American tipping?

Question

Ive heard american referring to the english as lousy tippers. Guess what? we are. I dont believe in tipping unless the service has been above and beyond. Tipping for every beer you buy or meal you get is crazy. I was in a bar in san francisco and asked for a beer and paid the guy. He was miserable as sin and did'nt even say thankyou when i paid. He looked at me and said "no tip" and all the yanks with me were suprised i didn't tip. Tipping someone is a sign of good faith and should not be the norm. Expecting a tip is bang out of order. I hear "but they dont get paid very much". When i was younger i had a job where the pay sucked, so you know what i did. i got another job, genius hey.

to tk: I dont see how its mean spirited, tipping someone when they deserve it. You shouldn't expect presents at your birthday or christmas. thats just rude. But to your first point i agree, 'when in rome'. As someone who has travelled extensivley i agree that every culture has different customs. I respect them but do not necesarily agree with them. But as far as an american calling another nationality ignorant, c'mon!

Answer 1

Couldn't agree more, why should you get a tip for doing your job?
If you don't like your job then go and get another, simple.

I was away with work earlier this week for 2 nights, first night I set up a tab on my card, at the end of the night I settled up, £140 odd.
Next evening my colleague paid and left a £10 tip, they were only serving us drinks and food in a bar, nothing special so why did she tip? She said she felt obliged as they don't earn much and it was late! But that's their job isn't it?

Answer 2

1. I am a white woman and ALWAYS tip well. I qualify below poverty level but know how to use money. I do NOT eat out unless I have tip money. I use NO credit cards. Cash only. Why would someone on welfare be eating out anyway? Welfare should be stopped. It was never meant to be a long term thing. 2. Why do women eating out alone or with another woman get such poor service half the time? Twice in my lifetime my meal was never even brought to me (after waiting over an hour!). When I complained upon leaving I was told my waitress had tables with big groups. SO? These were very nice restaurants. And btw, I was NOT offered anything for my bad experience!! I just never returned there and made sure my story was told to many people. I have heard that waiters think I won't tip because I am alone. Wrong! I have tipped $5 for an $8 meal. Excellent service with a nice smile helps. 3. This is off-topic in a way but I have never understood why people are called African-Americans? What's wrong with Americans? I don't call myself German/Welsh/English American. How stupid would that be? To me, a true African American is someone born in Africa that moved here. Makes sense to me.

Answer 3

I agree with you! I will tip for a meal if I think it is worth tipping! I would never tip a barman for drinks unless it was a small amount of change that he had to hand back and I was in a hurry! I believe that the price you pay for what you have is plenty and agree with the idea that if the staff don't get paid a lot, then they should get another job or a different one. I have often left the correct money for a meal if I had a problem with it and it always makes me laugh inside a little bit to see the annoyed looking waiter/waitress when they see there is no tip. Funny how they only seem to get friendly when they bring you the bill a lot of the time!

Answer 4

I'm an American now living in Britain, and am sad to see that tipping is becoming more and more expected in Britain (meals here are expensive enough!). I agree that tipping should be based on the quality of service, but in America it's just a cultural thing that is standard--not only tipping in restaurants, but at hairdresser's, taxis, and hotel porters, etc. 15% of whatever the restaurant bill is is standard for a tip. But remember, the bill there will be a lot cheaper than it is here---so even with a tip, you probably still won't pay out as much as you would here.

Answer 5

Good Question.

I tip when the service is good.
Automatic tipping is stupid.
People should deserve their tips.

I always tip in poor countries, 'cause the people need the money, but in the States, I never tip unless the waiter actually makes an effort to earn it.

The reason that tipping is so normal in the states is that waiters are paid so badly, they need their tips to live on. To me this seems unfair, and I think they should get better wages, but I can't go round helping everyone now, can I?

Answer 6

I agree with not tipping if the service is bad. But I do tip very well and pretty much every time. I'm a massage therapist and I often get tips. I've noticed that anyone in the service industry tips VERY well, that includes bartenders, waiters, even strippers. Actually strippers tip the best!

Answer 7

O.K....when in Rome !!!!

In the USA you tip unless the service is truly horrible as in "get me the manager " to make a complaint. The tip is a big part of the take home pay of folks in the hospitality sector. Most of these folks make close to minimum wage...and in some states well below minimum wage.

So,not tipping or setting a tipping standard outside of the normal customs of the country you are visiting, in this case the USA , accomplishes the following:


1) You appear to be a cheapskate and a insensitive jackass who looks down his nose at people.

2) You demonstrate that you are an ugly Englishman. You however are not alone as many of our friends from Britian look the same due to their applying inappropriate cultural standards based upon being a little ignorant about the USA.

3) You are not helping your felllow man, people by the way who often could use the tips by the way since the low wage means that every dollar counts in feeding their families or themselves.

I do not condone poor service. I do understand why the bartender pointed out your lack of manners and rude and arrogant behavior.

For the record - 10% is normal on the low side. 15% is a minimal amount in most urban areas. 20% says they did a good job. 0% says they did something wrong to you way beyond just not saying thank-you. The "yanks" you were with were likely embarrassed by you actions. You should consider getting a clue.

Your comment on getting another job is another matter altogether. Good on you for getting a better job. maybe they like their jobs as is. Not tipping and saying too bad they should get another job is mean spiritied, shows a lack of compassion and maturity and makes clear the type of person you have become. The real issue is why absurd and haughty words like this could escape your mouth. Maybe things are going well for you, that is great. But maybe in the future someone will reach out to you in kindness and in an unselfish way when you need help or need to make ends meet due to a turn down in your luck or health. I am sure you would not want someone to look at you and say....too bad on you...get a better job you slacker. Really, you are the typical ugly Brit.....yikes.

Answer 8

Relax - its just the custom of the culture. The Chinese drink warm beer, the Japanese have a seating order relative to the door based on seniority. The spanish sleep in the middle of the day. Differences are one of the things that makes the world interesting. No one should make you feel bad if you didn't know you shouldn't tip, but now that you do, just tip - its the custom.

Did you know that if you blow your nose while at dinner in a Japanese resturant, it is one of the greatest humiliations you can bestow on the chef? We'll "what if I just had to blow my nose?" you think - makes sense to me too, but he's going to feel like he has failed. Instead of homogonizing the world, just go with it.

Answer 9

it is customary to tip 15% of your total bill. this is due to a server's wages are taxed on the food and spirits they sell. many, many, many weeks my checks when i was a server were void since i sold more than my paycheck could pay in taxes. so all i had was my tips.
as a bartender, i never had extra taxes taken out and earned $5-$12/hour, plus tips.
just because you had a horrible waiter, you shouldn't decide never to tip. i agree with you when you say find another job, if someone cannot handle gambling on their salary, they shouldn't be working in a tip based business, but on the other hand you shouldn't go out if you don't have the money to tip.

Answer 10

I agree with you in your assesment of the guy in SF. If a bartender said that to me, I would have said..."Here's a tip...Go **** yourself".

On the other hand, you should always tip bartenders a buck or so. However, my rule of thumb is if I get no buyback after 3 or four rounds, he gets nothing after that. Waitresses will get 20% unless the service blows or my meal is cold or something