Worst Tippers
 

Any former or current European waitstaff out there? Who are the best/worst tippers?<BR><BR>I have heard from friends that used to be waiters in Rome & Paris that the Japanese were the most generous tippers (maybe because these guys used to "alter" the checks)<BR>and "other" groups were poor tippers.<BR>Don't want to offend anyone just get your input on this topic.

Unbelievably some of the richest people from the United Arab Emirates.

African-Americans - and I am one!

I'm assuming you're talking "worst" with the 2 previous responses. Maybe we could say "best" "worst" after each one?<BR>I'm not in the service industry so I don't know - but this could get good.

I've always heard that teachers are the worst tippers (I actually knew one who refused to tip because no one tipped her for teaching! And she was from a wealthy family). However, LV is a very tip-conscious town, so I try not to be cheap.

Generally, Canadians and British were among the worst tippers. Chinese and Japanese were the best.

I find that Americans scrutinize the check the most and that Japanese will pay what the check states without question.<BR>I worked at a 4 star restaurant in Rome for 6 years and always got the best tips from Asian people.

This was a major story here in Miami a while back. An Asian restauraneur automatically added a tip to an African-American patron's bill. The patron asked the white customers sitting around him, and tips weren't included in their bills. The man asked the restaurant owner why the tip was added, and the response was "Because you people don't tip well." This was all over the news, and it led to a County ordinance whereby tip policies must be universally applied and posted in the establishment.

When I was an undergraduate at Dartmouth, I worked as a waiter and I found that Asians were very good tippers as were Catholic priests. The worst tippers are (sorry, but it is true) overweight women 35-45. Canadians, other than French Canadians, are also HORRIBLE tippers, especially those from Nova Scotia.

Best tippers are Americans because they eat the most - just look at the Taking Food for Breakfast thread

There used to be a joke in the restaurant biz:<BR><BR>What's the difference between a canoe and a European? A canoe tips.

American's tip well b/c it is part of our cultural custom (and damn well expected in fact) in our own country. When you are used to tipping 15-20% and are in a country where less is expected, we still tend to tip a bit more, just out of habit.<BR><BR>And of course, when Europeans come to our country, they bring their habits with them too. No one is trying to be rude, it's just a cultural difference.<BR><BR>

As a traveling Canadian, I've heard a joke among the Europeans several times that Canadians were the worst tippers, never buy the round of drinks when it's their turn, and never offer to buy a drink (even to a lady they've been chatting up for the last hour).

Oh Please, John Thin and gorgious! Again you have proven that you are all hot air. I am a great tipper. My thin friends are far worse because they believe their presence is an honor enough.

Okay, does this mean that if you are a server you will give poorer service to Europeans, or African-Americans, or middle-aged overweight women, or Canadians, or British, just because someone has said they are poor tippers?<BR><BR>Maybe that's why I -- a member of one or more of those groups -- get such poor service sometimes. My baseline is 20% and if you don't screw up, that's what you get. <BR><BR>My experience at least in the US: wealthier people are cheapest; poorer people shell out. I'm always having to slip an extra $1 or $5 on top of a really chintzy tip my wealthy brother-in-law leaves.<BR><BR>Let me give you a hint: if you assume I'm going to be a poor tipper (no Gore jokes here, please) and give me crummy service, it'll be a circular, self-fulfilling prophecy.

Demographic, Your BASELINE is 20%? You are generous indeed! What if you get fabulous service? And what do you tip in France?

In Japan there is NO tipping and Japanese people are not used to tipping, so they usually don't. Since I am against tipping, I think they are right.

And I think the fact that European wait staff usually get a "normal" salary (unlike the under-minimum-wage hourly rates that wait staff usually get paid in the USA)lends Europeans not to feel the moral obligation to tip their wait staff as much as we do here in the States. In the USA, I usually tip well (20% on average) out of guilt, even when the service was lousy. In Europe, I tip well as a compliment and recognition of good service. I personally prefer the latter.

For some reason, professional women between 40 & 50 years old. I always get better tips from men of all ages than women in this age group.

It's not a cultural or moral thing, but pure economics. In Europe the waiters' salary is included in the price of the meal. In the States it is not. That's why the word "tip" is wrong. It's a "Service charge". Both systems are fine, as long as you know the difference.<BR>The most misleading are cruise ships, where you are told how much to "tip" the staff. On my first (and certainly last) cruise in the Caribbean, I realized I had unknowingly become the employer of 8 staff members. They should force cruise lines to include in their advertising: "Staff salaries NOT included". Just like port taxes.

Sorry, Miss Piggy, but I am gay and I used to go out of my way to be nice to heavy older women, but they still left me 10% tips. Usually, Joan Rivers-type women left me great tips (very thin, older, plastic surgery, jewelry from Cartier) I never prejudged my guests. And I think the above poster is right when he says that very rich couples tip less than middle-class ones. I would usually get very good tips from college-educated couples between the ages of 27-35 who were out for dinner on a Saturday night. I also found that the more casual the time, the less of a tip. For instance, I received worse tips on a Sunday evening when people were dressed in jeans and just got out of a movie. I also received very good tips from business men with expense accounts (what did they care, they weren't paying). This is all just a generalization, however, and there are exceptions to the rule. But, Miss Piggy, ask any w/w and they will tell you that heavy women in groups of two or more are terrible tippers.

John G, some of those you list as poor tippers may be those who themselves don't constantly badger their clientele for tips, because it is not the done thing. Such as in Australia.

No wonder those "women aged 35 to 45" weren't leaving you good tips. Don't you think it was a bit rude of you to be asking your customers their age? But then apparently you asked them about their educational level, too. Or could you just intuit it?<BR>

When I was an studying for my PhD at Wotsamatta U., I worked as a waitress and found that Unitarians were good tippers as were Republican men born under Gemini who were between 42 1/2 and 53 years old. People from Virginia, except for those from the Richmond, were bad tippers, especially those from Fairfax County. The best tippers were people who had been members of the National Honors Society.

Look, on a bill of $50., 20% is $10 while 18% is $9. and 15% is $7.50. For me, the $1-2 dollar difference isn't all that great and maybe it'll help the w/w (thanks for the abbrev.) out, at least in the morale dept.<BR><BR>Yes I'm generous but I'm not stupid. I think I have a mental "points off" system if orders get confused, if timing's off (bring entree before salad's done), if the w/w has an attitude, etc. etc. I've been known to leave a very pointed 5% or a single dollar.<BR><BR>It's rare that someone exceeds my "standard" for good service but when they do -- when they go out of their way to accommodate a special need or make a special arrangement with a dessert or the bill or whatever -- then I'll add another buck or two. It just isn't that much money compared to the kinds of rip-offs one can get when actually purchasing a product instead of receiving service. How much in change do you have on your bureau at this moment?<BR><BR>AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I have seen people ACTUALLY tip as much as 25%! <BR><BR>BTW I'm one of those middle-aged overweight women, so be on alert -- that might be me ordering the broiled skinless chicken, salad, framboise sorbet, and herb tea. Don't make any assumptions.

Canadian.<BR>Late 40's.<BR>Not as lean as I used to be.<BR>I tip baseline 15% and that's for ADEQUATE service. I tip 20% for good service. And if the service is exemplary, 25% and a "kudos" followup to the management naming the person in question.(in writing)<BR>As a teenager, I worked the food & beverage industry, you see. And we tip when we're in a different country!!

ttt

hmmm. I don't see why weight would have anything to do with anything, unless it's just a prejudice you have and so you notice it more. And how would you know it's the heavy woman leaving a smaller tip in a group? unless they all get separate checks. Personally, I would never leave a dollar as a tip unless I got a very small meal or the waiter/waitress was extremely bad.

Here's a tip....GET A LIFE!!!!!

Former waitresses are the best tippers, IMO, especially when service is good. When service is off, they can tell whether it's due to bad/poorly trained wait staff, understaffing (where all the wait staff are run ragged trying to make up for lousy management), or a problem in the kitchen, and tip accordingly.<BR>JohnG's comment is just another one of his rants against overweight women (he doesn't seem to mind overweight men nearly so much). No matter what the subject is, he'll manage to get a dig in at women who aren't thin--what an obsession! John, you *say* you were extra nice, but overweight women can be pretty shrewd and I bet they sensed your contempt under all those phony smiles. THAT'S why your tips weren't big. <BR>I've been traveling to Europe several times a year for 20+ years and find the quality of service in Paris and other big cities is declining, because it's not viewed as a profession anymore by young people, male or female, especially if the management of the establishment is young as well. I've been to many chic and expensive places staffed and run by people under 30 who gave indifferent service and spent their time chatting with each other or on their cell phones. But places run by older managers and with a majority of wait staff over the age of 30 deliver much more professional service. THEY get my big tips.

Anyone else have confusions over John Gs email address (which reveals his obsession with the thinner body shape even more).<BR><BR>I thought for ages it meant thing or juice. Couldnt understand it at all.<BR><BR>Imagine having such a complex about yourself that in your own email address you needed to refer to yourself as thin and gorgeous!

I usually tip about 12-15% in the UK and between 15 and 20% in the US because I have learned that is the custom.<BR><BR>But what I dont understand is why waitstaff in the US are not paid more?<BR><BR>If they were paid a living wage in the first place it would be easier.<BR><BR>That said one of their own arguments always annoys me... when I first used to visit the US the average tip expected was 15%.<BR><BR>When I heard waitstaff explaining why it should now be 20% they argued that this was to allow them to earn more in line with inflation.<BR><BR>BUT surely all the prices in the restaurants themselves keep pace with inflation in which case the 15% is a continuingly increasing figure?<BR><BR>Or would be it be that actually the prices for eating out in the US have stayed low when general prices have risen.<BR><BR>I believe also that in France and Italy and Spain that a tip isnt always a % amount but a general rounding up of the tip to the next note up (e.g. if its 33.60 then pay 35.00 etc).<BR><BR>Is this the case?

I love the way Australian taxi drivers round DOWN the fare.

Tsk! Tsk! Now I am offended! How could anyone single out Nova Scotians as bad tippers? Hey, I'll acknowledge that I'm fiscally cautious, but time and time again, Nova Scotians come out way ahead of other Canadians when it comes to being generous. That applies to tipping too, both at home and when travelling even in places where our Canadian dollar doesn't go very far. Alas, it seems our Scottish heritage has once again been defamed. Shame, shame for even starting this post. But hey, you'll be forgiven, as we are a kindly folk, and not noted for holding grudges. Have a good one,<BR>Dale<BR><BR><BR>

Well, hey there, guys and girls, guess what?<BR>I am a 35-45 year old curvaceous female teacher who travels alone by choice,<BR>and I tip 20% in the US.<BR>Steretypes are such a bother, aren't they?

I have found the Americans to be the best tippers, and the Canadians to be the worst tippers.

Aahhh! I am unemployed IT programmer in the US and I am scared this will be my new profession very soon.

The assumption seems to be that a 'good' tipper is someone who leaves more money in addition to the bill than someone who leaves less. Maybe a good tipper is someone shrewd enough to know when they are being left to make their own discretionary, value-based assessment of the service, and when they are being shaken down or bullied by an egomaniac who feels insulted that they should have to serve anyone at all. <BR><BR>As for that last remark, it was such a transparent ploy to ignite indignation that I shall leave 3 pennies, stuck in the leftover sauce on the plate, to indicate my opinion.

Hey I was a programmer-slave -- let me tell you. I regurarly worked until 3 am because of 'critical' extra work given to me by my employer (damn scope issues). I will be happy to work less hours and even to serve people, I am just not happy about the pay cut since I am still paying my college loans back.

sorry I got that too late. ;-)