Nigel Doran

Having just returned from Amsterdam where my partner and I spent three very pleasant nights, I feel I have to share my experiences of service in restaurants with Fodorites in the U S.

Our guide, Cadogan, said service charge and taxes were included in the bill at restaurants. In one place, a sign in English told us not to tip any extra, as service was indeed included. Cadogan also suggested leaving a small amount (just a few guilders) if you wanted to show your appreciation of the service and the food.

So, we did just that. At EVERY cafe, bistro or restaurant, service was excellent. Our leaving of a few extra guilders was met with non-affected gratefulness, even surprise.

Now, that compares badly with my experiences in the U S, which, due to my having lived there and having visited there many times, are fairly considerable.

Does it not strike anyone interesting, to say the least, that I have received great service consistently in a country where the tyranny of tipping has not yet been installed?

Please don't get me wrong. U S service is generally very good, but it is nearly always predicated on the assumption that you get what you pay for: there is a tacit understanding between the server and the served that nothing less than 15% will do. I also appreciate that waiters and waitresses rely on their gratuities to boost meagre wages, though I cannot understand why bar and resto managers don't pay a decent wage in the first place.

Over to you....

Owen O'Neill

Interesting thoughts... having once worked as a waiter I undersatnd what athankless job it can be but agreee that surly, inattentive or rude service is unacceptable. Friends who have traveled abroad (I have not) have told me that the service situation is not the same elsewhere in Europe as it is in Holland. In their experience service was rarely if ever rude or incompetent but often indifferent. They attributed this to the fact that tips were not part of the compensation plan. This was a number of years ago - things may have changed. It shouldn't be taken as an excuse but one should note that the service profession is very low paying and lacks "status" - this may result in many restarauteurs having difficulty locating good people who stay long term. I believe that in Europe, waitering is considered to be a more honorable profession and thought of as a career rather than something one does until they get a "real" job. I recently ate in a Potuguese restaurant in Newark NJ in which the wait staff was all Portuguese. Despite the volume of the place (high) and the prices (moderate), the staff was solicitous without being intrusive, efficient and highly professional. I believe this reflects some cultural values that we lack.

Cindy

Well, I must just be an old biddy. My tipping is all over the map. Great service gets a great tip (and direct praise). Poor service attributable solely to the waiter or waitress (not the kitchen) receives a pitiful tip, with rudeness being penalized far, far more than incompetence. I understand that everyone has a bad day, but my tipping goes down when the waiter/waitress has a bad day. I don't think I am particularly demanding, so if I'm not happy, there must have been something seriously wrong. So I say diners shouldn't just let bad service slide and tip the usual.

cp

It is as Owen writes.

I've been here, I've been there. One of the cardinal differences between here and Europe is that what are minimum, or below minimum wage jobs here in the USA, are paid at a living wage in Europe. Thus Tips are merely that, tips, icing on the cake as reward for a great job, well done.

Since you are not unaware that here in the US, waitstaff are often paid around $3.00 an hour, and expected to make the Bulk of their salary in tips, you ask why would bar and restaurant owners not pay a living wage in the first place.

It's because they don't have to. Restaurant work is one of the last bastions of unskilled labor, and it's not govered by trade unions. There will always be someone how needs the job badly and will be willing to accept less than someone who considers waiting tables their career and expects to be paid accordingly.

It's the American way, why pay any more than you have to?

Caitlin

You say that in the US, you feel that you get what you pay for, and you are expected to pay at least 15% in tips; well, didn't you get what you paid for in Amsterdam? After all, you paid 15% for service, it was just included in your bill. No tacit understanding was needed, because you didn't have the choice to leave less than 15%.

Most people I've known who work or worked as waitstaff liked the US system, because if they made an effort to give good service, they could earn more than 15% tips. They did see it as an incentive.

BTW, if do *not* receive shiddy service, you should leave at least 15%. Why? Because waitstaff are usually taxed, and must "tip-out" to other restaurant workers, based on 15% of the pre-tax check total. So if they don't make 15% in tips, they pay instead of earn. Also, in most cases, the waiter will get at most 2/3 of the tip; the rest goes to the bar, bussers, kitchen staff, etc.

Is it tyrrany nnd would I rather everyone were paid a living wage? Of course!

Nigel Doran

I appreciate what you say, Caitlin, but would add that 15% would be the maximum I would leave as a tip. Otherwise, the amount would slowly creep ever upwards. As inflation takes care of price increases for food and drink, a static 15% takes care of increased tipping.
B T W, if it is only waiting on tables that doesn't get you a minimum wage, why then tip bellboys, tour guides and the like? I M H O, tipping IS a tyranny in the U S, with the tipped using the implicit threat of social embarrassment as a menace. No matter how much of a seasoned international traveller you may be, there is often a feeling of awkwardness involved in physically passing your pounds/dollars/yen to the person your tippping. Conventions are not laws.

Owen O'Neill

I can appreciate your point Nigel but agree with Caitlin in that I appreciate the opportunity to decide what to offer. If I have breakfast for $4-5 in a busy place where the waitperson is truly busting their hump and help me (and others) to both get in and out on time and enjoy my meal... I believe that a tip larger than 60 or 75 cents (which is 15%) is appropriate. At the same time, if I recieve rude and incompetent service, I reserve (and occasionally exercise) the right to leave no tip. Bad service deserves no tip. I have yet to meet a waitperson who assumes that everyone will tip or that people are obligated to leave more. I've also had the pleasure of having a fine dinner enhanced and improved by friendly and professional service. It's my prerogative to tip more on those occasions and I generally do so. As for bell boys, bathroom attendants etc., I use my judgement based on circumstances - sometimes I tip and sometimes I don't. It's unfortunate that our socio-economic culture doesn't offer a true living wage to people in many service professions. I've been blessed by circumstances to be able to travel on occasion and dine out regularly - I don't mind sharing a small bit of discretionary income with those who make my experiences more enjoyable but appreciate that I can do so of my own volition rather than being required to pay a standard percentage as in Europe.