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Are you a bad tipper?

Ambulance Chaser

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Then you may be outed on this website. Â Pretty amusing stuff where the tip is really low, but I think complaining about a 15-16% tip is a bit much.
 

Pink22m

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LOL
biggrin.gif
 

nightowl6261a

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surely not...just ask those who have been out with me....I am very generous....if the service is good
but i will say....i do not tip in France
 

Fabienne

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surely not...just ask those who have been out with me....I am very generous....if the service is good
but i will say....i do not tip in France
I don't know how you meant this, but you must know tips are included in the check you are presented with, in that country. And I would agree that it can happen that service isn't as an American would expect. It can often result from cultural misunderstandings, as I have observed. On the other hand, no matter how bad service can be in France, I still prefer it to the busybody, always in your face, American waiter (waitress). I don't include the better restaurant in either country for this assessment.
 

Mike

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I try to tip well, according to the serrvice I'm provided. That list just makes it so tempting to act like an asshole, just to try to make it on there. Hmmm,
devil.gif
 

Nonk

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Very interesting. I tip, but I expect good service, and see it as a reward for such, as after all waiting staff do actually get paid too. (I also work in a position that attracts no tips, shares, bonuses, gizzits, freebies, thanks or praise, so perhaps that colours my judgement somewhat)

Perhaps purely in the interests of fairness we should start a website on sh*te service we have received from so called "professional" waiters?

Waiting an hour to then be presented with a table that could only accommodate 2 malnourished children, when there are 3 adults in the party, followed by having to get my own utensils, and to be interrupted when the food finally arrives with nothing more than some acne ridden fool grunting "steak", does not qualify in my book as tip worthy service.
 

ViroBono

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I agree with Nonk; I tip directly in relation to the standard of service provided.

In particular, I am irritated by restaurants that include a 'service charge' and then leave a space for a tip on the credit card slip. On more than one occasion I have asked them to deduct the service charge when I have been unhappy with the service (it's optional by law in UK) - they certainly get the message. I find the increasing numbers of East Europeans (particularly Poles, Latvians and Lithuanians), working as waiting staff has improved things no end in UK, replacing the usual surly students and Antipodean wasters. Not only are they generally more attractive, they do not consider serving to be beneath them.

I find the whole business of tipping in the US bizarre. Do waiters and waitresses (sorry, my 'servers') think that telling me their name will make me want to give them money? Why don't the proprietors invest in a computer and print out 'today's specials' on a piece of paper inserted in the menu? Why do they keep asking if everything's ok? - if it's not, they'll be the first to know. Basically, I don't need to have a relationship with the waiting staff - I just want them to serve me quietly, efficiently and unobtrusively. /rant
 

aybojs

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That's my pet peeve with servers... whenever someone leaves a less than satisfactory tip (and the gradual attempts to inflate the "proper" tipping percentage from 10 to 15 to 20 are laughable), it's always because the customer is a horrible, cheap jackass, never because the server might have done something wrong to deserve a reduced tip.
 

Fabienne

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I accept the way things are in the US, I assume most Americans expect service to be as it is in most places, and I typically tip 15%, or more if service is exceptional. However, I must say that I feel stressed upon entering a restaurant. I know I will feel rushed 9 times out of 10. I know a server will be lurking behind a pillar, ready to take away my plate as soon as I put my fork down. I know that, as soon as someone at my table is done, his plate will be removed, leaving me to feel as though I need to catch up. Not to mention the constant interruptions by the server in the midst of my conversations with those at my table. As a result, we eat out less and less. I only go under business circumstances, or when a relative is in town and wants to "do us a favor".

A meal's significance is different in the US compared to that in most of Europe, although I suppose one might say it is changing? It doesn't seem to be valued as a place to socialize, or at least not for more than 45 minutes, if that. I have this letter written by a Frenchman in 1835. He was visiting Philadelphia for the first time, and commented on the food (not appetizing, mostly boiled meat and starches, served with buckwheat pancakes), and on the fact that people ate fast and in silence.
 

nightowl6261a

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i do not tip in France
I don't know how you meant this, but you must know tips are included in the check you are presented with, in that country.  And I would agree that it can happen that service isn't as an American would expect.  It can often result from cultural misunderstandings, as I have observed.  On the other hand, no matter how bad service can be in France, I still prefer it to the busybody, always in your face, American waiter (waitress).  I don't include the better restaurant in either country for this assessment.
Service has nothing to do with not tipping in France, the normal meal I have found in a fine restaurant in any place in Europe is expected to be 3 hours, the reason I do not tip in France, is as you said it is included and not normally expected...although I believe the tradition is taking a bit of a change from people who have traveled to the US and now are beginning to expect some small tip...I do tend to find myself leaving something small on the tables in other countries, why I am not quite sure, but not like I would in the states.
As to the in your face, I much prefer a waiter to be courteously attentive to my dining needs more like the waiters in the states are, not pushy, but attentive, water, empty plates etc. I believe the cultural differences in the waiters comes to a simple term, understood more in the US than any other country, and maybe it is a demand from the people of the US, "SERVICE", a waiter here earns thier pay, they do not make a high wage, they generally work on tios, therefore they feel the need to do more to earn more...unlike the service in many European restaurants outside of the fancier ones.
 

Styleman

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Total bill / Tip amount / Percentage: $28.27 / $4.73 / 16%
What happened:
It's not really the tip that bothers me. I would, however, like to give these people an idea on how to behave while dining out.
1) Do not ignore your server. When I come to your table to take your order, do not start a conversation with whoever is a your table and completely ignore me. Are you not hungry?

2) When I tell you that we do not have spicy mustard, do not look at me in absolute disgust as if I am a liar. After working at this store for five years I know the menu, I promise.

3) When I deliver your food, please move cellphones, pictures, etc from the area I should place it. The chick in the picture was ******* ugly anyway.

4) If you plan to order wine, white zin is ****. Order something that has a flavor besides that of vomit.

5) Almost all servers hate campers. If you plan to take up a table (not just mine) for more than an hour and a half, please tip accordingly. I almost brought you pillows and sleeping bags.

I found this one on the mentioned website particually ridiculous, not only did the guy give a good enough tip, but also the points only show how stupid the server must be.

1. Ha. To go for a meal is a social event, if anything the sever should come at a time when there is not a conversation. I am sure that the person was not suffering of chronic starvation.

3. Wtf? is it not your job to move it.

5. They did tip you, as it says, you should appriciate what you get.

Bloody hell, I doubt that servers are this way in the UK, although I did once give less that the service charge at Levant, all I got was a question - Was the service not good sir? I replied "No, it was okay, but you are quite busy today, and I felt that 20% (or whatever it was) was not fitting to the level of service" The person was very polite, and simply thanked me and whished my party goodnight.
 

Drew

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Serving is a tough, physically demanding job done by people who are usually just trying to make it. I've been a server, I currently am a server.

I tip pretty well, usually at or above 20% because that is what I feel the service is worth and it is what I would want if the tables were turned.

As long as they don't bother me, keep my glass full, and don't make me wait on the check, change, or credit slip, they'll get their 20 or so.

I'm courteous to servicepeople in general. If they are empowered to serve me, they also have the power to screw the transaction up, so I don't start out giving them a reason to. Usually they appreciate it, and respond in kind.
 

j

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I remember reading (probably in GQ) about how George Hamilton suggested to handle tipping. He would find a restaurant he liked, and introduce himself to the manager and say, "I'm going to be eating here a lot; put my card number on file and add 25% to the bill - don't even bring the bill to the table." Of course he is a famous person, but I imagine anyone who did this could expect superior service, plus the impressiveness of being recognized, served quickly and then just leaving when finished. "What about the check?" "Oh, they know me here."

I thoroughly intend to do this somewhere, when I have the cashflow.
 

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