On tipping

it's pouring out here and i ordered out, like i do every day. i like to tip a dollar when they bring it up to my apartment. note that i live in a really dense area and everything is very close by. so i gave this guy a dollar and he said, "it raining, one dollar no good." and i said, "you have a job, they pay you." and he said some garbage to me after that.

here's the thing, yes, it's raining, it rained for me too, i still went to work, it took me 40 mins to catch a cab and i got a headache from it. this guy is 100% illegal, yet he has a job, he'll use and abuse the system, fornicate and have a dozen kids, while I have to pay taxes, watch them get Medicaid and Medicare and Affirmative Action and Housing Assistance.

i think he should shut the fuck up. there's no way i'm going to buckle under the pressure and tip these assholes more than i should, and i shouldn't have to in the first place. think about it, when was the last time any of you guys got tipped, "propa, that's some really good code you wrote, here's an extra 20." or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

For home deliveries of food I tip roughly 10% of the bill. But usually not more than 3 dollars. I don't live in a densely populated area but the food we order is all within 3 miles.

pravalika nanda wrote:it's pouring out here and i ordered out, like i do every day. i like to tip a dollar when they bring it up to my apartment. note that i live in a really dense area and everything is very close by. so i gave this guy a dollar and he said, "it raining, one dollar no good." and i said, "you have a job, they pay you." and he said some garbage to me after that.

here's the thing, yes, it's raining, it rained for me too, i still went to work, it took me 40 mins to catch a cab and i got a headache from it. this guy is 100% illegal, yet he has a job, he'll use and abuse the system, fornicate and have a dozen kids, while I have to pay taxes, watch them get Medicaid and Medicare and Affirmative Action and Housing Assistance.

i think he should shut the fuck up. there's no way i'm going to buckle under the pressure and tip these assholes more than i should, and i shouldn't have to in the first place. think about it, when was the last time any of you guys got tipped, "propa, that's some really good code you wrote, here's an extra 20." or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

you are very partial to 'baava'' - for all his effortless banc(h)odes and madarc(h)odes that is so innate to him

I mostly tip 15-20% but always feel like a victim of extortion afterwards. Just once I tipped 30% but that was because the server was the doppelganger of Nathan Fillion, and I was in my Firefly phase. I really hate having to tip.

[quote="pravalika nanda"]it's pouring out here and i ordered out, like i do every day. i like to tip a dollar when they bring it up to my apartment. note that i live in a really dense area and everything is very close by. so i gave this guy a dollar and he said, "it raining, one dollar no good." and i said, "you have a job, they pay you." and he said some garbage to me after that.

here's the thing, yes, it's raining, it rained for me too, i still went to work, it took me 40 mins to catch a cab and i got a headache from it. this guy is 100% illegal, yet he has a job, he'll use and abuse the system, fornicate and have a dozen kids, while I have to pay taxes, watch them get Medicaid and Medicare and Affirmative Action and Housing Assistance.

i think he should shut the fuck up. there's no way i'm going to buckle under the pressure and tip these assholes more than i should, and i shouldn't have to in the first place. think about it, when was the last time any of you guys got tipped, "propa, that's some really good code you wrote, here's an extra 20." or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"[/quote]

There is no need to tip the doctor especially the desi doctors here. They not only overcharge you, they also rip off the medicaid and medicare system.

I always tip my Chinese barber $2 although he charges only $9 for the haircut. For Pizza guys also, I give them $2. Whether this guy is here in this country legally or not should not matter to us.

What pisses me off is the typical desi restaurant owner who does not pass on the tips to the waiters. He not only overcharges for the bad food but also steal the tips.

[quote="Rishi"][quote="pravalika nanda"]it's pouring out here and i ordered out, like i do every day. i like to tip a dollar when they bring it up to my apartment. note that i live in a really dense area and everything is very close by. so i gave this guy a dollar and he said, "it raining, one dollar no good." and i said, "you have a job, they pay you." and he said some garbage to me after that.

here's the thing, yes, it's raining, it rained for me too, i still went to work, it took me 40 mins to catch a cab and i got a headache from it. this guy is 100% illegal, yet he has a job, he'll use and abuse the system, fornicate and have a dozen kids, while I have to pay taxes, watch them get Medicaid and Medicare and Affirmative Action and Housing Assistance.

i think he should shut the fuck up. there's no way i'm going to buckle under the pressure and tip these assholes more than i should, and i shouldn't have to in the first place. think about it, when was the last time any of you guys got tipped, "propa, that's some really good code you wrote, here's an extra 20." or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"[/quote]

There is no need to tip the doctor especially the desi doctors here. They not only overcharge you, they also rip off the medicaid and medicare system.
** there are frauds everywhere but most physicians are not like that. we can discuss this another time.

I always tip my Chinese barber $2 although he charges only $9 for the haircut. For Pizza guys also, I give them $2. Whether this guy is here in this country legally or not should not matter to us.
** again, rishi, you're distracting me. I've never heard of a $9.00 haircut. Now, the 2 bucks, are they for the pizza delivery person or for the server in the store? If you're giving 2 bucks to the delivery person, what are your reasons, when a single would suffice? do you live in some kinda hamlet?

What pisses me off is the typical desi restaurant owner who does not pass on the tips to the waiters.
** why do you think the waiters need to be tipped? are they taking any responsibility for the establishment? the employer is, he is responsible and held accountable for the safety and cleanliness of the establishment, it is the job of the waiter to serve the food courteously and with a smile. If the employer wants to keep the tips to expand his business that's good, these waiters get to keep their jobs. you should be pissed off if the employer doesn't pay them their salary. I know I sound like a bitch but these are the facts of life.

What was wrong with His Holiness' hydrocele?

garam_kuta wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:it's pouring out here and i ordered out, like i do every day. i like to tip a dollar when they bring it up to my apartment. note that i live in a really dense area and everything is very close by. so i gave this guy a dollar and he said, "it raining, one dollar no good." and i said, "you have a job, they pay you." and he said some garbage to me after that.

here's the thing, yes, it's raining, it rained for me too, i still went to work, it took me 40 mins to catch a cab and i got a headache from it. this guy is 100% illegal, yet he has a job, he'll use and abuse the system, fornicate and have a dozen kids, while I have to pay taxes, watch them get Medicaid and Medicare and Affirmative Action and Housing Assistance.

i think he should shut the fuck up. there's no way i'm going to buckle under the pressure and tip these assholes more than i should, and i shouldn't have to in the first place. think about it, when was the last time any of you guys got tipped, "propa, that's some really good code you wrote, here's an extra 20." or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

you are very partial to 'baava'' - for all his effortless banc(h)odes and madarc(h)odes that is so innate to him

** oh ya, I don't wanna be partial to nobody, if he writes good code, he's getting a dollar too. I mean, what kind of risk do you take writing code, sit in your house, in pjs, multitasking to do this.

churi. wrote:I mostly tip 15-20% but always feel like a victim of extortion afterwards. Just once I tipped 30% but that was because the server was the doppelganger of Nathan Fillion, and I was in my Firefly phase. I really hate having to tip.

** you don't work, do you, churi? people who work hard don't tip 30%. some rich husband?

pravalika nanda wrote:

churi. wrote:I mostly tip 15-20% but always feel like a victim of extortion afterwards. Just once I tipped 30% but that was because the server was the doppelganger of Nathan Fillion, and I was in my Firefly phase. I really hate having to tip.

** you don't work, do you, churi? people who work hard don't tip 30%. some rich husband?

I don't know what your job is, but I hope it doesn't involve making intelligent inferences.

pravalika nanda wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:it's pouring out here and i ordered out, like i do every day. i like to tip a dollar when they bring it up to my apartment. note that i live in a really dense area and everything is very close by. so i gave this guy a dollar and he said, "it raining, one dollar no good." and i said, "you have a job, they pay you." and he said some garbage to me after that.

here's the thing, yes, it's raining, it rained for me too, i still went to work, it took me 40 mins to catch a cab and i got a headache from it. this guy is 100% illegal, yet he has a job, he'll use and abuse the system, fornicate and have a dozen kids, while I have to pay taxes, watch them get Medicaid and Medicare and Affirmative Action and Housing Assistance.

i think he should shut the fuck up. there's no way i'm going to buckle under the pressure and tip these assholes more than i should, and i shouldn't have to in the first place. think about it, when was the last time any of you guys got tipped, "propa, that's some really good code you wrote, here's an extra 20." or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

you are very partial to 'baava'' - for all his effortless banc(h)odes and madarc(h)odes that is so innate to him

** oh ya, I don't wanna be partial to nobody, if he writes good code, he's getting a dollar too. I mean, what kind of risk do you take writing code, sit in your house, in pjs, multitas(s)kingto do this.

left or right

garam_kuta wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:it's pouring out here and i ordered out, like i do every day. i like to tip a dollar when they bring it up to my apartment. note that i live in a really dense area and everything is very close by. so i gave this guy a dollar and he said, "it raining, one dollar no good." and i said, "you have a job, they pay you." and he said some garbage to me after that.

here's the thing, yes, it's raining, it rained for me too, i still went to work, it took me 40 mins to catch a cab and i got a headache from it. this guy is 100% illegal, yet he has a job, he'll use and abuse the system, fornicate and have a dozen kids, while I have to pay taxes, watch them get Medicaid and Medicare and Affirmative Action and Housing Assistance.

i think he should shut the fuck up. there's no way i'm going to buckle under the pressure and tip these assholes more than i should, and i shouldn't have to in the first place. think about it, when was the last time any of you guys got tipped, "propa, that's some really good code you wrote, here's an extra 20." or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

you are very partial to 'baava'' - for all his effortless banc(h)odes and madarc(h)odes that is so innate to him

** oh ya, I don't wanna be partial to nobody, if he writes good code, he's getting a dollar too. I mean, what kind of risk do you take writing code, sit in your house, in pjs, multitas(s)kingto do this.

left or right

I mean. I have no idea how your mind works. Do you see random words inside other totally random words natually, or do you work hard in making sense out of and rearranging the words infront of you? Do you play a lot of scrabble?

[quote="pravalika nanda" or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"[/quote]

I am disappointed that you are letting out information that is very private between the two of us...Not at all goodly.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

I am disappointed that you are letting out information that is very private between the two of us...Not at all goodly.

Janice was your nurse, your Holiness?

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:[quote="pravalika nanda" or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

I am disappointed that you are letting out information that is very private between the two of us...Not at all goodly.[/quote]
** what are you talking about, uppili? the only thing between the two of us is your goddamn hydrocele. please find a surgeon to repair it before it engulfs your entire person. don't forget to tip your doctor. remember, your health is in his hands. ouuuch, scary, no?

Vidya Bagchi wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:it's pouring out here and i ordered out, like i do every day. i like to tip a dollar when they bring it up to my apartment. note that i live in a really dense area and everything is very close by. so i gave this guy a dollar and he said, "it raining, one dollar no good." and i said, "you have a job, they pay you." and he said some garbage to me after that.

here's the thing, yes, it's raining, it rained for me too, i still went to work, it took me 40 mins to catch a cab and i got a headache from it. this guy is 100% illegal, yet he has a job, he'll use and abuse the system, fornicate and have a dozen kids, while I have to pay taxes, watch them get Medicaid and Medicare and Affirmative Action and Housing Assistance.

i think he should shut the fuck up. there's no way i'm going to buckle under the pressure and tip these assholes more than i should, and i shouldn't have to in the first place. think about it, when was the last time any of you guys got tipped, "propa, that's some really good code you wrote, here's an extra 20." or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

you are very partial to 'baava'' - for all his effortless banc(h)odes and madarc(h)odes that is so innate to him

** oh ya, I don't wanna be partial to nobody, if he writes good code, he's getting a dollar too. I mean, what kind of risk do you take writing code, sit in your house, in pjs, multitas(s)kingto do this.

left or right

I mean. I have no idea how your mind works. Do you see random words inside other totally random words natually, or do you work hard in making sense out of and rearranging the words infront of you? Do you play a lot of scrabble?

** whatever, he's an idiot, I want to talk about tipping.

Oh no! Next time when he brings your food he might probably spit on it or worse add something which "You will never know you ate!" - the one and only reason for tipping unfairly.
P.S: I tip reasonably and always cash so that it is taken by the service provider.

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

I am disappointed that you are letting out information that is very private between the two of us...Not at all goodly.

Janice was your nurse, your Holiness?

She is not a nurse anymore....she WAS.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

I am disappointed that you are letting out information that is very private between the two of us...Not at all goodly.

Janice was your nurse, your Holiness?

She is not a nurse anymore....she WAS.

What is she now, your Holiness who knows it all?

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

I am disappointed that you are letting out information that is very private between the two of us...Not at all goodly.

Janice was your nurse, your Holiness?

She is not a nurse anymore....she WAS.

What is she now, your Holiness who knows it all?

** what we know is that uppili does not deny having a hydrocele and that you're quite the shady fellow teasing uppili to reveal more.

pravalika nanda wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

I am disappointed that you are letting out information that is very private between the two of us...Not at all goodly.

Janice was your nurse, your Holiness?

She is not a nurse anymore....she WAS.

What is she now, your Holiness who knows it all?

** what we know is that uppili does not deny having a hydrocele and that you're quite the shady fellow teasing uppili to reveal more.

Janice, maybe you don't know that I already know more.

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

I am disappointed that you are letting out information that is very private between the two of us...Not at all goodly.

Janice was your nurse, your Holiness?

She is not a nurse anymore....she WAS.

What is she now, your Holiness who knows it all?

She is now Dr. Hydrocele - one who loves everything about the big hydrocele.

Hellsangel wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

Janice was your nurse, your Holiness?

She is not a nurse anymore....she WAS.

What is she now, your Holiness who knows it all?

** what we know is that uppili does not deny having a hydrocele and that you're quite the shady fellow teasing uppili to reveal more.

Janice, maybe you don't know that I already know more.

** and that is why I called you shady, cuz irrespective of what you know you will have Uppili look like the total bastard when you cleverly weasel out this special information from him in print, whether correct or not. Ain't it nice to have Uppili around?

pravalika nanda wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

She is not a nurse anymore....she WAS.

What is she now, your Holiness who knows it all?

** what we know is that uppili does not deny having a hydrocele and that you're quite the shady fellow teasing uppili to reveal more.

Janice, maybe you don't know that I already know more.

** and that is why I called you shady, cuz irrespective of what you know you will have Uppili look like the total bastard when you cleverly weasel out this special information from him in print, whether correct or not. Ain't it nice to have Uppili around?

Whatever happened to Madhulika Sharma BTW?

pravalika nanda wrote:

Vidya Bagchi wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

you are very partial to 'baava'' - for all his effortless banc(h)odes and madarc(h)odes that is so innate to him

** oh ya, I don't wanna be partial to nobody, if he writes good code, he's getting a dollar too. I mean, what kind of risk do you take writing code, sit in your house, in pjs, multitas(s)kingto do this.

left or right

I mean. I have no idea how your mind works. Do you see random words inside other totally random words natually, or do you work hard in making sense out of and rearranging the words infront of you? Do you play a lot of scrabble?

** whatever, he's an idiot, I want to talk about tipping.

that and more, PN.... now may i request you to be a little kind toward student waiters ..just 15% please.. actually waiters don't get paid, i understand ; they do rely on tips a lot in this country,please

pravalika nanda wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

She is not a nurse anymore....she WAS.

What is she now, your Holiness who knows it all?

** what we know is that uppili does not deny having a hydrocele and that you're quite the shady fellow teasing uppili to reveal more.

Janice, maybe you don't know that I already know more.

** and that is why I called you shady, cuz irrespective of what you know you will have Uppili look like the total bastard when you cleverly weasel out this special information from him in print, whether correct or not. Ain't it nice to have Uppili around?

subtle and smashing PN..you couldn't be more incisive..salut mademoiselle

churi. wrote:I mostly tip 15-20% but always feel like a victim of extortion afterwards. Just once I tipped 30% but that was because the server was the doppelganger of Nathan Fillion, and I was in my Firefly phase. I really hate having to tip.

>>>10% maybe 15% at restaurants. I have tipped more when I was not quite sober, but this may have happened not more than a couple of times. Pizza guys- couple of bucks, barber $3.

Wow! You are so disgusting, rude, and entitled. This is a guy who's working, right? He's not sitting on his behind and expecting a handout from the government or from taxpayers. If you don't want to tip him 2-3 bucks, cook your own food. Or walk in the rain.

Besides, you don't know if he's illegal or not. You don't know how many kids he has (and it's okay to have 15+ kids like the Duggars as long as you don't expect taxpayers to help raise them). If he is legal, you don't know if his family is getting food stamps, Medicaid, free housing, and cash assistance. You don't know if he keeps having babies to maximize his benefits and cash flow. You don't know one thing...you're just making assumptions!

I spoke to my sister, she said that when she lived here she'd tip the guy 2 bucks for delivery and I should as well. she states that she is fairly sure that delivery people do not get salaries, they depend entirely on tips. how far this is true, I don't know.

garam_kuta wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:

Vidya Bagchi wrote:

garam_kuta wrote:

pravalika nanda wrote:

** oh ya, I don't wanna be partial to nobody, if he writes good code, he's getting a dollar too. I mean, what kind of risk do you take writing code, sit in your house, in pjs, multitas(s)kingto do this.

left or right

I mean. I have no idea how your mind works. Do you see random words inside other totally random words natually, or do you work hard in making sense out of and rearranging the words infront of you? Do you play a lot of scrabble?

** whatever, he's an idiot, I want to talk about tipping.

that and more, PN.... now may i request you to be a little kind toward student waiters ..just 15% please.. actually waiters don't get paid, i understand ; they do rely on tips a lot in this country,please

## I've always been generous with people who come in direct contact with my food.

pravalika nanda wrote:me in direct contact with my food.

Are you still looking for a Doctor BF-hubby ?

mainstreet wrote:Wow! You are so disgusting, rude, and entitled. This is a guy who's working, right? He's not sitting on his behind and expecting a handout from the government or from taxpayers.
** What's a tip if not a handout from the customer?
If you don't want to tip him 2-3 bucks
** I will, after I get married to that fancy interventional cardiologist with his own group.
cook your own food. Or walk in the rain.

Besides, you don't know if he's illegal or not. You don't know how many kids he has (and it's okay to have 15+ kids like the Duggars as long as you don't expect taxpayers to help raise them). If he is legal, you don't know if his family is getting food stamps, Medicaid, free housing, and cash assistance. You don't know if he keeps having babies to maximize his benefits and cash flow. You don't know one thing...you're just making assumptions!

** I don't agree with you at all, but I gotta go, dinner at a fancy french place in the city followed by a walk along the river. this in chicago, ciao, bye. try to find a starbucks or smtg.

Every employee must be paid minimum wage including waiters. Few States allow waiters to be paid a wage below minimum wage considering tips.

Tips are part of western culture. No one can force any one to pay tips. Internet provides info on prevailing tip percentages. Quality of service determines %.

Whether a delivery guy gets Medicare or lives on welfare is not relevant to tip payment. Tip is strictly related to waiter or delivery service. Waiters life circumstances should not enter this discussion.

TIP: To Insure Promptness was paid before meals at restaurants in old England to get prompt and good service from waiters. Gratuity need to be earned and is not in lieu of salary. You decide the tip depending on your satisfaction of service you expect.

southindian wrote:TIP: To Insure Promptness was paid before meals at restaurants in old England to get prompt and good service from waiters. Gratuity need to be earned and is not in lieu of salary. You decide the tip depending on your satisfaction of service you expect.

I was in Sydney in the 90s and when I gave tips at some restaurants including Pizza hut, they gave me a weird look and turned it down. I learnt later that tips were not expected in Ozland and most were salary workers - unlike the hourly wagers in US. But, it has now become another habit there.

What pisses me off is when the restaurants prints that tips be given and adds a mandatory 18% tip for groups of 6 or more is nothing but passing on their expenses to customers. Exactly what Wal-mart does as was stated in that article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12tipping-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Answers your tipping questions.

pravalika nanda wrote:it's pouring out here and i ordered out, like i do every day. i like to tip a dollar when they bring it up to my apartment. note that i live in a really dense area and everything is very close by. so i gave this guy a dollar and he said, "it raining, one dollar no good." and i said, "you have a job, they pay you." and he said some garbage to me after that.

here's the thing, yes, it's raining, it rained for me too, i still went to work, it took me 40 mins to catch a cab and i got a headache from it. this guy is 100% illegal, yet he has a job, he'll use and abuse the system, fornicate and have a dozen kids, while I have to pay taxes, watch them get Medicaid and Medicare and Affirmative Action and Housing Assistance.

i think he should shut the fuck up. there's no way i'm going to buckle under the pressure and tip these assholes more than i should, and i shouldn't have to in the first place. think about it, when was the last time any of you guys got tipped, "propa, that's some really good code you wrote, here's an extra 20." or uppili, did you ever tip your doc, "doc, thanks for repairing my hydrocele, here's a 500?"

You sound like an arrogant, self-absorbed cheapskate who takes potshots at people totally unprovoked. Given that the guy got only a dollar tip for delivering under pouring rain, he ought to have urinated on your cat on his way out.

Pravu, you are being cheap in not tipping the guy who brought you your dinner in the rains. And you are trying to rationalize with some irrelevant speculation on his legality.

But that apart, the tipping system is silly. While I was in the US, I conformed to the 15% norm and never gave it much thought, putting down the practice to an American quirk.

But now, having traveled round the world, I find the arrangement most annoying and irrational. Service levels in the US are the worst in the world but the waitstaff expect a tip regardless and get aggressive if none is forthcoming. And spare me that sob-story. If your employer underpays you, find another job. Why is that my problem?

Worse still, the tip is pegged to the total value of the bill. Why? Does the service improve four-fold if I order a bottle of wine with my meal? Ridiculous.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
Service levels in the US are the worst in the world but the waitstaff expect a tip regardless and get aggressive if none is forthcoming.

(a) you are allowed to complain
(b) you are allowed to leave a measly tip (in my book 10%) to let them know you were dissatisfied.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Pravu, you are being cheap in not tipping the guy who brought you your dinner in the rains. And you are trying to rationalize with some irrelevant speculation on his legality.

But that apart, the tipping system is silly. While I was in the US, I conformed to the 15% norm and never gave it much thought, putting down the practice to an American quirk.

But now, having traveled round the world, I find the arrangement most annoying and irrational. Service levels in the US are the worst in the world but the waitstaff expect a tip regardless and get aggressive if none is forthcoming. And spare me that sob-story. If your employer underpays you, find another job. Why is that my problem?

Worse still, the tip is pegged to the total value of the bill. Why? Does the service improve four-fold if I order a bottle of wine with my meal? Ridiculous.

Really?

It looks like you have been to every nook and corner in the world.

Rishi wrote:[

Really?

It looks like you have been to every nook and corner in the world.

he might be comparing it to asian countries - india, singapore, and HK.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Pravu, you are being cheap in not tipping the guy who brought you your dinner in the rains. And you are trying to rationalize with some irrelevant speculation on his legality.

But that apart, the tipping system is silly. While I was in the US, I conformed to the 15% norm and never gave it much thought, putting down the practice to an American quirk.

But now, having traveled round the world, I find the arrangement most annoying and irrational. Service levels in the US are the worst in the world but the waitstaff expect a tip regardless and get aggressive if none is forthcoming. And spare me that sob-story. If your employer underpays you, find another job. Why is that my problem?

Worse still, the tip is pegged to the total value of the bill. Why? Does the service improve four-fold if I order a bottle of wine with my meal? Ridiculous.

You are so right on that score. On another subject, did you consume any large serpents while you were at HK, Nephew?

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

Worse still, the tip is pegged to the total value of the bill. Why? Does the service improve four-fold if I order a bottle of wine with my meal? Ridiculous.

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/the-answer-man-tipping-on-wine/

goodcitizn wrote:You are so right on that score. On another subject, did you consume any large serpents while you were at HK, Nephew?

Haha..no, alas. I was in genteel, much-monied company that would have looked down on anything less than nouveau-Chinese cuisine in a formal banquet.

But some day, when I'm more familiar with the less savory parts of HK, I might try more serpentine fare.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:You are so right on that score. On another subject, did you consume any large serpents while you were at HK, Nephew?

Haha..no, alas. I was in genteel, much-monied company that would have looked down on anything less than nouveau-Chinese cuisine in a formal banquet.

But some day, when I'm more familiar with the less savory parts of HK, I might try more serpentine fare.

Btw, have you been to Mainland China restaurant in Bangalore or Chennai? How'd you rate the food in comparison?

Hellsangel wrote:

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

Worse still, the tip is pegged to the total value of the bill. Why? Does the service improve four-fold if I order a bottle of wine with my meal? Ridiculous.

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/the-answer-man-tipping-on-wine/

The most candid of the comments was this:

"He told me that most of the diners there who order such wines tip around 20 percent on their checks, including the price of the wine.

But he said that that reality largely reflects those diners’ relationships with the restaurant. They’re regulars who come in all the time, and so they’ve established the kind of familiarity with the staff — and the staff has established the kind of familiarity with them — that entails a lot of personal attention, a lot of coddling. The tips they give are tied into the perpetuation of their special status in the restaurant, and aren’t necessarily reflective of a philosophy of tipping a full 20 percent even on $1,500 bottles of wine."

In other words, tipping for wine is really the price for all the recognition and fawning on the next visit. It is in the interests of all involved (the restaurants - to lower their labor costs, the waiters - for the windfall and the tippers - to massage their egos) to perpetuate the nonsense that this is some kind of a convention that ewwerrybody should follow, and non-conformance equals pariah status. Only suckers would fall for this one.

goodcitizn wrote:

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:You are so right on that score. On another subject, did you consume any large serpents while you were at HK, Nephew?

Haha..no, alas. I was in genteel, much-monied company that would have looked down on anything less than nouveau-Chinese cuisine in a formal banquet.

But some day, when I'm more familiar with the less savory parts of HK, I might try more serpentine fare.

Btw, have you been to Mainland China restaurant in Bangalore or Chennai? How'd you rate the food in comparison?

I've been to the Bangalore one several times, but that was many many years back. At that time, I thought they offered the best Chinese food in India. I've no idea what the restaurant landscape is in B'lore these days.

Sadly, I never got a chance to visit their outlet in Mumbai. They seem to be doing roaring business. There's one in South Mumbai but the one time I tried to make reservations, they didn't have a table. They even had an IPO last year. I stayed away because it seemed there was a very high key-man risk. That reminds me - I should check on how their stock is doing these days.

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:You are so right on that score. On another subject, did you consume any large serpents while you were at HK, Nephew?

Haha..no, alas. I was in genteel, much-monied company that would have looked down on anything less than nouveau-Chinese cuisine in a formal banquet.

But some day, when I'm more familiar with the less savory parts of HK, I might try more serpentine fare.

Btw, have you been to Mainland China restaurant in Bangalore or Chennai? How'd you rate the food in comparison?

I've been to the Bangalore one several times, but that was many many years back. At that time, I thought they offered the best Chinese food in India. I've no idea what the restaurant landscape is in B'lore these days.

Sadly, I never got a chance to visit their outlet in Mumbai. They seem to be doing roaring business. There's one in South Mumbai but the one time I tried to make reservations, they didn't have a table. They even had an IPO last year. I stayed away because it seemed there was a very high key-man risk. That reminds me - I should check on how their stock is doing these days.

A few years back I used to take my clients to the one in Chennai. I thought their menu had a huge variety to choose from with a wide assortment of veg and non-veg items and the service was exemplary. I'll check on the one in Bangalore on my next visit to India.

goodcitizn wrote:

Merlot Daruwala wrote:

goodcitizn wrote:You are so right on that score. On another subject, did you consume any large serpents while you were at HK, Nephew?

Haha..no, alas. I was in genteel, much-monied company that would have looked down on anything less than nouveau-Chinese cuisine in a formal banquet.

But some day, when I'm more familiar with the less savory parts of HK, I might try more serpentine fare.

Btw, have you been to Mainland China restaurant in Bangalore or Chennai? How'd you rate the food in comparison?

>>>>I have been to the one in Chennai a couple of times, I think. The last time I was there was about 5 years ago. I thought the food was good and was more authentic than the Indianized version I have had in other Chinese places in India.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

southindian wrote:TIP: To Insure Promptness was paid before meals at restaurants in old England to get prompt and good service from waiters. Gratuity need to be earned and is not in lieu of salary. You decide the tip depending on your satisfaction of service you expect.

I was in Sydney in the 90s and when I gave tips at some restaurants including Pizza hut, they gave me a weird look and turned it down. I learnt later that tips were not expected in Ozland and most were salary workers - unlike the hourly wagers in US. But, it has now become another habit there.

What pisses me off is when the restaurants prints that tips be given and adds a mandatory 18% tip for groups of 6 or more is nothing but passing on their expenses to customers. Exactly what Wal-mart does as was stated in that article.

>>>>Same in China and I felt bad since the customer service was very good in some of these places. In the US, one of my pet peeves is places that automatically add like a 20% tip when the party exceeds a certain number of people. This seems rather presumptuous.