Two separate issues. First, tipping under the circumstances described
below (never went before, never will go back) seems to be bad
economics, particularly for the tipper, who gets nothing in return for
his tip. Note the tip comes at the *end* of the service, so the tip
obviously was not an incentive for the staff to provide better
service--unless, that is, the staff has a crystal ball that told them
that the tipper would be a good one.

The second issue is that adding a percentage to the total bill as a
tip is a deceptive practice, intended to make the cost of the meal
items look cheaper than they really are, thereby making the restaurant
appear more competitive.

Suppose restaurant A advertises $20 for a 2 pound lobster and
restaurant B advertises $19 for it. If restaurant B then tacks on an
automatic 15%, then its real price is $21.85.

What price do you think restaurant B advertises for its lobster
dinners?

This is a trick used in many industries to make the dirty players'
products appear cheaper than honest competitors'.

For example, years ago some cruise operators used to advertise, say, a
Caribbean cruise for $900 plus "port charges", implying money they had
to pay as landing fees to ports at destination countries.

Turns out the "port charges" included no only the amount of money the
operator had to pay port authorities but a kicker they pocketed. So,
the $900 advertised price was a fraud.


On Sat, 03 Sep 2005 13:06:45 GMT, "Richard Neidich"
> wrote:

>Leo,
>
>I don't understand...what is your objection to a restaurant including the
>tip in 15%-20% on your behalf already included in the bill?
>
>Assume the service is impecable....what is your issue?
>
>
>"Leo Bueno" > wrote in message
.. .
>>
>> On Wed, 31 Aug 2005 18:02:52 GMT, "interested" > wrote:
>>
>>>This never works in practice, because everyone knows if you do
>>>not tip, your service is not only not the best, it is deliberately made
>>>worse.
>>
>> So, how do you explain tipping at a restaurant that you have never
>> gone to before and to which you will never go back again?
>>
>> In other words, how does a wait staff that has never dealt with you
>> know that you are a good or bad tipper? And, since you are never
>> going back to the restaurant, what's in it for you? Since there will
>> be no next time, then your tip gets you nothing.
>>
>>
>> --
>> =================================================
>> Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida?
>> Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at
>> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE
>> =================================================
>

--
=================================================
Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida?
Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE
=================================================