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a question about tipping.. If you order a $40 bottle of wine or a $100 bottle of wine the waiter does the same job... are you still expected to tip a % of the alcohol cost ??
Always have. Never thought otherwise but it is an interesting subject now that you brought it up. Would be interested to read others' opinions on the wine issue.
I think the server is supposed to try to up-sell you as much as possible to increase their tip. I believe most servers earn less per hour than a line cook or dishwasher and in that case, they do rely on tips.
Always have. Never thought otherwise but it is an interesting subject now that you brought it up. Would be interested to read others' opinions on the wine issue.
I think the server is supposed to try to up-sell you as much as possible to increase their tip. I believe most servers earn less per hour than a line cook or dishwasher and in that case, they do rely on tips.
yeah we have too since we got here. (6 months) Like I said prev I just tend to add the tax again and its usually somewhere short of 17%. I do calculate 10% if the service hasn't been good but we have found a few excellent restaurants where we live so thats rarely an issue. I just thought about the wine yesterday as my husband we telling me about the last business dinner he hosted and they had a fairly pricey wine. The guy he works with is American and he said he always takes the wine out of the equation when working out the tip. I just wondered what the norm is....
life really would be a lot easier if you just had to pay what was on the bill. Include a tip.. I don't care I just don't want to have to do arithmetic after dinner....
Last edited by swisswife; 06-10-2011 at 02:13 PM..
Reason: terrible grammar
Probably just repeating the same thing as others here, but in Europe the tip is considered to be an extra on top of staff's wages - not the wage itself!
In the USA many people work almost for tips alone - not the same in Europe.
European culture is - I hate to remind y'all - bigger, older and more established than US culture. Doesn't mean one or the other is better or worse; they're very different.
But if you must insist on comparing them, then please remember which one came first!
Inward-looking Americans may think the rest of the world is odd compared to them, whilst the rest of the world thinks Americans are odd. Depends which end of the telescope you're looking through!
Probably just repeating the same thing as others here, but in Europe the tip is considered to be an extra on top of staff's wages - not the wage itself!
In the USA many people work almost for tips alone - not the same in Europe.
European culture is - I hate to remind y'all - bigger, older and more established than US culture. Doesn't mean one or the other is better or worse; they're very different.
But if you must insist on comparing them, then please remember which one came first!
Inward-looking Americans may think the rest of the world is odd compared to them, whilst the rest of the world thinks Americans are odd. Depends which end of the telescope you're looking through!
we lived in Asia and the 'tip' is seen as a small extra there too...
We have only been here a little while but I am always hearing people complain about 'illegals'. If the minimum wage was enforced and all wait staff were 'official' tips could be added to the cost of the meal. Staff still get paid, less illegal workers and the customer pays the same amount as before. its just the total of the bill and not a food/tip breakdown.
I know this is a very simplified version of things and I don't have a great knowledge of employment laws here but as I mentioned earlier my friend was able to work here illegally for years because he got such great tips....
Guess what, your cheap and hdiing it under the guise of "culture".
Since you stated that you Europens restaurants pay better and dont rely on tips and US doesn't you understand that waiters, bartenders, etc count on tips nad only make like $3 an hour so you not tipping is hurting their pockets.
You sorta make an interesting point about why are you basically subsidizing the owner of the restaurant meaning he can pay less but you have to partly pay his employees. It's a good point and you had me thinkingt long and hard but guess what eating in Europe costs a fortune. I imagine not in whole but in part b/c the tip is included in the meal price.
If the owner didn't want his waiters to accept tips you would probably wind up paying a few bucks more for your meal but in the US we dont do it that way.
You obviously understand the culture nad are using the guise Im from a place where we dont tip so its okay. Ever heard the phrase when in rome?
The cruise was not in the US.
Unless you think that the Galapagos are in the US...
Why am I expected to pay someone's salary? That's the employer's job.
Why am I expected to pay $23 or so for a $20 bill?
a question about tipping.. If you order a $40 bottle of wine or a $100 bottle of wine the waiter does the same job... are you still expected to tip a % of the alcohol cost ??
Generally speaking, the higher the cost of the wine, the more work is done for you. We went out to dinner with another couple last weekend and had three bottles of wine that totaled about $600. One was opened and poured with appetizers, one was decanted then served with dinner, the last was opened and set aside to come to serving temp why we ate. The server made sure our glasses were kept at the right level (not full, that's not how you drink wine) and the sommelier stopped by to check on us and chat a bit a couple of times.
We definitely got more "service" for our wine than the couple at the next table over who ordered a single bottle off the $35 "value" list. We tipped 20% on the tab including the wine, and gave the sommelier $50 as well for his excellent suggestions and assistance.
In the US, servers get taxed on about 8% of their checks whether they are tipped 8% (or more) or not. So to stiff the server on the wine is quite possibly taking money out of their pocket.
Generally speaking, the higher the cost of the wine, the more work is done for you. We went out to dinner with another couple last weekend and had three bottles of wine that totaled about $600. One was opened and poured with appetizers, one was decanted then served with dinner, the last was opened and set aside to come to serving temp why we ate. The server made sure our glasses were kept at the right level (not full, that's not how you drink wine) and the sommelier stopped by to check on us and chat a bit a couple of times.
We definitely got more "service" for our wine than the couple at the next table over who ordered a single bottle off the $35 "value" list. We tipped $20% on the tab including the wine, and gave the sommelier $50 as well for his excellent suggestions and assistance.
In the US, servers get taxed on about 8% of their checks whether they are tipped 8% (or more) or not. So to stiff the server on the wine is quite possibly taking money out of their pocket.
Thank you - that helps.....but just realised we always forget the Sommelier. Our fave restaurant has a very good one and a huge wine list .... but he is very friendly and we are even at the stage now where I get a kiss when we arrive and we quite often get comp petit fours.....so I guess he is not too upset with us... in 6 months we have probably been to dinner there 9/10 times and hubby has hosted 3 business dinners there so I guess they get a fair amt of money from us already. I reckon we spend 150 on dinner mid week when quite frankly I can't be bothered to cook
We usually tip the total bill incl alcohol 17 is % but the guys my husband works with who are local in the US don't and that made me question... maybe they are just on a tighter budget than us....
I had heard about the tax on the tips thing but completely forgot about that. Do you think they share tips with the kitchen guys ?? That would be normal in the UK....
Thank you - that helps.....but just realised we always forget the Sommelier. Our fave restaurant has a very good one and a huge wine list .... but he is very friendly and we are even at the stage now where I get a kiss when we arrive and we quite often get comp petit fours.....so I guess he is not too upset with us... in 6 months we have probably been to dinner there 9/10 times and hubby has hosted 3 business dinners there so I guess they get a fair amt of money from us already. I reckon we spend 150 on dinner mid week when quite frankly I can't be bothered to cook
We usually tip the total bill incl alcohol 17 is % but the guys my husband works with who are local in the US don't and that made me question... maybe they are just on a tighter budget than us....
I had heard about the tax on the tips thing but completely forgot about that. Do you think they share tips with the kitchen guys ?? That would be normal in the UK....
Usually tips are shared with the busser, hostess, and bartender and again based on percentages of checks. So if you only leave 10%, your server is potentially making less than the hostess.
I think too many positions in America (and I am an American) ask for tips. I believe in tipping traditional services, such as waiters. I don't feel the need to tip at a coffee house, a barber, a taxi driver, etc., Those are paid positions. Unfortunately, waiters in America aren't paid a real salary. It's known, and expected, that tips will be part of their income.
But here's a point I want to make to non-Americans visiting America. Whatever happened to "When in Rome..." It's polite to oblige by the culture of the country you're visiting. If you don't tip waiters in your country but you visit America and eat out, don't you think it's rude to not tip when that's the norm? Especially when it's the majority of the employee's salary? When I visited (and lived) in other countries where people do NOT tip waiters, I did NOT tip them. I didn't impose MY culture on them and force a tip on them. It's the same thing when you come to America.
When Americans visit your country, don't you appreciate it when they respect your customs?
I lived in many different countries and I adapted to their culture out of respect. I didn't impose my own on them. (Not like so many do when they come to America.) Please note, I'm NOT belittling foreigners. I'm simply stating facts without mincing words.
Regarding the cruise to the Galapagos Islands: If it was explained before the cruise that the tip envelopes would be distributed after the cruise, then the Europeans should most certainly have prepared for that. If it wasn't explained before the cruise then nobody was under any obligation to tip at all. Instead, it was an optional kindness. (A little kindness never killed anyone or made them homeless.)
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RE: U.S. not Europe
