For what its worth, almost nowhere in America do waiters get paid anywhere near minimum wage. I waited tables in washington, dc, which has a really high cost of living, and my wage was $2.77 per hour.

Sorry to hear that. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how successful someone is there are just some things in life you won't be able to get away from.

I don't know. As much as I dislike the French I'm Canadian which is nothing to be proud of either.

My issue is not knowing what the hell I'm "supposed" to tip when traveling elsewhere. For example, is tipping 15-20% on meals pretty much exactly the same in Canada as it is in the US? I honestly have no idea. It could be more along the lines of, "10% here is usually okay" which would be a pretty big insult in the U.S. but maybe Canadian wait-staff get paid better than $2.70/hr for all I know. Maybe stupid Americans who tip 20%'ish up there just get laughed at for so monstrously over-tipping.

And even asking the question on here is likely to lead to debate between zealots who think tipping is stupid and just don't do it vs. Henry probably tipping way more than the standard but think that should be the standard.

If I take some tour around Europe I'm going to be totally lost on where/what I should be tipping. I don't know if some tour guidebook is really going to be accurate or bail me out.

While this is true, after tips, my friends in DC that wait tables at nicer restaurants are pulling down > $50k a year.

That's more than many teachers, medical professions, and a lot of other highly skilled positions.

I think tipping is usual for 85% people, sum is from 10% to 20%, in Europe I pay mostly 10%-15% tip and waiters looks satisfied. But if you pay 56 euro with 10% tip is weird to pay 61,60. You can round it to 60 or 65.

We're not that proud of you either.

Pavel - "Waiters look satisfied" when you tip 10% does not at all mean that it's the appropriate thing to do.

I could tip 0% in the U.S. if I wanted to and also likely be able to claim, "pretty much nobody has complained to me about it therefore it must be okay."

I don't see the wait-staff's reaction when I tip hardly ever. I put the tip on the table (or on the CC bill) and then leave. I guess there's an exception when I'm buying drinks at a bar and directly tipping the guy so I guess I could look for a reaction there if I wanted to. But I don't really care and I also think it's kind of rude.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/arti...rant-tipping/1

Tipping in thailand is stupid low. I think it's rounding up to the nearest 20 baht, or just leave an extra 20 baht on top of bill.

20 baht = 62 cents.

oh yea...this thread is stupid.

is "stupid thread" and similars the new "bump"?

Tipping in the US is important. Servers make like $2/hr or something really low and they need tips to survive.

Tipping in Canada kinda annoys me, they make minimum wage which is around $10/hr (varies by province) but with tips on top, their income often surpasses what the chef is earning.

My friend was a server, he got promoted to restaurant manager and he earned less money. Servers only claim a tiny portion of tips as income, so they end up in very lowest tax bracket.

This is so true, getting paid in cash every night, means A.) Your take home pay is more. B.) Easier to dodge uncle sam and get into lower tax brackets.

Oh, and I know plenty of fine dining spots, in which the waitstaff are walking with between $200-400 a night of work... (which usually only entails being on premises for 6-7 hours total)

And look at those sl00ts that work at Rehab other vegas places half dressed. Walking with thousands after a good shift.

(Grunching)

I'm sure this will turn into a US vs Euro philosophical argument but tipping on drinks that you order from the bar is so ******ed.

You shouldn't have to add $1 to a $3 beer to watch someone spend half a second opening it.

The "tip" is already worked into the business model in Europe. Plus places usually pool tips and share them equally. Tbh i think America has the most logical system were it not expected to tip even on crappy service, but i know if i worked tables id rather get a guaranteed min wage than $2/hr and tips that would often but not always put you over the min wage of $8/hr (or whatever it is).

I think the current balance we have in the UK of optional tipping (not expected) and from rounding up to 10-15% on top for good service is pretty close to optimal.

Fwiw there was a bit of a scandal that places here were using tips to top up wages to min wage so its not like there is a guarantee the tip is going to the server and not just into the profit margin of the restaurant (or whatever).

My roommate works at Applebees (generic chain) and pulls in 20-25/hr plus minimum wage.

Hm, didn't know that waiters everywhere in the U.S. made so much below minimum wage, thought 2$/h was rare.

Either way, waiters pulling in more than other specialized jobs in a lot of places is still pretty weird.

Yes.



So you know how many Europeans are quick to rag on American tourists for being a boor for turning up their noses at "foreign" culture and refusing to respect local customs and traditions?

Look in a mirror you ****ing hypocrites.

This is true, but waiting tables has ****ing terrible hours, and if you're doing it for a living it cuts you off from normal people pretty well, since you're working late nights and weekends.

OOT has just way too many overaveraged paid people, thats why such thread is never objective at all, while reading OOT i had the impression that 100k/yr is a standard salary in the US, but googling for a bit it showed that a third of it is way more close to the average income of us citizens.

No he doesn't.

Agreed. Most people are HORRIBLE at estimating hourly wage, and will extrapolate one or two good nights into an hourly wage or a full year salary (just like poker). Discounting the weekday slow shifts, the time where you have to roll silverware, etc.

OP is Canadian.

Try "much lower than minimum wage, in almost all cases" and maybe it will make more sense.

edit- oops, bad grunch of your replies. Finishing off my plate of OOT fail!