Unfortunately that's simply the reality over there.

I agree with MaDalton: when in Rome...etc.

So in the US, I do tip but not 15%-20%. Unless it's really good.

i am in czech republic as madalton, and if the service is not really bad, i tip always 20+ percents. people are happy, and next time i will get better service :)

im happy to not tip if the service is non existant, a tip is earnt its not taken for granted

Wait, all this over a fucking tip?

Pretty sure that customers are not required to tip for service if the service was bad, since the restaurant didn't hold up their end of the contract. If the service was good though, they're just being nigggers.

Nigggers gonna nig.

Regardless, I never tip. Fuck that. Good luck detaining me while you phone the pigs. :thumbsup

Word, yo.

I once tipped 12% in Montreal and the lady came back to me saying: "Excuse me sir, over it's customary to tip 15%(or 17%, whatever it was)".

So not for a second did she think something wasn't right..so simply stated that I should tip more. Well, fuck you.

I typed a long rant based on my experience, waiting tables changed my view of the world in a pretty negative way, I honestly believed we were all equal till I started waiting tables. After proofreading and filtering for racism this is what's left:

Tipping is a cultural thing and it only seems to work well for white middle class Americans.

If it wasn't for mandatory gratuities, waiters would refuse to serve large parties.

but you agree that the common czech person is not really good at tipping?

I always thought tips is optional

We went to hooters yesterday. 3 people and the bill was 598 pesos so about 50$.. we gave the girl 700 pesos and she almost shit her tight orange pants.. Most people dont tip that well here either.

Thats what I like - Make someones day with a good tip for good service.

What? They don't have a fucking choice. There is no negotiation. It's simple. Do it or see the door. Refuse to work = get the fuck out. I don't see firefighters refusing to work because a building is over *** meters tall.

Also, don't be a fucking vagina. Being a prison guard, logger, surgeon, or coal miner is a hard job. Bringing plates back and forth is NOT a hard job... unless you're fucking lazy.

Always trying to tip 10 - 15 pct. depending on the total sum and service.

But yes, if I'm with a local company, it usually makes other people at the table feel very uncomfortable and they take it as showing off because they usually don't want to tip anything at all or just a few CZK

Also if somebody gives me money to pay for the whole bill it will for 100 pct. not include any tip, so I may easily end up paying a tip for three or four people all together.

Unfortunately, it is, provided it's clearly stated by the restaurant. Seen it in a court case before. Customer lost and had to pay, because the restaurant had it stated clearly. The outcome was that if you didn't like their clearly stated policies, don't eat there. If you eat there, you're accepting what amounts to a contract.

Such is life, I guess!

If you think its easy try it. I would certainly have quit if I was forced to wait on large tables for free. When you go to a restaurant you are not buying food, but an experience. If you don't want to pay for it, you should go to a grocery store or a McDonalds or some shit.

its like its on the menu ,you dont like it get up and walk out. My friend works at a high end restaurant here and some big r&b singer came in late and stayed late and he was a very shitty tip. In my experience black people were weak tips(I worked as a bartender), I had a gf yrs ago and she worked at a olive garden mostly black clientele and she had horror story after horror story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_tipping wonder if this will be the first case to challenge this issue in court and win.

no such thing as a one sided contract. both sides have to agree.

This I totally agree on. Cultural. Not racial either...cultural.

See above. That shit doesn't fly over here. Over here large parties get discount because they bring in a shitload of money and aren't considered a pest and a nuisance because they're not eating with <4 people.

It really amazes me how fucked up some places are.

how on earth can you be punished for bringing too many customers... the whole tipping culture is bullshit, tip for good service and that's it, if it's shit you should get nothing and start doing your job better!

I work hard for my money. If you want my money, as a waiter, you better work hard for it in return. I have no problem paying 20% for good service, I also have no problem paying 5% for poor service.

I should never have to seek out a waiter in order to get a drink. If I do, you are getting 5%.

I go to a restaurant to be waited on. For an experience. I can get good food, and cheaper, at home.

Amazing, isn't it?


Order in bulk at Amazon and you get a discount
Order in bulk at a restaurant and get fined :helpme

Oh please. We both know I'm not going to go out and get a job as a waiter. Don't be such an knee-jerk emotional faggot. We also both know that waitering is not difficult, which is why it's a magnet for the lazy and unskilled. It may be poorly paid, but if you genuinely believe it's particularly difficult then I feel sorry for you. The fact that you would clearly struggle to hold down a job as a waiter is pretty pathetic.

Restaurants should certainly pay a fixed wage, but if you take a commission-based job, you have no right to complain. None. Refuse to serve large tables? You can't pick and choose which tables you want to serve. Forget the drama and bullshit. Do the job properly or just quit. I shouldn't have to explain this to you.

Also, it is not my responsibility to pay the waitstaff salary, in the same way that I don't go around giving $10 to supermarket shelf stackers or flagging down police cars and handing them rolls of 20s.

The only business model where you pay the staff to wander around and "come see how you're making out" from time to time.

I gotta agree with you on that, Service in Amsterdam was shyte. The wait staff are the people that handle your food, and are also the intermediary between you and the kitchen, in the best cases, making sure that what the kitchen puts up, is up to par. They ensure that you're looked after in a timely fashion, that you aren't served beer that's under poured and if you're there 2 mins before they stop serving food, that perhaps the kitchen will sneak in that last order. Why? Because they are hoping you show a little gratitude at the end. You remove that, and you are left with people who get paid regardless if you walk out of there happy, or with the impression that you wont go back.

As for the US.. at many high end restaurants, I find some waitstaff overbearing. They have to find that happy medium between meeting my dining needs, and being scarce.

As a side note. Tip were given To Insure Prompt Service, and was given at the start of a meal as an incentive.

The fact that they can legally pay only $2.13 an hour is what is outrageous, but dont mind me I'm completely cynical of that business model as often stated.

They whine with a large lobby for their industry, so thats that.

Where did you eat?

Ate at the Pub, The Hard Rock, and a steak place a bit further away. The Hard Rock shut the kitchen down 10 mins early and served Beer that was half full. One of the guys at the table commented that if you did that in Scotland they would smack you over the head with it. The waitress just shrugged it off. Its not like she gets paid any differently. The pub, we waited 15 mins just for a menu and someone to take a drink order.

charge it to the game

If you are as big an asshole IRL as you are on the board you have probably ingested a lot of bodily fluids that has no doubt been liberally sprinkled on your food in restaurants.

Oh, Amsterdam and the 'Half Full Pint'.

Us Brits will just never accept that a Dutch Pint is a Pint.

Wars have been fought for less.

There we go again with the emotional knee-jerk faggotry. And this makes waitering a difficult job... how?

Refusing to serve tables. :1orglaugh
Picking and choosing which tables to serve. :1orglaugh

Incoming hurt feelings report in 3, 2, 1...

Unfortunately, the pubs in Amsterdam are simply tourist traps. By default they don't have good food and bad service. All I can do is advise you to NEVER eat at the pubs.

What exactly do you mean by half full beers? Did they have a head or were they actually only half full? Because heads on beers are normal over here(cultural thing). Half empty glasses are not.

Other than that, there's good service and there's bad service.
Another factor you should take into account is the friendlyness.

Americans tend to be overly nice with fake smiles and exagerated interest in the customer. If you're used to that, Dutch waitresses might come across a bit disinterested. But that's simply the way we are.

I am well aware of that :1orglaugh

We actually don't like the headlessness in the UK :thumbsup

Hmmm. I wonder if you're Dopy, aka Susan...

It was a large group surcharge. It says on the menu. Don't like, don't fucking eat there. Go to Taco Bell where you do not need to pay that surcharge.
So kid is going to bust his ass with 10 black people needing refills every 20 seconds and then get tipped 1 dollar on 200 bill.. Nice.

Nigga please, You must have not watched the video because consumer guy (white old guy) explains it for dumb asses like you.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh
Sure, tough guy.

Most mid-range restaurants will only alot a server 4 or 5 tables per shift, maybe 6-8 for an experienced one, or an average of 12-16 simultaneous customers max.

If a table of 12 people comes in, he has to handle them exclusively and cant take any other tables in order to give them the attention they need. Usually a group that size will not be in any hurry to leave and camp out awhile, effectively making that waiter's entire shift or a good portion of it a one-party affair.

If a waiter could normally make 100-200 a night hustling a larger group of higher turnover tables, and has to spend all day with one big table who then decides to leave a couple bucks or nothing, they are gonna be pissed. They are going to be one of the restaurants stronger servers or they wouldn't be trusted with a "bigtop" and they are going to have some pull with the manager because they are one of front of the house team's stronger players that likely picks up a lot of slack for noobs and trainees.

So that's why you get "gratted" in large groups.

As to whether it's difficult or not, note that most people that are past highschool and college age are also done waiting tables, the physical and mental demands are pretty high and are not inline with the minimal rewards. It's not a job for lazy people, at least not in decent restaurants, its more a job for people with a lot of energy who haven't figure out how to better capitalize on that energy yet.

Right..so..regardless of what the rules are etc etc....can you explain to me WHY a surcharge for larger groups is okay?

So far I've seen several people talk about it but I can't find any other reason for them defending it other than "it's always been that way".

Tell me, why do you feel you should pay a surcharge if you come with larger groups?

Black people are lousy tippers. $2 max on 50 dollar tab. I waited tables thru college and never got one good tip from black person. Thank god I worked in high priced Italian place and we didn't have that many. Even black waiter didn't want to wait on them. We used to pay hostess few dollars to take them to someone else station.
Same goes for prom kids and Mary Kay bitches.