Tipping in USA/Canada
in [Airline Travel]
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From: Hatunen on 11 Nov 2007 17:02 On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 08:32:21 -0000, "JohnT" <johnSPAMNOT31(a)fastmail.fm> wrote: >"John L" <johnl(a)iecc.com> wrote in message >news:fh5lks$1j06$1(a)gal.iecc.com... >> >So the customer has to pay his/her server's minimum wage in addition >>>to paying for the food and the tax. >> >> Yeah. Think of it as an implicitly itemized bill. >> >> When I was in England earlier this year, I noted the the prices in >> restaurants in the UK were about the same as in the US, except that >> the prices were in pounds, so something that cost 20 dollars in the US >> would cost 20 pounds in the UK. Even after you leave a tip, I think >> you'll find that restaurant prices in the US are not out of line with >> prices in other developed countries. >> >> > > >I don't argue that often prices in the UK are much higher than in the USA. >Prices in London are obscenely high, but tend to be more reasonable >throughout much of the rest of the UK. But I do find it very strange that in >a highly-developed Society such as the USA whoever serves a meal may well be >paid much less than the minimum legal wage. Not quite true. The legal minimum wage for waiters is lower than the legal minimum wage for others. >And surely the USA (plus, >perhaps, Canada) is the only territory where taxes are not included in the >quoted cost. Also Mexico. So, in New York for example, a meal nominally costing $25 would >actually cost $25 + 8.25% + 15%, which is more than $31. Yep. -- ************* DAVE HATUNEN (hatunen(a)cox.net) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
From: DaveM on 11 Nov 2007 17:07 On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:02:25 -0700, Hatunen <hatunen(a)cox.net> wrote: >On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 08:32:21 -0000, "JohnT" ><johnSPAMNOT31(a)fastmail.fm> wrote: >So, in New York for example, a meal nominally costing $25 would >>actually cost $25 + 8.25% + 15%, which is more than $31. >Yep. We should do this in the UK. Our standards of mental arithmetic could do with boosting. DaveM
From: Robert Cohen on 11 Nov 2007 23:04 On Nov 11, 5:58 am, Mr Travel <mrtra...(a)aa.aa> wrote: > Robert Cohen wrote: > > re: the economics of restaurant patronage and everything else in an > > often depressing reality > > > a few days ago, an olive garden (owned by darden) had people waiting > > for a table for lunch, and that estimated 30 minutes of waiting around > > would be to me a sort of torture > > > other nearby restaurants, including the somewhat more expensive > > darden's red lobster where we ended up. were not seemingly as crowded > > (one can also estimate from the number of cars in an eatery's parking > > lot if too lazy to go inside the bldg) > > > buyers certainly do tend to be price conscious, and it doesn't take > > einstein (or the "hungrygarian" teller) to perceive a basic simple > > phenomenon that the "too busy" olive garden is simply perceived as > > "better value" or considered "relatively cheaper" > > You could also perceived > > 1. Food at Olive Garden tastes better > 2. Americans would rather eat pasta at lunch than seafood > 3. The waitresses at OG are better than RL > 4. OG has the biggest sign or the best location. > 5. Perhaps RL has bad odors > > You could base it on a lot of things Why assume it was price?- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - When Red Lobster started 20 -30 years ago, they had a lunch menu that seemingly kept 'em busy for lunch too. Why? Because the meal was perceived as being novel plus good value, I suppose. Hey: it's not that damne ocean mercury fear that is making 'em less busy at lunch; while it surely has some impact too. Granted: consumers admittedly aren't totally basing their restaurant choices upon money/prices. I concur there are many other factors; while holding that price is the major determiner.
From: Capt. Del on 11 Nov 2007 23:57 As a Brit, personally I'm embarrassed to tip. It's not what I was brought up doing. We expect to tip but very discreetly. But that's not the American way. The American way is to brandish the tip like a fiery sword, making sure everybody can see how great a tipper you are. The bigger the tip the greater the guy you are. Staff at restaurants and bars accept the minimum wage knowing that the real wages are in the tips. Restaurant owners know that staff are fighting for the job and would even take the job for nothing, but they are legally compelled to pay the minimum wage. There are some establishments that stop paying even the minimum wage if a certain figure of tips is reached. It's not uncommon for a cute barmaid to make $1,000 a week in tips. Watch out! If she touches you or laughs at your jokes expect to double the tip and don't ever give loose change. The way to think about it is, this is not a tip, this is the cost of service. Welcome to America! But I guess you already know that in UK, Tips for known tipping jobs, i.e. Taxi drivers, hairdressers etc. are taxable, if they don't declare the tips then they are assessed and have to pay tax on whatever the tax man thinks they may earn. Welcome to the UK!
From: Louis Krupp on 12 Nov 2007 01:13
Capt. Del wrote: > > As a Brit, personally I'm embarrassed to tip. It's not what I was > brought up doing. We expect to tip but very discreetly. > But that's not the American way. > The American way is to brandish the tip like a fiery sword, making > sure everybody can see how great a tipper you are. The bigger the tip > the greater the guy you are. It might take some practice, but you can learn to be ostentatious, too. Think of it as getting in touch with your inner Yank. > > Staff at restaurants and bars accept the minimum wage knowing that the > real wages are in the tips. > Restaurant owners know that staff are fighting for the job and would > even take the job for nothing, but they are legally compelled to pay > the minimum wage. > There are some establishments that stop paying even the minimum wage > if a certain figure of tips is reached. > It's not uncommon for a cute barmaid to make $1,000 a week in tips. > Watch out! If she touches you or laughs at your jokes expect to double > the tip and don't ever give loose change. When the waitperson is something other than young and female and attractive, it's your chance to even the playing field a bit by tipping well (discreetly, if you must) for good service. > > The way to think about it is, this is not a tip, this is the cost of > service. > Welcome to America! "Howdy," as we say out west. > > But I guess you already know that in UK, Tips for known tipping jobs, > i.e. Taxi drivers, hairdressers etc. are taxable, if they don't > declare the tips then they are assessed and have to pay tax on > whatever the tax man thinks they may earn. > Welcome to the UK! > I must admit didn't know that. Who else besides taxi drivers and hairdressers must be tipped? Louis Boulder, Colorado |