Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilbo1967
And everything Hitch says is only true of the United States AFAIK.
Certainly, here in the UK, that kind of tax penalty is not in place, so it's good to be made aware that, when I visit the States, it's an entirely different ballgame when it comes to tipping.
|
I travel extensively, and the ONLY place where this sort of tipping is 'required' is in the US. These days there are more and more places that are automatically including a 'service charge,' and it's quite common to even see a line on your credit card charge slip where you can write in your tip.
However, as more Americans have been traveling outside US borders, they are carrying their tipping with them, and we see many places in Asia these days putting 'Tip Boxes' next to the cash register. Worse still is that in many small restaurants in S.E. Asia, the employer requires his staff to turn over all tips to him! He then doles out a small percentage to them, keeping the larger slice for himself.
Perhaps it's time for the US to join the rest of the world (adopting the metric system wouldn't hurt either,) and have employers pay their waitstaff instead of requiring customers to do so. There is no doubt that excluding waitstaff from the Minimum Wage Laws helps the employer's bottom line.
Stitchawl