While I wait for Whomageddon to finish airing so I can download, here's a poll!

[gogmagog]

[Poll #1218262]

I'm just curious about the art of tipping; I'm well-versed in the art of restaurant tipping (having grown up with "home cooking" being various Kansas City restaurants), but I'm always unsure when it comes to those other kinds of tips how much I should give. (I usually end up going for the high side of what I think is acceptable, because I'd rather err on the generous side, but then I wonder whether I'm tipping TOO highly.)

Note that I ask for "on average"; what I mean by that is, how much would you tip for acceptable to good service in this area? Also, if any of these results don't apply, or you have other thoughts about tipping and such, post them in the comments!

Comments

[petronia.livejournal.com]

The federal + provincial sales tax here is 15%. ^^;

In a lot of places in Europe the server tip is included as a line in the final bill, and you don't tip beyond it except for extraordinary service (the included amount tends to be fairly generous anyway). In Brazil the service is attentive to the point of obsequiousness everywhere, and no one tips at all (though in touristy areas it's a line on the bill).

Reading your journal further - it was never the custom in Montreal to tip baristas, and the city has always had a vibrant cafe culture. The creep is rather akin to grade inflation, and a lot of people I know bitch about it (part of it being the fast food / coffee divide really isn't that clear; Tim Horton's is a bona-fide national coffee institution but most definitely a fast food joint. And again, why not tip the person who makes your burger and fries?). I'm only referring to takeout/self-serve though, not sit-down service.

...See, while I believe in tipping fairly, I don't believe servers have the right to give you crap food if they don't like their tip - that's unprofessionalism, not to mention holding the customer hostage. That being said I find the revelation that US servers can be paid less than minimal wage nothing short of horrifying. :/

[yoshitsune.livejournal.com]

Not just can, but generally are...a good part of the entire restaurant business is predicated on waitstaff being paid horrifically low wages (considerably lower than minimum wage; I think minimum wage here is a little under $6/hr, and minimum for waitstaff is a little under $3/hr) and being expected to make it up in tips.

I do agree that they don't have the right to give you crap food; however, realistically, it happens, and I'd like to avoid it if possible. (By the same token, retail staff don't have the right to give you horrible service if they don't like you, but it also happens.)

And I think the fast-food/coffee divide is a lot clearer here? I mean, you may have fast-food places with good coffee (Dunkin' Donuts' is supposed to have amazing coffee, for example), but no one would ever call them "coffeeshops," per se, and you wouldn't be expected to tip. Similarly, while coffeeshops may serve food, even something resembling fast food (like sandwiches and stuff), no one would ever class them with, say, McDonald's. And it's strictly in Starbucks and their more independent ilk that tipping is expected.