How come america has such a big tipping culture when no one else does?
Jul 15, 2011, 12:04 pm
#31
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Service almost anywhere in Japan is far superior to almost anywhere in the West. Just visit any restaurant or any department store to experience it.
I recently read this in an informative Japanese article: "Tipping is virtually unheard of in Japan. At a typical Japanese restaurant, if you leave a tip on the table, your server is likely to call out to you as you leave, saying "o-kyakusama, o-wasuremono desu yo!" ("Sir, you forgot this!") If you want to insist on the server keeping it as a tip, reply with, "chippu desu kara, o-uketori kudasai." ("It's a tip, so please accept it.")
On the other hand, bell hops and other employees at large Western hotels in Japan have grown accustomed to tip-toting Westerners. They don't expect a tip for service, but neither are they likely to decline a proffered tip."
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6405886
I recently read this in an informative Japanese article: "Tipping is virtually unheard of in Japan. At a typical Japanese restaurant, if you leave a tip on the table, your server is likely to call out to you as you leave, saying "o-kyakusama, o-wasuremono desu yo!" ("Sir, you forgot this!") If you want to insist on the server keeping it as a tip, reply with, "chippu desu kara, o-uketori kudasai." ("It's a tip, so please accept it.")
On the other hand, bell hops and other employees at large Western hotels in Japan have grown accustomed to tip-toting Westerners. They don't expect a tip for service, but neither are they likely to decline a proffered tip."
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6405886
Jul 15, 2011, 12:06 pm
#32
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However, the flip side is that in China/HK, it appears to me that tips are typically not given nor expected. Now why is this so?
Jul 15, 2011, 12:17 pm
#33
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Some cultures take pride in jobs that in the US are considered demeaning and no more than a stepping stone to something else.
Jul 15, 2011, 12:40 pm
#34
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The tip is part of the price of the meal. Unless the service is horrible, then you must tip.
If the service is horrible, the proper thing to do is ask to speak to the manager and inform him/her of the horrible service and why you are not tipping. Slinking off with no tip is cowardly.
Don't like it? Don't come to America. It's just the way it is. Get used to a few other things, too, like American-accented English, driving on the right, reverence for the flag, cross-over use of knife and fork, sales tax added to the sticker price at the check-out, "restrooms" instead of "toilets" and in SoCalif where I live, love of Mexican food.
I get a bit tired of people who are not American cranking about what Americans do. We do what we do, either get used to it or stay home. I don't go to other countries and crab about their ways of doing things.
If the service is horrible, the proper thing to do is ask to speak to the manager and inform him/her of the horrible service and why you are not tipping. Slinking off with no tip is cowardly.
Don't like it? Don't come to America. It's just the way it is. Get used to a few other things, too, like American-accented English, driving on the right, reverence for the flag, cross-over use of knife and fork, sales tax added to the sticker price at the check-out, "restrooms" instead of "toilets" and in SoCalif where I live, love of Mexican food.
I get a bit tired of people who are not American cranking about what Americans do. We do what we do, either get used to it or stay home. I don't go to other countries and crab about their ways of doing things.
I always add 10-20% (more if deserved) for reasonable service, but i'm damned if i'm going to reward anyone if they think they can treat me like something they scraped off their shoe but still expect me to subsidise their paycheck. Nope...not a hope in hell.
Jul 15, 2011, 1:37 pm
#35
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It is seldom i've seen a post that I disagree with more than this one. I will continue to come to America, and I will continue to not tip if the service is dreadful.
I always add 10-20% (more if deserved) for reasonable service, but i'm damned if i'm going to reward anyone if they think they can treat me like something they scraped off their shoe but still expect me to subsidise their paycheck. Nope...not a hope in hell.
I always add 10-20% (more if deserved) for reasonable service, but i'm damned if i'm going to reward anyone if they think they can treat me like something they scraped off their shoe but still expect me to subsidise their paycheck. Nope...not a hope in hell.
Thank you for coming to America and tipping, per our customs.
I don't tip at Starbucks, or places where I order food at the counter. I don't tip hotel maids unless I cause them to do extra work. But I'm not insulted by all the tip jars out there.
I don't know how the tipping culture evolved, but here is one guess. Maybe minimum wage was $2/hr back in the day (+ tips for waiters but no tips for anyone else), then as they raised the minimum wage they made an exception for waiters, knowing that they already made some tips which brought them well above minimum wage.
Jul 15, 2011, 2:26 pm
#36
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Am I the only one getting sick of all the tipping threads and think this is not what TravelBuzz! should be about?
Jul 15, 2011, 3:40 pm
#37
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Jul 15, 2011, 4:01 pm
#39
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I provided links for just some of the more recent threads in this post above. It would be one humongous thread consisting of the same arguments pro and con over and over. 
Jul 15, 2011, 4:06 pm
#40
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I provided links for just some of the more recent threads in this post above. It would be one humongous thread consisting of the same arguments pro and con over and over.
- tipping
- upgrades for no reason
- getting gold/platinum/diamond/galactic status without flying
- secret fare routings
- unfair airline policies
Jul 15, 2011, 4:50 pm
#41
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Sometimes I wish this style of tipping were more prevalent. It'd be one way to solve the problem of lackadaisical service employees. Simply alerting the manager to poor service (which is the only means of feedback you have when there's no tipping) seldom works. Most floor managers are either unmotivated to take ownership of the problem (maybe we should put them on tips, too!) or reluctant to confront their employees. Tipping lets us, as customers, give more direct feedback. It provides incentive for employees to try harder, rewards those do, and encourages those who don't to find other work. And, at the very least, we customers don't feel like we're obliged to pay for something we haven't received.
Jul 15, 2011, 5:12 pm
#42
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You'd be amazed what the service is like when they know you are a good tipper.
And I've been amazed how poor the service is (DESPITE outrageous prices) in places where tipping is not de rigueur.
Jul 15, 2011, 5:40 pm
#43
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I am not going to change the world with my opinion (and noone in here is either ) so I may as well just say what I think
When I read the price for a service, I expect to pay that (newspaper costs 'x' I pay 'x'), simple man, simple thinking
I don't expect to have to figure out an extra % constantly for the guy that carries bags, the person that takes the food from where they make it to my table (a few feet apart), the person that does xyz service in my house etc
Things get even worse when people (think a large influx of expats) come from a tipping culture into a non-tipping culture, expectations for a tip increase and then I end up looking like a cheapo because I looked at a bill and paid it
The reward for a good service in my book is.......I will come again (or use the service again)
I agree everyone deserves a decent wage (IN ACCORDANCE TO what they do), I don't think its correct for a restaurant owner to expect ME to pay a decent wage to their employees
In my country they shove us the "service tax" down the throat so we end up having to "tip" whether we want it or not , whether the server gets it or not, etc.
The "vision" today is "think short term", so it doesn't surprise me that everyone demands a reward for good service TODAY as opposed to continuous patronage from a satisfied customer.
When I read the price for a service, I expect to pay that (newspaper costs 'x' I pay 'x'), simple man, simple thinking
I don't expect to have to figure out an extra % constantly for the guy that carries bags, the person that takes the food from where they make it to my table (a few feet apart), the person that does xyz service in my house etc
Things get even worse when people (think a large influx of expats) come from a tipping culture into a non-tipping culture, expectations for a tip increase and then I end up looking like a cheapo because I looked at a bill and paid it
The reward for a good service in my book is.......I will come again (or use the service again)
I agree everyone deserves a decent wage (IN ACCORDANCE TO what they do), I don't think its correct for a restaurant owner to expect ME to pay a decent wage to their employees
In my country they shove us the "service tax" down the throat so we end up having to "tip" whether we want it or not , whether the server gets it or not, etc.
The "vision" today is "think short term", so it doesn't surprise me that everyone demands a reward for good service TODAY as opposed to continuous patronage from a satisfied customer.
Jul 15, 2011, 5:48 pm
#44
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I can almost picture myself putting a carrot in front of the horse..............
Jul 15, 2011, 6:12 pm
#45
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If the service is horrible, the proper thing to do is ask to speak to the manager and inform him/her of the horrible service and why you are not tipping. Slinking off with no tip is cowardly.
Don't like it? Don't come to America. It's just the way it is. Get used to a few other things, too, like American-accented English, driving on the right, reverence for the flag, cross-over use of knife and fork, sales tax added to the sticker price at the check-out, "restrooms" instead of "toilets" and in SoCalif where I live, love of Mexican food.
I don't want to go to Omni/PR, but reverence for the flag? The US flag code is being broken thousands times a day by the very people who claim to be most patriotic - they wear it as underwear, hats, flip-flops, eat from plates with flag colours and.... even have a doormat with picture of the flag. I do have respect for a flag, and it irks me when I see such disrespect from clueless people. I prefer to see the flag much less often but with the proper respect shown to it.
We do what we do, either get used to it or stay home.
