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European here. Tipping is not already included in the price of the meal. Living wage is included in the price of the meal.
Tips is completely voluntary, if you think the service was excellent then you really just round up to the nearest nice round number (something like 22.85 becomes 25)
American here. I understood most of what you said, except for the phrase “living wage”. Could you explain this to me? I’ve never heard of it before.
Oh man how I wish to tell you all about Belgium's healthindex.
Tipping is not already included in the price of the meal. Living wage is included in the price of the meal.
That is the tip. In the US, "tipped" labor often has a reduced minimum wage, under the expectation that they make the difference up in tips.
Yup, something like $2.50/hr, when federal minimum wage is ~$7.50. If a server doesn't make minimum wage, the restaurant is required to step them up.
It's a stupid system IMO, because not leaving a tip is a giant slap in the face, when it really should just mean "you did just okay." If the service is really that bad, I will complain and expect a comp or something on the bill, so the bill should reflect "good enough" service. I'd actually like to pay tips if it actually meant "fantastic service," like putting up with my screaming children, convincing the cook to make something off-menu, or still providing good service when we're not spending much (we don't drink, and that's like 50% of the bill). I'd prefer to tip based on the service, not on the size of the bill.
Oh, and if we had such a system, not taxing tips would make a ton of sense since it's pretty literally a gift.
To add to that I'd say there's no drama attached to not leaving a tip.
Totally, waiters don’t expect a tip at all. So if it’s given, it’s appreciated even more.
My guy/gal/pal.
We do things differently in different parts of Europe.
You’re right, I made the same mistake as OP. There is no “European system of tipping”.
Tipping culture should die.
I'd rather have meals on the menu be what I pay. Include tax, service fees, and other garbage fees.
I went to Japanese restaurant in NYC. They took my card and they returned it. I asked about the tip. They said it was all included. Fucking dream.
Not being an American the whole idea of not including tax in the stated price just seems so alien. You expect me to work out what 12.5% of my bill is on the fly as I'm shopping? Fuck you, that's your job. You are the one actually paying the tax to the government, you work it out
Also "They took my card". That is apparently an American thing.
Hell we still sign a receipt an we only just got them chips recently
Do you guys still do the hilarious chip & sign thing or have you finally switched to using a PIN?
You think that's hilarious? There are a lot of places in the world that still do a manual shhk-shhk of a card only a few years ago. Now that most cards don't have raised digits, they'll write it down. If they even take a card.
Places where the Internet goes down if it rains and there is no mobile service. Imagine the horror.
The other side of the coin - paying with debit (which has a pin) is stupid in the US. Unless you can't control your spending, credit card is the way to go for every legal purchase you don't mind being tied to you forever. CCs have far superior consumer protection than the law.
In Canada, they have the wireless chip readers everywhere. It was nice since a large chunk of stolen credit cards are when employees scan it before charging it.
Some places in the USA is starting to do the same thing. But yes, the US is way behind.
They have had wireless chip readers for years, but many restaurants still take your card anyway. Some places bring the payment device to you, which is nice, and some have it there always so you can see exactly what's on the bill (sometimes you order on it too).
But taking the card is a cultural thing, not a tech thing. Even back before wireless readers were a thing, they still had portable payment terminals and could have you swipe there or have you pay up front on the way out. It's not an issue at all.
You are the one actually paying the tax to the government, you work it out
Also they would only have to do it once per item, shoppers have to do it every time!
Thia is where you should name and praise the restaurant
All hail Kermit, the Japanese restaurant
Sugarfish. They have to two in NYC. I've been to both.
Waiters are against it as they may get way more than if they were paid by the owner. Also they automatically get raises when menu prices increases.
What blows my mind is that American do tip everywhere and also give cash to some workers at the end of the year (mail man, garbage man,.. Etc).
Waiters are against it as they get way more than if they were paid by the owner.
They're not against it, and they don't.
Source: was waiter for a decade
Tips included in the price of the meal? You mean the meal being the actual price instead of the tips being part of the payment for the meal?
increase prices
people have to pay more money
How has no one thought of this
Tips aren't included in the meal prices over here (Wales), our servers just get paid actual wages for the actual job that they're doing.
These places typically tell you that’s the deal, and have the servers tell you that too
There's literally no profit? Like aside from already running a successful restaurant (hard), doing this will earn the business owner no extra income.
It is still based af because then the wait staff gets paid a lot more
And then no one goes because it's too expensive. People are super, super price sensitive when it comes to food and restaurants go into a death spiral very quickly when business drops off.
The tipping culture is very rooted in Americans. I was at restaurant in Europe and there was a customer (certainly American). He ate during 30 minutes or less, the waiter was nice but he wasn't doing it for tips and the customer only saw him when he ordered the food and at payment. The prices are high end.
When he paid he was surprised that there was no tipping options (unfortunately we started seeing them in some European countries) and asked him to pay another 10€ as a tip.
In Spain, a server was nice to us, and even though I know tipping isn't necessary, I gave extra. The server returned the money and gave us tips of how not to get pick pocketed. I guess they think tippers are easily scammed.
I forgot the name of the restaurant though. We sat in the bar and we ordered a bunch of small dishes, like open sandwiches. It was really nice.
wouldn't this mean less profit? unless you steal all the tips
Yup, that's the joke. And it happens more than you likely think.
Aw yeah, this is big brain time