USA Gratuity And/Or Tip?

[Panamax]

havoc said:

The joke is "Resort fees" in places where there isn't even anything resembling a resort.

My word, yes! Some of those fees are way out of control IMO. Ridiculous.

[wibble cb]

bad company said:

wibble cb said:

Just come back from a week in Arizona, wait staff were pleasant, most restaurants we went to had a new business continuity fee of 4% added to the bill, no idea why they just can’t up the prices, it’s not fooling anyone that there is inflation, 16 oz pints ranged from $6 to $9 depending on where you are, while my wife picked a cocktail in on place that was $19!!

Was the ‘business continuity fee’ compulsory? I hate hidden charges.

It doesn’t seem to be, resort fees was another, valet parking was 14$ on it’s own, but a compulsory resort fee of 35$ is also charged, which was for wifi access and… parking, oh and some ‘free’ coffees ( yes free coffees included in a fee….)

[matrignano]

I was in México 10 days ago and a group of ~20 of us had dinner in a “ok” place in Playa Agustinillo, which is a tiny beach pueblo with fairly basic services.

We left about 10% tip and the waitress stopped my partner and I from leaving (we were the last ones), asking if she’d done anything wrong, as normally they expect a tip of 15%+!

I argued that we’re not used to tip that much in Europe and after some to and fro we managed to leave.
It’s not like prices were cheap in the first place considering this was little more than a beach hut with some tables and fans.

Cool story bro etc, but it pissed me off that the US are exporting these stupid expectations wherever they go!

No tips expected in China which I loved

[unrepentant]

eldar said:

markiii said:

definately no tip if I'm ordering on an app

Yup, I'm not going to tip a bloody app.

Please stay home then.

The server may only be getting $2.19 per hour before tips, regardless of how the food is ordered and if you're using an app it's not fine dining so they are going to be on the bottom end of the scale.

[RayDonovan]

matrignano said:

I was in México 10 days ago and a group of ~20 of us had dinner in a “ok” place in Playa Agustinillo, which is a tiny beach pueblo with fairly basic services.

We left about 10% tip and the waitress stopped my partner and I from leaving (we were the last ones), asking if she’d done anything wrong, as normally they expect a tip of 15%+!

I argued that we’re not used to tip that much in Europe and after some to and fro we managed to leave.
It’s not like prices were cheap in the first place considering this was little more than a beach hut with some tables and fans.

Cool story bro etc, but it pissed me off that the US are exporting these stupid expectations wherever they go!

No tips expected in China which I loved

How much was the tip in $?

[RayDonovan]

unrepentant said:

eldar said:

markiii said:

definately no tip if I'm ordering on an app

Yup, I'm not going to tip a bloody app.

Please stay home then.

The server may only be getting $2.19 per hour before tips, regardless of how the food is ordered and if you're using an app it's not fine dining so they are going to be on the bottom end of the scale.

Just give them 50% of the tip of they're only bringing some food to your table. 50% of the work / 50% of a normal tip

[matrignano]

RayDonovan said:

How much was the tip in $?

I'd say about 1000 MXN so $60

[RayDonovan]

matrignano said:

RayDonovan said:

How much was the tip in $?

I'd say about 1000 MXN so $60

Seems reasonable to me.

[eldar]

unrepentant said:

eldar said:

markiii said:

definately no tip if I'm ordering on an app

Yup, I'm not going to tip a bloody app.

Please stay home then.

The server may only be getting $2.19 per hour before tips, regardless of how the food is ordered and if you're using an app it's not fine dining so they are going to be on the bottom end of the scale.

The wait staff choose to work for a pittance plus extra for providing a good service. The employers have removed the ability to provide that service. Tough old world.

Customers and staff vote with their feet.

[LunarOne]

bad company said:

Difficult for us. Mrs BC doesn’t eat cheese and always asks the server to make sure it’s not in whatever we order. Can’t do that on an app.

Doesn't eat cheese? Not even Wensleydale? She's more like Mrs. Terrible Company eh, Gromit!

[LunarOne]

acer12 said:

Another one to think about,

More food places in the US are moving electronic where you scan a barcode for menu, order from their website and pay within the website. Im not just talking about McDonalds here, this includes mid scale table serve restaurants like red lobster, olive garden, pubs etc.

If restaurant chains like the ones you mention are mid-scale, you must have been plumbing abyssal depths to find the low end of the market!

[acer12]

LunarOne said:

If restaurant chains like the ones you mention are mid-scale, you must have been plumbing abyssal depths to find the low end of the market!

You know when I was typing that I guessed some ar5ebag would be along to judge my post and here you are. Its disappointing it took you so long.

To rise to you post, not sure how you would call a place like Red Lobster low end, their surf and turf is about $40 and is decent.

[unrepentant]

eldar said:

The wait staff choose to work for a pittance plus extra for providing a good service. The employers have removed the ability to provide that service. Tough old world.

Customers and staff vote with their feet.

Like I said, please stay home. American customers and knowledgeable visitors understand how the system works and are quite happy. People like you just give the British a bad name over here.

[unrepentant]

acer12 said:

LunarOne said:

If restaurant chains like the ones you mention are mid-scale, you must have been plumbing abyssal depths to find the low end of the market!

You know when I was typing that I guessed some ar5ebag would be along to judge my post and here you are. Its disappointing it took you so long.

To rise to you post, not sure how you would call a place like Red Lobster low end, their surf and turf is about $40 and is decent.

Red Lobster is literally plumbing the depths of crappy low end chain restaurants. Do you like Olive Garden too?

[LunarOne]

acer12 said:

LunarOne said:

If restaurant chains like the ones you mention are mid-scale, you must have been plumbing abyssal depths to find the low end of the market!

You know when I was typing that I guessed some ar5ebag would be along to judge my post and here you are. Its disappointing it took you so long.

To rise to you post, not sure how you would call a place like Red Lobster low end, their surf and turf is about $40 and is decent.

I don't know what an ar5ebag is - some kind of smaller version of the ar15? I also have no idea why you're so defensive. It's not your post I'm judging. It's the quality of American restaurants, which are on the whole dire. If you've ever watched an episode of Kitchen Nightmares, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Most of my family are American so I have spent a decent amount of time in the U.S. over the years. As a foodie I find everything about American dining culture disappointing and frustrating. I was last in the States for a funeral in 2022, and my cousin kept raving about the Capital Grill that he was taking us all to. He was telling us that it served the best steak around and that it was a seriously "upscale" venue. There was nothing upscale about it except for the bill at the end of the meal. The server was loud and obnoxious, constantly on the upsell and he hovered about like an annoying fly. Yet next to that place, the Olive Garden is a total dive. For UK readers not familiar with the place, think Frankie & Benny's.

[bad company]

I’m not here to get into an argument but Mrs BC and I like the Capital Grille very much though our favourite is Selva - https://selvagrill.com/

We generally tip around 20% there.

[markiii]

unrepentant said:

eldar said:

markiii said:

definately no tip if I'm ordering on an app

Yup, I'm not going to tip a bloody app.

Please stay home then.

The server may only be getting $2.19 per hour before tips, regardless of how the food is ordered and if you're using an app it's not fine dining so they are going to be on the bottom end of the scale.

I'll eat where I choose, I'm not subsidising the tightness of the employer

[markiii]

unrepentant said:

eldar said:

The wait staff choose to work for a pittance plus extra for providing a good service. The employers have removed the ability to provide that service. Tough old world.

Customers and staff vote with their feet.

Like I said, please stay home. American customers and knowledgeable visitors understand how the system works and are quite happy. People like you just give the British a bad name over here.

The amount of Americans complaining about it on line would suggest many disagree with you

[eldar]

unrepentant said:

eldar said:

The wait staff choose to work for a pittance plus extra for providing a good service. The employers have removed the ability to provide that service. Tough old world.

Customers and staff vote with their feet.

Like I said, please stay home. American customers and knowledgeable visitors understand how the system works and are quite happy. People like you just give the British a bad name over here.

Are you paying a service charge, a tip or a charitable donation?

Do you pay a tip if you use a self serve petrol pump?

[unrepentant]

markiii said:

I'll eat where I choose, I'm not subsidising the tightness of the employer

It's got nothing to do with the tightness of the employer.

It's to do with American culture. If you're in any kind of sales position you are responsible for making your own income. Servers get $2.19 per hour (or whatever the tipped minimum is in their state) but their actual income comes from their performance. That's the American way. Poll servers and ask if they'd rather have a salary and no tips and they'll tell you hell no. The consumer understands how the system works.

It's the same as the people who sell you a house or a car or a piece of furniture or a new suit. Nobody gives them a salary, they are paid based on performance. It's the American way, you work hard and make your own income. It's starting to change a little in some industries because millennials can't cope with the concept of not having a guaranteed income but for seasoned sales people, like seasoned servers, the current system works much better for them.

Of course there's also a different attitude towards sales people here, including servers..........