Job Discussion Forums

[cangringo]

so you can't say c o c k tail but you can say penises...?? I don't get it...ok that's funny I just tried to post this with the singular of the above and it beeped but plural is ok apparently...oh brother...

reminds me of a song - anyone know it - we used to hear it on the radio in Calgary all the time

well I don't know about the majority but I know that our friends tip and all the Canadians I know tip

I hate it when people are cheapskates of any nationality really

It has been said that it's rude to leave a tip on the table when someone else pays for your meal and tip but I think it's rude to leave a crappy tip so I have been known to sneak extra money onto the table. Usually if someone else insists on paying we insist on paying the tip. Then we can be sure.

[ls650]

I conducted a survey of the students in three different classes this morning, and the results were surprising uniform.

From worst to best:
0% Asians and Eastern Europeans (Poles in particular were mentioned as poor tippers)
5% Western Europeans (Italians in particular were mentioned as poor tippers, with Germans and French also being mentioned as poor)
10% UKers, Canadians, Mexicans, Venezuelans, Chileans.
15% Americans
>15% Very rare.

Obviously these are generalizations. For example, while Mexicans uniformly tip 10%, Ukers and Canadians are all over the scale: some tip well, some tip poorly, and some don't tip at all - averaging out to around 10%. And Guy: you're from Quebec, right? Oh oh. I was told that while those from Vancouver and Calgary are good tippers, the Quebecers tend to be skinflints and leave small tips - or none at all.

They all felt that the Yanks tend to be the most generous with tips, but even they rarely give more than 15%.

They also agreed that you can't generalize by nationality with those over 15%. One student mentioned that the best tip she ever received was from the owner of the Aztecas football team - he tipped two guides 1000 pesos each for a quadricycle tour that cost less than 1000.

[Guy Courchesne]

I'm not from Quebec, but I can say that in Ottawa, Quebeckers are seen as cheap buggers. I hear people in Florida think the same.

An Acapulco waiter once described to me the three Canadian expat groups that winter there, listing Italian Canadians as the best tippers, English Canadians next, and French Canadians as worst.

[cangringo]

when I was waiting tables, we always looked forward to American customers because they did tip well...
and yes I remember the Germans being very stingy, so much so they always ordered drinks wizout za ice

I'm sure they aren't all like that but the ones I served were

[Sgt Killjoy]

ls650, doesn't surprise me about the Asians scoring the worst. Tipping just isn't in the culture in Asia. Giving someone extra for just doing their job? Unfortunately, tips allow a service establishment to pay their employees less as the difference is made up in tips. That ain't right. Instead of attacking people for not tipping, why not attack the service establishment for not paying their workers enough?

[ls650]

[cangringo]

wow that is a fitting name, I didn't think it was attacking - merely pointing something out

there are places that include the tip but one should find out what the locals do before one decides to tip or not

[DavefromWandsworth]

[wildnfree]

Sgt Killjoy you really have a good point.

Why should you have to tip someone for doing their job?

Tipping is another 'gift' given to the world by cheapskate American resturant owners who fleece their own staff and force their own responsibilty of providing a livable wage on the general public.

I have waited on tables and when we were left tips, they went in a big jar and were divided amongst all the staff, even if they never saw the customers (i.e cooks ect). It was crappy but even if I wasn't left a tip I still would give good service cause that was my job.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[El Gallo]

Another interesting twist on this issue is that smokers tend to leave smaller tips than non-smokers. I can't believe some of the attitudes about not leaving a tip.
I feel bad when I only leave 10% or don't have enough change to tip. Strange to me is tipping the parking lot men at Soriana. I'm not used to this at all.

[Samantha]

El Gallo wrote:

[M@tt]

someone thought restaurant owners invented tipping. that was hilarious.

it's a really simple rule: tip 10% in mexico if the service is decent. i can't believe there is any confusion about this. anyone who has travelled out of their own country should know that tipping is different from place to place. it's just one more little adjustment you make while not at home.

for the record, i've been a waiter. however, i don't believe in tipping as a moral imperative. i don't go to restaurants for the opportunity to be charitable to underpaid workers of the world. if a tipping system is in place (as in mexico) it ought to mean something. i think i've not left a tip in the US two times for atrocious service, and in mexico maybe 30-40 times simply because the waiters i've had are often very, very bad. of the maybe 15 or so countries i've been in, mexico is by far the worst for service.
if they're just mediocre i still tip them a bit, but i wouldn't go over 10%. if they're really good, i would tip over 10%.

there was a great article in the onion about this. it's actually making fun of people like me, but i loved it. http://www.theonion.com/content/node/54297

[cangringo]

I would disagree with the statement that smokers leave smaller tips, I am a smoker and I leave bigger tips than most and when I was working in restaurants I found the smokers were usually friendlier and left bigger tips. That's why a lot of servers prefer to work the smoking section even though they don't smoke (or they did when there were smoking sections). Patio tables also tend to leave bigger tips.

Drinkers leave good tips as well, even if it's just some wine at lunch unless of course they are in a big group or they get too drunk (that can work for or against you. People in big groups seem to leave the responsibility of tipping to everyone else and usually the server gets shortchanged...bad pun...Big groups can be more or less work, depending on time of day and type of establishment. The only time I think a tip should be less even for good service is at a buffet style place.

Oddly enough, I worked at one place where breakfast tips were better than lunch tips. Maybe it was just my stunning personality but I made out like a bandit.

[PlayadelSoul]