Originally Posted by
PaulMSN
No, it's not -- it's called making up for lousy wages.
Actually, no. It is about respecting the culture that you are in. For example, I think the Thai prohibition (which is both cultural and legal) against criticizing the king is, well, ridiculous and an affront to basic freedoms. But, when in Thailand, I don't go around slagging off the king. Similarly, one can think that tipping is the dumbest thing in the world and leads to the oppression of the working man, but, when in the US, you should still tip.
Originally Posted by
PaulMSN
In some cases, though, including some upscale restaurants, it's not even that, because the base wages are good enough, so if you tip 15-20% you're giving a whole lot of "respect".
There are only a handful of restaurants like this is the US - French Laundry, Per Se, and Charlie Trotter come to mind - and most such restaurants make plain on the menu that service is included. I would be shocked if more than 5% of waitstaff in the US are paid base wages that are "good enough".