kerouac

I can't believe how many people are being taken for a ride. For one thing, the service percentage is meaningless and is not automatically 15% (just look at a receipt from Léon de Bruxelles, for example). The percentage quoted on the receipt is just for internal accounting and taxation purposes, but in any case, it is ALWAYS included by law, even when the percentage is 0% (which you will sometimes see in ethnic restaurants). There is absolutely no amount to be paid on top of the total of the bill, no matter what anybody tells you. Waiters receive full salaries and are not dependant upon tips. If you want to leave a tip, fine, go ahead and do it, but DO NOT complain about how expensive France is if you are purposely paying too much for everything.

c41

Just because Americans leave a tip, does not mean they are rich! Most Americans work very hard for their money. Most only get one or maybe two weeks off for vacation. They work more hours and have less vacation than their European counterparts. I really get sick and tired of hearing how other countries think we are so rich! We tip because most service people here receive minimum hourly wages. It is not to impress, but to show our appreciation for doing an excellent job.

AnthonyGA

The waiter at Breakfast of America was either lying or misinformed. The service is included in the bill by law. If that restaurant isn't doing it, they are breaking the law.

cigalechanta

http://www.paris-eiffel-tower-news.c...not-to-tip.htm

kerouac

Jeez, how out of date is that? I have not seen an usher in a cinema in at least 15 years in Paris, long before the euro was even invented. How did that person come up with a 50 cent tip? Back when tips were given, long long ago, a tip to an usher in a cinema was never more than 1 franc = 0.15€. Who is making this stuff up?

Pvoyageuse

Very interesting article, cigalechanta. Too bad some people here seem to know how to read but are absolutely helpless when it comes to understanding what they are reading.

AlessandraZoe

I had a good time reading all these posts.

Hard to believe, but I have been quite happily tipping in Europe (at a far,far lower % than in the US) without any feeling of personal angst for well over a decade. Some of my French friends think I tip way too much; others think I tip just about right, others actually would tip more generously in certain circumstances, which proves that we all have quite generous, quite frugal, and outright cheap people in all countries.

I highly doubt that my willingness to show a minimal financial appreciation for service has ruined anyone else's trip to France and I'm pretty darn sure that my leaving a tip does not indicate that I view my waiter as a serf.

I do know for sure that good service has always increased the joy of my trip and therefore I am inclined to do so, even with full awareness that I shall never see these people again.

In essence: it's not that important how some justify not tipping in France or in the US. Nothing I say will change your behaviors; nothing you say will change mine.

To the OP:
Our general practice in France...
--About the service compris, I used to worry about finding out if it was or wasn't. Now I just assume it is and leave a small "pourboire" anyway...
--We round up in cafes, leaving "la monnaie" (small change) on the table.
--At good restaurants where we've been waited upon for around two hours, we give around 10% in cash to the waiter if we've had excellent service. Sometimes more; sometimes less. Two times nothing--heck, I would have subtracted the servis compris in those places if I could have.
--To cab drivers, we give at least 5%. If we have a lot of luggage (rare!) and need help, then that's when we'd do more.
--I always do tip the chambermaid, and I try to do that daily because often different people work different floors and shifts. The amount is insignificant.

To Stu:
Your wife married well.

kerouac

Although not about tipping, I have another gripe with that article. "Garçon" is not said anymore by most people. Just as calling certain people "boy" went out of fashion in the U.S., in France when you call over a waiter, the term to use is "Monsieur."

Nikki

Kerouac, it was you who told me that tips are compulsory to ushers at the theater except at state run theaters, where they are prohibited. The article does not mention cinema, but does say to tip ushers at the theater. On the other hand, it does say to tip ushers at the opera, and the two major opera houses are among the venues where tips are prohibited.

Is it any wonder we continue to have these conversations when there is so much conflicting information out there? And I believe that this thread demonstrates there is no one firm rule, that even people living in France disagree about tipping etiquette (and conversations with people in France have confirmed this for me).

AnthonyGA

That article appears on more than 2100 Web sites and is at least five years old. However, some of the advice the article gives is 40 years out of date at least, so it may be based on something far more than five years old, or the author is stuck in a time warp.

kerouac

Nikki, that blog talks about both theatres and cinemas and claims that tips are still given in cinemas! With a euro amount! It is completely made up! (Yes, there is still tipping in private theatres.)

kerouac

Nikki, that blog talks about both theatres and cinemas and claims that tips are still given in cinemas! With a euro amount! It is completely made up! (Yes, there is still tipping in private theatres.)

kerouac

<<50 euro cents is good at the movie theaters. Years ago, the lady ushers were not even paid by movie theater operators. They lived on tips only.>>

Nikki

I will try to read more carefully in the future.
I will try to read more carefully in the future.
I will try to read more carefully in the future.
I will try to read more carefully in the future.
I will try to read more carefully in the future.

kerouac

Oh, I tell myself that all the time, Nikki, but I get caught just as often as anybody else.

denisea

We have had different waiters respond to the question "is the tip included" answer it differently. There were definitely ones who I could tell were just trying to see if we knew it was and would answer in a vague way.

We actually had one on our last trip, who kept asking us if we forgot something and we told him plainly no...we didn't leave anything and we don't feel bad about it after he tried to bully us into leaving a tip.