In article >, ianhoare@angelfire.
com says...
>
>Salut/Hi ,
>
> le/on Wed, 14 Sep 2005 20:00:19 GMT, tu disais/you said:-
>
>>The issues:
>>
>>A) You're assuming that the service is impeccable. Clearly, that is
>>not always the case. If the service sucks, what then is your recourse?
>
>Tell them. Or is that too obvious? Tell the staff and/or the manager/owner.
>
>>B) I don't want any establishment presuming what I would pay, or if I
>>would pay, in tip. That's at my discretion, not theirs.
>
>Don't you worry that this puts them into a position of subservience to you.
>I find it degrading, both to me as tipper and to the person who's serving.
>People should do their best because it is a matter of self respect, not
>because they hope to get a bigger tip.
>
>
>--
>All the Best
>Ian Hoare
>http://www.souvigne.com

I agree Ian. However, (maybe it is the American coming out in me) I find that
for really worthwhile service, I will tip in Europe. Often, this tip is waved
off, and I make a point to the server (could just as well be a London cabbie,
as the sommelier at a 2* restaurant), and explain that the person has gone
beyond my expectation for service. I usually loosely base the tip on the US
standards. I hope, that by doing this, I am not setting a bad prescedent in
Europe. I also hope that I am not insulting the server in any way, as this is
never my intention.

In the US, we are often at resorts, where the hosting organization has
included a gratutity to the cost of the resort. In nearly every instance, the
staff informs me of this, but if the service goes "beyond" I insist that they
accept the "extra." Again, I look upon this as a reward for going beyond, my
expectations, which are usually very high. I want the server to know that they
have EXCEEDED these expectations, and I appreciate this extra effort.

Again, I hope that I am not corrupting the system, which has been in place for
many centuries in Europe, but feel that these folk deserve something extra,
for something extra. While it is EXPECTED in much of the US, I would never
wish to tip a cabbie in Wash DC 15% for the minimum of service, and slight a
cabbie in London, who carries all of my wife's baggage to the curb-side-check
-in at Heathrow. The same for the Sommelier, who pours over his list of wines,
and all of our guest's orders, and works hard to get the best value wines,
paired with a broad spectrum of meals, to the table - then servers them all
well.

In *very* general terms, I usually find the overall service in Europe to be
better than in the US.

Hunt