I came across this interesting article on David Lebovitz's blog. The article is a guide on how to tip in France :

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archive...g_in_fran.html

Frankly I stopped reading when he called the 15% charge a "gratuity" and then made it clear he considers a "tip" and a "service charge" one and the same. He and I are not on the same page. I consider the 15% on a restaurant bill the restaurant's service charge, and if you choose to leave anything extra to a specially helpful server -- that's a tip or gratuity.

That's why when tourists say "is tip included?" the usual answer will be "NO", but if they ask the same server "is service included?", they will get a "YES".

Well, there's a bit of useful information in there, especially for newbies, but as an editor I had to stop reading after a couple of paragraphs. He calls it a gratuity and then backtracks and calls it a service charge. And how about "habituate frequently"? Not to mention non-parallelism, dangling modifiers, incorrect verb tenses. What a mess!

I hope he doesn't get paid for this.

"in France by law a 15% gratuity is always included in the price wherever you eat or drink"

This man is talking out of his hat. (I can think of a ruder expression) Stuff, nonesense, piffle, foutaises, et n'importe nawac.

The Service Charge is a government imposed Sales Tax.

I'll say it again and again, Sales Tax, Sales Tax, Sales Tax, Sales Tax.

Nothing even vaguely associated, connected or otherwise linked in any way shape or form to a tip.

If you want to be received as a savage, a barbarian, an ingrate, a peasant, a tightwad, a severely badly brought up individual, a horrible foreigner and an unpleasant scrooge-like character, never to be welcomed again, follow this ill informed idiot's advice.

Hi W,

>The Service Charge is a government imposed Sales Tax.

I'll say it again and again, Sales Tax, Sales Tax, Sales Tax, Sales Tax.<

Are you saying that one should then give the waiter a 15% tip, a la the US mode?

Precisely.

Unfortunately "Service" in English and "Service" in French don't mean the same thing.

What they call a "faux ami", "false friend", looks the same, doesn't mean the same thing.

In English "service" means something above and beyond the call of duty.

In French, "service" is the act of serving, i.e. delivering the plates to the table. Which is surcharged.

The "serveur"(or "serveuse&quot is the wait staff, "le service" is also the time period when food is being served.

If you went into the kitchen and picked up the food yourself, not that anyone would let you, there would be no "Service Charge" because you have not been served.

In most bars in France, it is cheaper to sit at the bar to drink, as you do not have to be "servé" (receive service) at a table.

waring - very interesting
Is the amount difference in cost, then, that 15%?

If it is a "tax", why don't the French add anything above the billed amount (aside from rounding)?

The service charge is not at all a sales tax. It is imposed by no one. In a lot of the ethnic restaurants, it is even marked "service gratuit" on the bill. The V.A.T. is the tax.

V.A.T. (T.V.A.) is 19.60% on all restaurant items. Restaurants have been fighting this tax for years, because the tax on take-away food it 5.5%.

The service charge is generally 15% or 12%, but as I mentioned above, is not applied by everyone.

Tipping is anything extra you might want to leave, generally no more than a euro, if you have spent more than 30 euros on your total bill.

When I said "imposed by no one" of course I meant "imposed by no government or fiscal authority".

waring, are you trying to tell us that the 15% in addition to the VAT which is also separate - all goes to the government as tax? Are you saying that 15% marked "service" on most French restaurant bills does NOT go to the restaurant, but is fully paid to the government? In other words you're saying that every restaurant in France pays directly to the government 34.6 % of every bill -- the 19.6 marked as tax, plus the additional 15% they usually call service? That is pretty hard to swallow.

I'm not going to argue that point, because I'm not an expert -- but if what you're saying is true, it goes against what I've read over and over again in hundreds of resources -- most of them very respected ones.

NeoPatrick, 19.6% goes direct to the State. The 15% is a compulsory charge, imposed by the government, which is indeed kept by the restaurant to pay (allegedly) a living wage to the serving and kitchen staff.

You can argue this anyway you like.

You eat modestly pay the Service Charge, and the waiter gets his 15€ an hour.

He upsells a client to spend 5,000€ on wine (I've seen this) with a 15% Service charge, he is paid his 15€ an hour.

You give the guy a 300$ tip he splits it with his colleagues, and he take his girlfriend out to dinner.

If you want to complain about the French Government fleecing all and sundry on taxes, get to the back of the line..

The French attitude of not tipping explains why Parisians get spit in their soup, and why Americans are welcomed with open arms.

Wow, that's quite a remarkable twisting of words. So the restaurant adds a 15% charge and keeps it to pay a living wage and you insist it's called a "Sales Tax, Sales Tax, Sales Tax, Sales Tax"?

Call it what you like. Call it a "birthday present" if you want. But personally I think "service charge" describes what it is a lot more logically and accurately. I've never heard of a sales tax that the seller keeps!!!

URGENT: Waring, please take your medication.

Waring,

Ditto Kerouac.

The 15% Service Charge is what the owner adds to your food cost to pay the help.

Servers in France are paid at least minimum wage, unlike in the US where they are "exempted" from this onerous requirement.

That is why in the US we add a 15% "tip".

In France, a tip is an extra gratuity for better-than-good service.

Interesting discussion indeed.

<i>The service charge is generally 15% or 12%, but as I mentioned above, is not applied by everyone.</i>

So then, if the restaurant does not add this service charge, would you go ahead and tip 15%/ 20% ?

Kerouac - I don't understand this:
&lt;&lt;The service charge is not at all a sales tax. It is imposed by no one.

The service charge is generally 15% or 12%, but as I mentioned above, is not applied by everyone.&gt;&gt;

I thought that the 15% was universal...I don't think I have been in a restaurant where it was NOT charged and at 15%. But you are saying that is not the case?

The Chinese place across from my apartment has absolutely no service charge and expects absolutely no tip. An on top of that, if you pay them with a company luncheon voucher, on which change is not supposed to be given, they give you a credit coupon for the difference to be used on your next visit.

But to get back to the subject of the so-called service charge, the caf&eacute; in which I had a financial participation did not have any service charge on its meals. Was the concept of the service charge included in the prices? Absolutely! We had all sorts of debates on how to price things, whether the coffee and beer should be relatively cheaper and other things more expensive... It all worked out in the end. As for tips, they were never kept individually by any of the staff -- they were all thrown into a Lavazza coffee can behind the counter and distributed equally to all of the employees once a month.

The website of the old caf&eacute; has not died yet: www.auvraiparis.com
But the caf&eacute; itself has been replaced by a new establishment: www.les-artistes.net
It is operated by Sri Lankan immigrants who have actually lowered the prices...

I agree with Kerouac, with Ira...I think , I know the IVa is the tax. What are you saying Waring , are you saying that
Parisians that do not tip are regularly spit on the soup??....give me a brake...
I shall continue following my Pariasians friends, when it is a great service, and also in luxury places I will tip, not a 15% but less , other times in bistros, etc. I shall live some change or if I do not have change nothing.
I feel fine like this and I have come back and back to some informal inexpensive places and always being received well, with a smile ,......as I imagine millions of Parisians are wellcome every day in similar situations. ....

okay, I'm so confused- anyone have any crayons?