this post was submitted on 12 May 2024
1070 points (99.5% liked)

News

23376 readers
1840 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Need this nationwide. I hate having fees added on to the price of what I'm ordering.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 39 points 6 months ago (7 children)

This might be a weird question but when people tip for a good service, what exactly is good service?

If I go to a restaurant I expect them to take my order, bring me the food and when I'm done bring me the check. That's it. I want nothing else from them. Should I tip them for not spitting in my food or not stumbling and throwing it all over my clothes?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I usually don't tip, as I live in a country where people don't depend on the tip. And if they got a problem with that, they can take it up with management. I am not their employer. Also, I don't get extra money for simply doing my job as well.

But there are rare occasions, when I do. And that's if I see that someone has gone unexpected "extra" lenghts, which can not usually be expected from doing the job.

For example, in an italian restaurant my partner and I ordered some noodle dishes. We were there often, so we didn't expect anything unusual. However, that day, the waiter just brought us some Parmesan cheese with the advice it tastes better with it and we shouldn't be shy to ask for it. That was very forthcoming and justified a tip.

On another occasion, when my partner had a hospital stay, we ordered some pizza. We did it once or twice, as the treatment took several weeks. Usually I went down to the building entrance and received the order. One day, there was an awesome delivery guy who took it up on himself to bring it to us to the patient room. We were very impressed. I remember that my partner said we should shower him in money, haha. We certainly gave him a nice tip.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Should I tip them for not spitting in my food or not stumbling and throwing it all over my clothes?

In the US, yes. Tipping here is insane.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Seems especially true where you tip before being served.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

If I go to a restaurant I expect them to take my order, bring me the food and when I’m done bring me the check. That’s it.

I've been to a Michelin Star restaurant where a pair of waiters were constantly hovering over your table to clean it and refill drinks and offer provide conversation.

The chef comes by and makes a presentation of every dish (the bananas foster was practically a magic act, the way they assembled the meal and then light it on fire). The staff practically wingman for you, if you've got a date. Everyone is beautiful and charming.

But that was something like $300/person just for the table, with 20% gratuity as a fixed fee on the final bill.

There are lots of restaurants that don't charge through the nose for the meal but offer comparable service. Charming friendly waiters who weedle your favorite food and give excellent recommendations. Staff that sing or make clever jokes or entertain small children or share a cocktail with you at the table. I know a few high end restaurants in Houston that will try to pouch waiters from one another because they're friends with particularly wealthy regulars.

You see less of that now (at least in the states) because individual waiters are expected to cover more tables, turnover is more important than relationship building, and the quality of food has taken a real nosedive as we replace professional chefs with meals made in microwaves.

Now a tip is much more like a Coperto - a cover charge for seating - than gratuity for exceptional service.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago (1 children)

As a mildly introverted person, this sounds like hell. I'd pay a tax to be left alone

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

A good waiter who earns his tip will have the skill to recognize that you want to be left alone, and will serve you quickly and efficiently and unobtrusively. Good waitstaff will quickly figure out what each patron needs in order to have an excellent dining experience, and then will deliver that.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Oh wow that sounds awful. I already don't like when they come check on me mid-meal about wether the food is good or do I need anything.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Maybe eating out isn't for everyone.....

[–] otp 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Eating out in Korea is great.

You need more water? They either have a fridge of jugs, or a water dispenser.

Side dishes are help-yourself; you just go up and get them. Unlimited and free.

The person who makes the food is sometimes the person who brings it to you.

No tipping, no tax added to the price you see on the menu, and no stupid prices like $19.99 instead of $20.00.

And even after all that, the prices are still cheaper than the bare menu prices for me back in Canada.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago

I'm happy with the service at the local Burger King and sushi buffet.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago

For me it usually about timeliness (I don't know if that's a word but it makes sense to me) and if our drinks a nearing empty they ask if we would like another rather than having to spend five mins trying to flag some one done.

Simply doing the job quickly and professionally which for me makes my meal a little bit better. Also this is much more achievable for the staff if the restaurant has enough staff.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (2 children)

My tip heavily depends on how full my water glass is kept and how long my dishes sit in front of me before they're cleared.

I don't need chit chat or being flirted with, I just need my meal in a prompt and courteous manner, that's worthy of 15-20% IMO.

[–] spidermanchild 9 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Why is the price you put on a full water glass dependent on whether you got an expensive steak vs a cheaper pasta dish though? This is why percentages are so dumb.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 6 months ago

It's representative of the service ime.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

So literally you say it's okay to pay extra for a server to do their job, because the restaurant isn't paying them enough?

Hells no. I'm all for prohibition on tipping, because it WILL be abused. Just pay servers a normal salary like everyone else

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago

I literally say that I am fine to pay extra when I believe the service is worth it. I live in a country where servers earn above minimum wage typically.

You do you, some people are cheap, some are ignorant some are both.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Friendly, prompt with explanations for delays and either a remedy or some form of alleviation of the disappointment, good recommendations/feedback on food, etc. a big one for me personally is coming over only when you notice something is needed (drink low, people looking around, etc )

I'll tip if someone does those kinds of things as it's going above the basics I normally require

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Once again, most of that is bare minimum expectation.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

It would be the bare minimum expectation in some idealized world, but in the real world, it isn't.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Good service is anything outside what you just said. Did you need to ask for any changes/ substitutions? Did you have an allergy they had to accommodate? Are you on a rush and they brought it out quickly for you? Are you splitting the bill? Are there children in your party? Did anyone leave a mess or did a drink spill? Were they extra helpful with recommendations? All these merit a tip. If they do exactly as you said and you were an easy customer, no tip needed (assuming you're in a country where tipping isn't customary)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Did you need to ask for any changes/ substitutions?

Waiter writes that down, forwards it to kitchen. That can be expected, imo. Kitchen doesn't get your tip.

Did you have an allergy they had to accommodate?

Lol, "thank you for not killing me, here is a tip". At least it can be expected to be informed about allergies. Regarding subsitutions, see above.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

I'm not saying those things are morally worse or something, I'm just responding to OPs question about what merits a tip. I'm just outlining the etiquette.

If you have above average service needs, that's when a tip is appropriate. It's not your fault you have an allergy, but it creates more work, so a tip is appropriate.

Also it's very common for waiters to tip out kitchen staff