Tipping in USA/Canada
in [Airline Travel]
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From: John L on 10 Nov 2007 20:24 >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.
From: Dennis P. Harris on 10 Nov 2007 21:51 On Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:44:10 GMT in rec.travel.air, "Jeff" <jrhpc1(a)gmail.com> wrote: > The OP was planning a trip to the U.S. and Canada. (And in Europe, when > there is not a service charge added to the bill, it is customary to tip as > well. But each European country their customs may vary). > and as i said in a later post, the custom has changed over the past 25-30 years so that service is usually included on the bill. when i was in france 3 years ago, i found that about half the restaurants itemized service separately, and about half did not. in the early 80s, about half would itemize service on the bill, usually about 15% of the cost of the meal, and about half would leave it off but expect the customer to add it. when it wasn't on the bill, i would always ask if it was included. i can only speak to my experience in britain and france. i have been told that italians still tip. even if they aren't compulsory, i have always found that a little extra to the staff always ensured special treatment, except in NZ & oz, where folks would be insulted if you offered a gratuity. since my kiwi friends had warned me about this, i never made that mistake.
From: Robert Cohen on 10 Nov 2007 22:14 On Nov 9, 10:41 pm, Robert Cohen <robtco...(a)msn.com> wrote: > On Nov 8, 8:13 pm, Hatunen <hatu...(a)cox.net> wrote: > > > > > > > On Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:35:09 -0800, Robert Cohen > > > <robtco...(a)msn.com> wrote: > > >i suppose one > > > u.s. dollar per customer at a non-pretentious dinner or at a now > > >very common buffet restaurant is reasonable, or > > >in other words, two dollars per couple, et cetera-- > > > >you can certainly eventually get sick of 'em, but ryan's and the > > >other buffet restaurants convey unlimited and many varities of food, > > >and i bet few places in the world are this way, ten dollars or less > > >person, unlimited goood food > > > >at the fancier class restaurants, tip at least ten percent of the > > >total bill, and of course many or rmost people leave 15 percent or > > >twenty percent or more > > > >you'll feel ripped-off at yuppie places like ruby fridays, so wendy et > > >al fast food and those amazing buffet places are best for budget > > >traveller > > > >for clothes and chotskies go to the tangar shopping outlet places > > >and several other factory outlet places is where the people genrally > > >seem to be especially on weekends > > > >the u.s.a. is pndeed complex, so a guide book wouldn't hurt > > > >if one is not affluent, one goes to wendy's etal > > > You can't kid me. You're really Archie the Cockroach, aren't you? > > > -- > > ************* DAVE HATUNEN (hatu...(a)cox.net) ************* > > * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * > > * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text - > > fyi and rationalization and in the vein of frommer's europe on five > dollars per day: > > there is that declasse underside of the continent that the usual > tourist guidebooks probably ignore- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - 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" and my profoundly shallow point is? banal, crass, normative economics isn't physics, plus a-hole elitists should f themselves
From: JohnT on 11 Nov 2007 03:32 "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. And surely the USA (plus, perhaps, Canada) is the only territory where taxes are not included in the quoted cost. So, in New York for example, a meal nominally costing $25 would actually cost $25 + 8.25% + 15%, which is more than $31. -- JohnT
From: Louis Krupp on 11 Nov 2007 04:39
Qanset wrote: <snip> > ... I try to be flexible when observing local customs, but I > will not be bullied into tipping, which I have seen happen. Tipping in the US is like trying to speak French in France; do it, and people smile. After all, one reason for traveling is to interact with the locals, and it has to be more fun than just looking at the scenery while treating the people like robots. Interaction with waiters and so on isn't always just about money. Louis |