So how much do you tip?

[lesbiaphrodite]

I rarely go out to dinner anymore; most of the time I stay at home and cook myself. But, when I do go out to restaurants, I tip between 15 and 20% on average. Now, strippers, on the other hand, whom I used to visit regularly, I tipped huge amounts.

 

[Huckleman2000]

I rarely go out to dinner anymore; most of the time I stay at home and cook myself. But, when I do go out to restaurants, I tip between 15 and 20% on average. Now, strippers, on the other hand, whom I used to visit regularly, I tipped huge amounts.

LOL, I have a couple casual friends who are strippers. I asked them once what they liked about the job, and one of the things they said was, "It's a good way to meet girls."

 

[fieryjen]

Am I seriously the only one who can't stop thinking of Reservoir Dogs every time I see the thread title?

 

[oggbashan]

...
And Ogg were you always this altruistic?

If you were referring to the Yugoslav waitress - then yes.

We were a Boy Scout associated group aged from 17 to 21. We couldn't BE scouts in Yugoslavia at the time. Scouts were banned in Yugoslavia as being a militaristic capitalist subversive organisation.

My family, both on my father's and mother's side, had come from being reasonably stable financially in the middle 19th century to being poor before the First World War as a result of a recession and changes in customer demand for the goods and services the families provided. As kids, even before joining the Scouts, we were always expected to help others in trouble.

During our visit to Yugoslavia we had helped with some community projects on the island where eighteen fit young men could do things that small farmers couldn't do and run their farms. For examples we re-dug one farmer's well, rebuilt about 100 yards of dry stone wall, repaired a cart track... Yugoslavia at the time was beginning to recover from WWII but was still a poor country. That island now is an upmarket tourist destination with five star hotels. Then? There was no shop on the island at all. Everything came in on the ferry twice a week and cost too much for the islanders to afford.

Our gift to the waitress cost us nothing in real terms. We couldn't take the money out of the country. We couldn't really exchange it except at stupidly low "official" rates. We had bought all the local products we could carry. Because we had been so long on the island where money was replaced by barter we hadn't spent as much as we had expected to. We gave some money to the Mayor of the island to help the community buy essentials for those who couldn't afford them - such as medicines. We'd even left our First Aid Kit with him because what was in it was better than the local cottage hospital could get.

We thought that we knew what life would be like in Yugoslavia before we went. We asked, and got grudging permission from the Yugoslav authorities, to go to that remote island because we wanted to be away from the palces where the few westerners who visited Yugoslavia went. We thought we could help the community as well as enjoy ourselves and we had raised funds specifically to give to the community as thanks for their hospitality.

The hospitality was overwhelming. We were the first westerners to visit the island since World War 2. The Mayor was a veteran who had enlisted with the Australian forces in North Africa and had fought through Africa and Italy. When we arrived we were greeted on the quayside by an appallingly dreadful brass band that tried to play "God Save The Queen". Almost all the inhabitants had turned out for us.

We were taken to a civic dinner. The Mayor gave a speech of welcome in Serbo-Croat accented Strine (Australian). As I had only recently returned from Australia I could understand him. None of the rest of us could so I had to translate his "English". While he was speaking four of us were hurriedly writing a speech in Serbo-Croat to reply. Our accent was so bad that I had to repeat it in Strine so that the Mayor could translate it.

We gave the island community far more than we gave the waitress. All she had was our spare change. It meant far more to her because of the ridiculous exchange rate.

Og

 

[lesbiaphrodite]

LOL, I have a couple casual friends who are strippers. I asked them once what they liked about the job, and one of the things they said was, "It's a good way to meet girls."

LOL. Yes, it's true. A lot of women go to strip clubs and the strippers are great fun. If you tip them well, it's amazing how much fun they can truly be.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Svenska, I agree with you in principle. However, I don't know how they do it in Sweden, but in the U.S. a waiter/waitresses tips are taxed. And it doesn't matter that you didn't get any tips for a shift. They take a percentage, I believe for tax purposes it's 10% of the total cost of product served, and the server has to pay that amount in taxes on the tips that should have been garnered by that amount of product, whether they actually received tips or not. Granted, it's kind of a bullshit system, but it's what they deal with.

But in Sweden, the tip is already included in the prize, so if you tip them, they get TWO tips. I don't know if they pay any special tax for the tip that is included in the bill, but since 10% of the bill = tips, and they would get that along with their salary as a pre-calculated percentage, I suppose it's taxed. I don't think they pay any tax for any extra off-the-bill tips, though. That goes direclty to their pockets.

Unfortunately that is untrue in the US. The last time I was a server we were making $3 an HOUR.... less then half of minimum wage. The tip is not 'figured into the bill'. So every time you stiff a server you are making sure that they don't actually make any money. The restaurant doesn't suffer, they don't actually care if you don't tip. However, those servers that are actually doing their jobs, working hard and making sure that you are getting the service that you desire.... get screwed. Nicely done.

Just how do they get screwed? Aren't they doing the job they're supposed to do and getting salary for that? How can you figure that I'm supposed to pay them extra for doing their job? If they do MORE than their job to make the guests feel good, I can understand why you'd want to tip them, but why should they do anything less than a good job for their regular salary?

If they're not making enough money to make a living, that's not because I "stiff" them - it's because the restaurant doesn't pay a sufficient salary.

 

[sr71plt]

20% usually.

I've heard that in Australia, tipping isn't customary (sorry if this was discussed up line; I didn't read it all). True? Starrkers? Any Aussie?