Americans!!! please confirm or deny this happens?

mookie9999

dunkman wrote:

http://forums.pearljam.com/showpost.php?p=5202148&postcount=72
first few words yet again.... i will tip, i've always said i will unless something causes me to think otherwise.



but NO american sticks to that custom of ours... they ALL try and tip the barman... not one of them adheres to the custom... therefore its your own countrymen who are insulting our barstaff on a regular basis.. i'm pretty sure its a tiny tiny minority of British travellers who will refuse to tip when in the States.

Dunk, just a reminder to you. When you are at Disneyworld later this year it is customary to tip Donald Duck for what he will do with you in the corner regardless of how horrible his flipper grip is. On the other hand, you do not have to tip Goofy for watching and videotaping the procedings. Hope that helps.

dunkman

TrixieCat wrote:

Was it the scene where all the Scots are wearing Chuck's and listening to American rock music and wearing Levi's?? Oh, that one wouldn't be in there because no one wants to admit they desire most things American. Except the things you choose to make fun of like obesity, guns and fast food.

i certainly dont desire most things american.. cant speak for the makers of the movie trainspotting.

obesity and fast-food go fat hand in fat hand... and aforementioned fat hands need guns to make them tough.. its an easy target.. no not the 450lb blubber boy waddling to the next Taco Bell.. i mean the subject matter.. its too easy.. i'm a bully ergo i pick on the weak. :rolleyes:




so banks do this do they?

dunkman

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

you've personally witnessed EVERY american who travels to scotland? shit, you've got a lot of free time on your hands.You HEAR about the ones that don't because they're the ones who are going to get noticed. No one's going to repeat a story or take notice when someone does something that is the NORM. Dude, I haven't been to scotland, but I've been to other countries where you don't tip, and I haven't tipped. Neither has anyone I've been with. And last I looked at my passport, it was american.

this is true.. i've only heard of the bad moments

my wife will tell you that her Uncle from Virginia tries to tip everyone when he's over here.. she finds it embarrassing.. so i didnt mean everyone does it.. sorry, that was wrong of me to say so

dunkman

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

Hell once in ireland I reached for a guinness before the head was ready and got chewed out by the bar tender for not knowing the custom.

quite rightly so

GreenTeaDisease

dunkman wrote:

this is true.. i've only heard of the bad moments

my wife will tell you that her Uncle from Virginia tries to tip everyone when he's over here.. she finds it embarrassing.. so i didnt mean everyone does it.. sorry, that was wrong of me to say so

haha well, you know what, if you don't tip for average service when you're here, you're wife's uncle is going to be embarrassed and tell everyone about it!

GreenTeaDisease

dunkman wrote:

quite rightly so

well I knew I had to wait for it but I didn't know I couldn't touch the glass and move it towards me!

dunkman

mookie9999 wrote:

Dunk, just a reminder to you. When you are at Disneyworld later this year it is customary to tip Donald Duck for what he will do with you in the corner regardless of how horrible his flipper grip is. On the other hand, you do not have to tip Goofy for watching and videotaping the procedings. Hope that helps.

honestly, you just made me look forward to it even more I'm fully expecting SNow White to do bad stuff to me

dunkman

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

haha well, you know what, if you don't tip for average service when you're here, you're wife's uncle is going to be embarrassed and tell everyone about it!

i can live with that

Steve Dunne

dunkman wrote:

honestly, you just made me look forward to it even more I'm fully expecting SNow White to do bad stuff to me

truth be told, little man takes a bath with 6 little 4-inch rubber disney princesses. they are my daughters' bath toys, but he doesn't know the difference. yet. his favorites are snow white and belle. he holds them up to his belly, squeezes, and they make a fart sounds. cracks him up all the time. o lord.

redrock

To me, tipping in the US (or at least in certain states) doesn't seem to be as much a custom as it is economic necessity! I guess we see tipping differently in Europe.

A waiter has a decent salary (still crap, but at least minimum wage). When a customer tips, he/she tips for added value, not for the job the waiter/waitress is paid to do bearing in mind good customer service (ie take your order, bring your food, clear your table, see that you have what you need....). Their salary takes care of that part. Tips are in essence a reward.

An analogy.. my daughter gets pocket money. Something very basic every week for which she needs to do certain chores, etc.. (compare that to basic wage) She has the potential to get more money to a max of £x (compare that to the 20% tips) but this is on the assumption she ADDS to what is expected - the max pocket money is based on a number of things that can be done, for ex cooking a meal, etc. The more added value she gives the family during the week, the more she earns towards the maximum (ie towards the 20% tip). The less she does, the less she gets. No added value, no extra pocket money.

Pegasus

soulsinging wrote:

owners are only required by law to pay enough wages to cover taxes. this is why i say your paltry attempts to make a statement of protest by not tipping doesn't do shit. you fuck over a worker who has not say in the matter and don't hurt the person responsible for the system one bit. they don't even know about your bullshit protest.

the worker is a dumb ass if they work without getting paid.
and the worker is a voter, so it's THEIR responsibility to change things..

soulsinging

redrock wrote:

Just googling, it, I guess it may be:

"Workers' tips at issue in congressional minimum-wage bill
CBS2CHICAGO ^ | 02 AUGUST 2006 | AP

WASHINGTON (AP) Tip money earned by waitresses in Las Vegas, manicurists in Hollywood and bartenders in Seattle is on the table in the nation's capital as lawmakers scrap over an election-year minimum wage bill.

Nevada, California and Washington are among seven states where workers get to keep their tips on top of getting paid their state's full minimum wage."

So next time SS, don't be so quick in saying my story stinks.

how so? that proves that i am right and that your situation is by far the exception, not the rule.

Urban Hiker

Pardon me for being slow, but I'm having some sort of mind block preventing me from believing this.

I don't have to tip wait staff in Scotland!? Are there other countries like this? I have a travel book that goes over some basics of just about every traveled country, but I don't recall it covering this VIP (very important point).

Like in the US, if I can get my Starbucks at a grocery store where the staff is already paid a good wage and it's store policy NOT to accept tips, I go there.

GreenTeaDisease

Urban Hiker wrote:

I don't have to tip wait staff in Scotland!? Are there other countries like this? I have a travel book that goes over some basics of just about every traveled country, but I don't recall it covering this VIP (very important point).

dude, every guide book I've ever seen tells you what the tipping custom is. there are a lot of countries where you don't tip, or it is more vague. each one is different. some places the tip is included in the cost of the meal.

Urban Hiker

GreenTeaDisease wrote:

dude, every guide book I've ever seen tells you what the tipping custom is. there are a lot of countries where you don't tip, or it is more vague. each one is different. some places the tip is included in the cost of the meal.

Well, I'm definitely going to have to revisit that book and do the research for places where you are handed a bill and you pay what it states. They will move up on my travel wishlist.
It's hard doing math after a few pints! :rolleyes:

Pegasus

Urban Hiker wrote:

Pardon me for being slow, but I'm having some sort of mind block preventing me from believing this.

I don't have to tip wait staff in Scotland!? Are there other countries like this? I have a travel book that goes over some basics of just about every traveled country, but I don't recall it covering this VIP (very important point).

Like in the US, if I can get my Starbucks at a grocery store where the staff is already paid a good wage and it's store policy NOT to accept tips, I go there.

you normally 'should' tip at restaurant (10-12%).. but it's by no mean compulsory.. I know I only do it if I feel I had a particularly GOOD service...I'm not getting tips at my work..

you never tip at the bar, though you might leave some small change behind if you want.

I don't even think about tips.. I make a point of not tipping if it's added to the bill instead of left to my discretion (you should never tip on a CC anyway, many staff never see that one..). Some places try to pull a fast one no you by adding a 'service' charge..it's a tip by another name, you do NOT have to pay it..

I hate the handful of places that quote price ex-VAT (putting in small prints that it is)..if I look at a menu, what I see is what I pay..end of story.

soulsinging

Pegasus wrote:

the worker is a dumb ass if they work without getting paid.
and the worker is a voter, so it's THEIR responsibility to change things..

they do get paid... in tips. what percentage of the US voting bloc is a waiter? how are they making the money to form collective action groups to pursue that goal? they are outnumbered and most americans don't care and don't see anything wrong with the current system. in other news, people in africa are being slaughtered over rice. pardon me if i find it hard to cry for the injustice done to you by being asked to tip american waiters.

and don't give me that "change jobs" crap. the whole worker choice thing is largely a myth. it is never that simple. i would think, since the EU has explicitly adopted that fact of truth that workers are almost always at the mercy of their employers, or at best subject to an enormous bargaining disadvantage, that you wouldn't think me stupid enough to believe it is as easy as saying "if you don't like it change jobs." that is not a realistic option for 97% of all workers in all jobs around the world.

GreenTeaDisease

soulsinging wrote:

and don't give me that "change jobs" crap. the whole worker choice thing is largely a myth. it is never that simple.

I would disagree that it is a myth. however, basic economic theory seems to suggest that is happens instantaneously, which is not the case. It will happen IMO, but it may take much much longer than may be expected, and many costs may also be incurred in the transition.

2-feign-reluctance

Steve Dunne wrote:

this is making me miss Ireland. I was there 5 years ago today. A pint of Guinness was 5 euro. No more, no less, no tipping.

yeah, tipping sucks. i miss Australia.

dunkman

Urban Hiker wrote:

Pardon me for being slow, but I'm having some sort of mind block preventing me from believing this.

I don't have to tip wait staff in Scotland!? Are there other countries like this?

nope.. you dont HAVE to.. some people leave a few pounds here and there in a nice restaurant.. but a bog standard coffee shop place serving you coffee and a bagel.. shit no...


most pubs/hotels/inns etc wont require a tip.. its nice to leave say the change.. i.e. if the meal comes to £32.65 then a few people will leave the change sitting for the waitress... otherwise we dont really do it.. no need... the staff get paid $10+ an hour..