On 2/2/2013 11:10 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 02/02/2013 10:47 AM, Gary wrote:
>
>> For example... say for a party of 2-3 people and the bill comes to $100.
>> Rather than pay $118, I will pay $125-130. We are talking a small
>> difference of 7-12 dollars extra here for a tip to help out a good
>> waitress
>> who probably makes about $3 per hour plus tips.
>>
>> Your bill would be at least $118 (with an 18% tip). Will it kill you
>> to add
>> a few more dollars and make someones day?
>
> Okay... turn it around..... if it is a small difference it shouldn't
> affect the server if you don't leave it.
>
>
>> IMO, people that are tight with tipping should stay home and cook.
>
>
> I don't have a problem with the amount so much as I do with the
> institution of tipping, the idea that some people should be so poorly
> paid that they have to depend on the generosity of their customers to
> make a decent living. I am all in favour of a system like they have in
> places like the Netherlands, Germany and (most of) France where tax
> and service are included in the menu price, so what you see is what
> you pay. If you order 6 items ate 5 Euros, your bill is 30 Euros....
> no extras for tax, no calculating what is appropriate for a tip.
>
>
> Bear mind that a tip, or gratuity, by definition, is voluntary. Some
> people in the business have come to expect it, a sort of entitlement.
> Not only that, the expect to be tipped a percentage on the entire
> bill, including the tax. Worse yet, they argue that because of
> inflation the percentage should be higher, suggesting a minimum of 20%.
>
> Then we hear the argument that if you can afford to go out for dinner
> you can afford to leave a big tip. Screw that. If they want to jack up
> their prices with outrageous markups I am already paying a lot for the
> luxury of going out to eat. For instance, we went to a place last
> summer where they charge $14 for glass of wine, about the same price
> as a whole bottle of that particular wine. That means a 500-600%
> markup on the wine.
>
>
> I am supposed to pay 15% on top of that for a service...... $12 to
> pour the wine into a glass and walk 20 feet to the table?? Hold
> it.... no, that is not enough..... it is an expensive restaurant, and
> if I can afford to pay their high prices I should be able to afford
> 20%.. Not when I am already being gouged. Sorry, but that is a racket.
>
>
>
>
Yes, my income does not seem to keeping up with inflation, at least from
my recent grocery and gasoline bills. It is convenient to say that the
percentage tip should be raised for inflation but that innumeracy is
most often advanced by restaurant critics who don't even pay their own
bills.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not" in Reply To.