people who ***** about tipping are scum?

[teddieriley]



In many places during the Spanish civil war tips were banned being considered - as they were/are anti-democratic: every customer should expect the same service as every other, regardless of their ability to pay a little 'extra' for favourable attention. Tips are a form of corruption- and expose the USA as the cheapskate nation that it is. Wait staff in Spain and Italy (for the most part) are professionals (and though sometimes family members) working for a wage and social security and health benefits - not skivvies, students and marginalised people working on zero contracts.

Bravo. They've found a way to normalize ****** service so everyone gets it.

 

[Britalian]



Bravo. They've found a way to normalize ****** service so everyone gets it.

Haha. Good one.

 

[MrSmith2U]



Bravo. They've found a way to normalize ****** service so everyone gets it.

One can imagine from a United Statian this opinion is rational. Dear me.

 

[Van Veen]

Having just come back from 10 days in 4 European countries... holy hell the service is terrible. The only time I got good service, my server was an American expat. I don't love tip culture or tip inflation, but I'll take American service any day.

 

[Britalian]



Having just come back from 10 days in 4 European countries... holy hell the service is terrible. The only time I got good service, my server was an American expat. I don't love tip culture or tip inflation, but I'll take American service any day.

How long did you have to wait before the menu arrived - 5 minutes? God how did you survive such trauma. Better to have Brad or Stacy your server for today brown nosing sycophantically for the meal.

 

[Piobaire]

Lulz.

 

[venividivicibj]

If they auto-tip you for the 18-20%, can you put a negative amount if you don't think its worth it? (has anyone here actually done this)

 

[Van Veen]



How long did you have to wait before the menu arrived - 5 minutes? God how did you survive such trauma. Better to have Brad or Stacy your server for today brown nosing sycophantically for the meal.

Technically, 0 seconds, since the menu was usually sitting on the table. It took ~15-20 minutes for someone to actually approach us to see if we wanted to order anything, in general. Every step of service took 20 minutes to a half hour. What would be a 20-30 minute lunch in the US was an hour to 1:15 in Europe.

I get that you guys have the luxury of shorter workdays in Europe, so an hour and a half lunch is normal. Must be nice. But I have better uses of my time than sitting around waiting for service when I'm on vacation and have 2 days in a city that shuts down at 5pm. I'd rather eat at a kebab stand than spend an hour and a half on 2 drinks and a mediocre sandwich.

 

[Piobaire]



Technically, 0 seconds, since the menu was usually sitting on the table. It took ~15-20 minutes for someone to actually approach us to see if we wanted to order anything, in general. Every step of service took 20 minutes to a half hour. What would be a 20-30 minute lunch in the US was an hour to 1:15 in Europe.

I get that you guys have the luxury of shorter workdays in Europe, so an hour and a half lunch is normal. Must be nice. But I have better uses of my time than sitting around waiting for service when I'm on vacation and have 2 days in a city that shuts down at 5pm. I'd rather eat at a kebab stand than spend an hour and a half on 2 drinks and a mediocre sandwich.

You reveal your American plebeian mindset here. Anyone with culture understands this is how it's done when you pay your wait staff enough that they can determine how you should be served. /Britlian

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I'm always terrified at what I end up tipping after getting wasted at a bar. Is it enough? Did I do the math on the bill correctly? Could they even read it? Feedback from my local favorite is the drunker I am the better I tip by a lot.

 

[Piobaire]



I'm always terrified at what I end up tipping after getting wasted at a bar. Is it enough? Did I do the math on the bill correctly? Could they even read it? Feedback from my local favorite is the drunker I am the better I tip by a lot.

This is where being married really is a good thing.

 

[Van Veen]

You gotta tip big to get them free drinks, though. The short term investment pays off in the long run. Everyone wins except the bar owner.

 

[Piobaire]



You gotta tip big to get them free drinks, though. The short term investment pays off in the long run. Everyone wins except the bar owner.

Even he/she probably wins overall through the volume faithful regulars generate. Nothing worse than an empty chair.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

My local place has a thing called a green card. It is basically a trigger in the system that gives you a "regulars" discount. They use this in lieu of free drinks. Works nicely.

 

[idfnl]



You gotta tip big to get them free drinks, though. The short term investment pays off in the long run. Everyone wins except the bar owner.

I'm not sure I see logic in this. You tip big to get something free... meaning you just overpaid for a free drink? In the long run, exactly how does this pay off for you?

On a side note, I've always felt that knowing bartenders was not a healthy sign.