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Tipping in the USA: "Is tipping optional"?

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  1. #1

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    Tipping in the USA: "Is tipping optional"?

    I was too slow this morning - and the debate was such fun - I thought it worth adding an anecdote of my own to the question of "is tipping optional" in the USA?

    I was in Breckenridge a few years back, at a ski resort. Ordered soup for lunch. Waitress took ages to bring the soup, and then spilled it all over me when it did arrive. So I didn't leave a tip. She stood, in the doorway, preventing me from leaving the restaurant screaming at the top of her voice about "foreigners who don't know it's obligatory to tip in the USA" and basically giving me a lecture on the subject. Its not something I will forget.

    And I didn't tip her - I hold firm to my own principles.

    Tipping in the USA is an APPALLING practise. And as others noted on the thread, you get perfectly good service from waiters and waitresses in "non-tipping" nations such as Japan, Australia, NZ so there would appear to be zero evidence of it "improving" service.


  2. #2

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    I think that the practise of tipping in the US is fine in general given that it makes up a large portion of the overall income of workers. In that sense i don't have an expectation that paying the tip is in exchange for great service - its just the convention. However, I certainly agree that in those extreme cases of bad service like you encountered it is entirely justified in not paying the tip. You should have told her to pay for your dry cleaning first then the tip would be paid.

    climber07 and dear giant like this.

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    Agree wholeheartedly and kudos to you for sticking to your guns, Moving!

    What really gets my back up is the fact that it takes the same effort to bring a plate of pasta to the table as much as it does to bring a rib eye steak and yet I'm supposed to give them 20% of the value of the dish.

    I do not see why I have to subsidise wages of a certain sector of the service industry, and at such a hefty rate.


  4. #4

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    I think the word "tip" got lost in translation on its journey across the pond.


  5. #5

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    That situation sounded like it was loaded for comedy potential

    I agree- mandatory tipping is a right pain in the ass. I do notice that wait staff are exceptionally cheery in the US, which I put down to them hamming it up for tips. The thing is, I find these unsubtle attempts at ingratiation to be mildly irritating and much prefer the honest and unforced service in other countries. I even prefer the offhand, half-arsed "your order can wait until I have finished chatting with my colleagues" approach that Dutch wait staff are famous for. At least it's honest.

    Edit: Tipping is also standard practice in Canada, but I find it less irritating there. Canadians are so over the top friendly that restaurant cheerfulness doesn't seem so forced.

    Last edited by jgl; 04-01-2013 at 03:24 PM.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Loz_2:
    I think that the practise of tipping in the US is fine in general given that it makes up a large portion of the overall income of workers. In that sense i don't have an expectation that paying the tip is in exchange for great service - its just the convention. However, I certainly agree that in those extreme cases of bad service like you encountered it is entirely justified in not paying the tip. You should have told her to pay for your dry cleaning first then the tip would be paid.
    But why is the customer expected to subsidise directly, the income of workers in specific industries? Labour costs are part of business overheads and are the responsibility of the business. If I WANT to tip to recognise exceptional service, then I will do so, but I do not like having to tip because a business isn't paying their workers the way others do.

  7. #7

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    I'm with you Fiona. I don't understand how it really developed this way and I cannot see the benefits. But then again, I cannot figure out what the USA finds it so hard to add state taxes to price lists either so that there is an additional unexpected surcharge when you get to the checkout! Strange place, the US of A.

    Fiona in HKG, Mat and elle like this.

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    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    I'm with you Fiona. I don't understand how it really developed this way and I cannot see the benefits. But then again, I cannot figure out what the USA finds it so hard to add state taxes to price lists either so that there is an additional unexpected surcharge when you get to the checkout! Strange place, the US of A.
    That it is....and this is only just scratching the surface!!!

  9. #9

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    I believe that wait staff are taxed on tips, even if they don't get them. It is assumed their tips are enough to give them a "normal" minimum wage. Bizarre what!

    By "normal" I mean non-service worker minimum wage and I think there are two minimum wages, one for wait staff and one for others. But this could be by state as not all things are "United".


  10. #10

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    While I enjoy my popcorn this fine Friday afternoon, I must say that all you tip-haters are ignorant outsiders and only get your news from local rags and sometimes the economist

    If you were on the inside, you'd know that tips were entirely optional, no harm nor embarrassment will ever come to for low/non tipping you and you should not be such cheapskates when enjoying the fine services offered by the servicefolk of Murrica

    The rest of the world's choices and practices be damned; only Murricans know how to do service properly.

    Can we blame the mainlanders for this?

    Last edited by HowardCoombs; 04-01-2013 at 03:49 PM.

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