the culture in the US & therefore I do it, because otherwise I’m just stiffing a working schlub but that doesn’t mean I like it. I’d much rather pay more base & not have to add any extras on.
Of course not- only yes in the sense that higher quality restaurants are generally more expensive, so I leave bigger tips (since the total bill is higher). If the food was awful, and I said something to the server, and they did nothing about it, then I’d dock the tip for poor service.
The difference is McDonalds employees are paid by the restaurant.
Really? Yes, sometimes we do things a different here in the states, and it’s really ok.
I can’t imagine tipping more for a better meal. I recently went to a couple Michelin-star quality restaurants. Does anyone expect me to tip 30% because the food is amazing?
My usual tip is 18%-20% post-tax. Over the last 25 years, I’ve left a $0 tip exactly twice.
The last time this happened was at a mall restaurant - a pricey casual kind of place with $15-$25 entrees - I had ordered roast chicken and my wife had ordered a stir fry with tofu. When we received the food, the waiter dropped it on the table and walked off. My wife examined the food and discovered the tofu was left off.
Upon calling the waiter over and explaining the situation, he opined that my wife had probably eaten the tofu and then called him over to complain. When my wife expressed indignation and surprise, the server said this happened all the time with customers wanting stuff for free.
A brief chat with the manager resulted in the dish being comped, but there was no chance a waiter who was a complete dick was getting a tip. The food may have been the issue but it was entirely the way that the waiter handled that pissed us off.
“Personal” service.
At McDonald’s, you walk in, you walk to the counter, you give them your order, you stand there and wait for your food, then you’re entirely on your own. You want a napkin? Ketchup? More to drink? “They’re all over there.” You go to them.
At a sit down restaurant, you sit, and they come to you. You want a napkin? Ketchup? More to drink? “I’ll bring that right out.”
I agree with this completely. It’s also incredibly unfair on kitchen staff, who in many restaurants ending up earning far less than wait staff despite having more training and more skills, because they don’t share in the tips. I’d be happy for tipping to be eliminated altogether.
But i also understand that, whether i like it or not, it’s currently part of the way things work in the United States, and if i fail to tip, all i’m doing is screwing over a hard-working, minimum wage employee. Which would make me an asshole.
[There’s an interesting Freakonomics episode on the efforts of restaurateur Danny Meyer to eliminate tipping at his high-end New York eatery]
Sure but milk with tea is so universal I had no idea it wasn’t the default everywhere. That’s all.
That’s my point- it’s not so universal.
In your experience it may be, but that’s because you’re missing experiences with the places it is not. That’s true for everyone- people just have to be careful to not get stuck in the mind set that one person’s universal experience is the universal experience. Ideally, the response to finding it out should be “wow, that’s interesting” and not “that’s weird, what’s wrong with them”.
If literally no one but the the people who think tipping is dumb as hell care why the vitriol seen in this thread? People are even getting basically a pass on language directed at the op as well.