Quote:
Originally Posted by SmokeyRidesAgain
Saying society prescribes x is a load of horse ****. If I tip someone, I tip them what I think they should get, not what every other person hands them just "because" that's the way it is.
Ummm, it totally is a societal thing.
Europeans come over here and have a drink and they either don't tip at all because they don't understand that it's pretty much 'expected' or they try to fit in and tip whatever is the appropriate amount in this country even though they think it's stupid.
If you go over to a different country and start tipping the same amount for the same types of services that you do in the U.S. then you will get looked at like a weirdo a lot of the time.
It's totally a societal thing. If it weren't then when somebody tells me, "That'll be $3.50" then I would actually pay freaking $3.50 just like if I bought it at the 7-11 or the grocery store.
But I know how American society works. And when if the guy saying "That'll be $3.50" also happens to be a bartender then what he is really saying is "$3.50 to start plus it's pretty much expected that everybody who purchases a drink is supposed to leave a little something extra."
If it was based just on your own mood and not on societal standards at all then you would be pretty much tipping the dude at 7-11 or the grocery store or the fast-food restaurant as frequently as you do in other establishments. But you don't. Because you are pretty much following the standards that society has set.
In other words...if it was standard by everyone else to tip at the 7-11 then you would likely be doing that too. Just like you tip the bartender pretty much the same amount that everybody else in THIS country has already established is the norm. And also just like you shouldn't take that custom to certain other countries because it can even be considered insulting or inappropriate elsewhere.