Tipping in USA/Canada

StephanieM wrote:
Maybe you haven't been on many tours, but I have been on tours in
Scotland, England, Germany, and Greece, and all guides have asked for
their gratutity.


In fact they often hand you envelopes to put your gratutity in.

All they will get from me is an empty envelope. I dont ask for money
from strangers.

So I don't know wherer you are coming from, but it definately sounds
like you are looking for a bargin. And you know where to come for
one. Next time try Thailand though, I hear it is even better there
especially if you enjoy the sunny beaches.

Jeff wrote:
"Qanset" wrote in message
u...
The wife and I are planning at trip to USA/Canada in the near future.
Is it true that the Yanks are really hung up on tipping, and that
FORGETTING to tip someone is courting disaster???

Like most tourists we will be traveling on a limited budget,this means
that anybody expecting free money from us will be advised to look
elsewhere.

A colleague of mine who honeymooned in Hawaii was told by a tour bus
operator, that he EXPECTED gratuities for his efforts, because his job
was poorly paid. What more can I say.???

I'm going to cop a lot of flak on this subject, but never mind I have and
open mind on accepting advice on World Travel.

Frankly, I find it difficult to believe this question. In the United
States and Canada, service personnel derive a significant portion of their
income from tips. Unlike in countries where a service charge is typically
added to a bill (whether for hotel, restaurant, etc.), this is not the case
in the U.S. or Canada. Expect to add about 15% to restaurant and bar tabs,
taxi fares, etc.

As for tour guides, maybe USD 5-10 a day depending on how good they are,
etc.

You must be joking, if I plan to stay a month, I'll be flat broke B4 i
leave the US.


It is up to you.

Thats one thing that we can agree on

Just plan on tipping and if you're from a country where tipping is not the
norm,

Nope

enjoy it (and also enjoy the value of your currency as the U.S. dollar
is currently in the crapper. . . .)

Qanset wrote:
Dennis P. Harris wrote:
On Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:29:14 +1100 in rec.travel.air, Qanset
wrote:

I'm going to cop a lot of flak on this subject, but never mind I
have and open mind on accepting advice on World Travel.

if you have an open mind, the usual gratuity for good service is
15 per cent of the tab. it does not apply in fast food places


where you take your own food to the table.


Thats exactly what I intend to do.



My sister whilst on holiday in Florida, visited a totally self service
buffet.
Upon reaching the till to pay - at this point all she and her family had
were the empty trays on which to place their food. - She was asked if she
wanted "the tip" added to her bill !!!!


Jan

..

Craig Welch wrote:

Qanset said:

Bit late for that, I was there 20 years ago. I saw a peurto rican
waitress get hostile because a British Visitor forgot to leave her a tip
on the table. Her conduct was absolutely disgraceful.

How did you know her nationality? Did she have a badge?

No she didnt stupid.



--
Craig http://www.wazu.jp/
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"Dennis P. Harris" wrote:

On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 20:57:10 -0800 in rec.travel.air, "Capt. Del"
wrote:

As a Brit, personally I'm embarrassed to tip. It's not what I was
brought up doing. We expect to tip but very discreetly.
But that's not the American way.
The American way is to brandish the tip like a fiery sword, making
sure everybody can see how great a tipper you are.

because, unfortunately, if you don't, some judgemental idiot will
assume that you're a cheapskate.

you have to remember that most americans don't carry the
upperclass/lowerclass baggage that many brits do --- or the
resentment that aussies & kiwis have about gratuities that's
connected with the supposed unequal relationship between server
and served.

i thnk with the aussies that much of it has to do
with the resentment inherited from transported prisoner
attitudes.

Wrong. We dont beg money from tourists.

On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:22:50 +1100, Qanset wrote:

PTravel wrote:

"Qanset" wrote in message
u...
The wife and I are planning at trip to USA/Canada in the near future.
Is it true that the Yanks are really hung up on tipping, and that
FORGETTING to tip someone is courting disaster???

Like most tourists we will be traveling on a limited budget,this means
that anybody expecting free money from us will be advised to look
elsewhere.

With all due respect, I'd suggest you don't come.

Bit late for that, I was there 20 years ago. I saw a peurto rican
waitress get hostile because a British Visitor forgot to leave her a tip
on the table. Her conduct was absolutely disgraceful.

Well, that makes all Americans that way doesn't it?


Advice given: change your attitude or stay home.

No way. My wife and I have strict moral guidelines for tipping. we
will NOT be bullied, coerced or manipulated in any way to part with our
hard earned money. From time to time we will offer tips at our own
discretion and we will be answereable to our own conscience and judgment
if we refuse.

What a load of crap. Strict moral guidelines. Then, do tell us just
what you do when you are forced to pay for service in Europe and get
crappy service in return. Do you get up on your great moral haunches
then?


I do understand that Americans depending on tips have been disadvantaged
by substandard work practices by their employers. Having been down that
road previously, I earnestly suggest they find a job where they DONT
rely on tips.

You and the rest of
the world will be a lot happier.

Always been happy wherever I go O/S. As the for the rest of the world
they wont even know who I am.

Sure they will. As soon as you stand up on the table and start giving
your great moral guideline speech about tipping. Just before they
haul you away in a padded truck.

In message Craig Welch
wrote:

Most of the world considers the Murkin habit of having the salad
before the meal as ... well, perhaps not quaint, just a little
weird.

I rather like this one, it gives the steak something to eat on it's way
down.

On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:45:15 +1100, Qanset wrote:


Craig Welch wrote:

Qanset said:

Bit late for that, I was there 20 years ago. I saw a peurto rican
waitress get hostile because a British Visitor forgot to leave her a tip
on the table. Her conduct was absolutely disgraceful.

How did you know her nationality? Did she have a badge?

No she didnt stupid.

You missed a trick. I've seen more than one establishment in Vegas where the
staff name badges included the state or country of origin. Or was the
"stupid" epithet self-deprecatory?

DaveM

On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:39:55 +1100, Qanset wrote:

DaveM wrote:

If you expect foreign visitors to Australia to respect your customs and
standards of behaviour (

We dont demand tips from them. That they can depend on.

That's the extent of Australian hospitality? You should team up with the
tourist board.

whether you think they do or not), then you already
know the correct answer to this question.

DaveM

"Qanset" wrote in message
u...
PTravel wrote:

"Qanset" wrote in message
u...
The wife and I are planning at trip to USA/Canada in the near future.
Is it true that the Yanks are really hung up on tipping, and that
FORGETTING to tip someone is courting disaster???

Like most tourists we will be traveling on a limited budget,this means
that anybody expecting free money from us will be advised to look
elsewhere.

With all due respect, I'd suggest you don't come.

Bit late for that, I was there 20 years ago. I saw a peurto rican
waitress get hostile because a British Visitor forgot to leave her a tip
on the table. Her conduct was absolutely disgraceful.

And what's your point? You are aware, however, that there are approximately
300 million people in the U.S. and, as far as I know, we're not represented
by a Puerto Rican waitress who you encountered 20 years ago.



When I travel
internationally, I buy a guidebook and learn what particular practices
and customs are observed in the locality I'm visiting. I don't make
judgments about them, and definitely do not arrive with a, "we're
superior because we don't do things this way," attitude. I also don't
insist that locals observe my customs.

I don't think you will enjoy international travel,

Wrong again. Have travelled to Twenty countries in the last 30 years

Then you should know better. Perhaps you're one of those unfortunates that
I run into from time to time, complaining how nothing is like it is at home.

I've posted these before, but I'll do it again. There are three rules I
follow when I travel internationally (and I've been traveling much longer
than you and to far more places):

1. Always remember you're a guest in someone else's country. Act like a
guest and respect the customs, preferences and practices of your hosts.

2. If in doubt, ask rather than assume -- I'd rather appear naive than rude
and offensive.

3. Err on the side of generosity -- it is better to pay too much than too
little, tip high rather than low, etc.

You've violated all three rules and, as a result, you've already offended a
number of Americans and you haven't even gotten here yet.


and I certainly don't
think you'll enjoy the U.S. Everyone will probably be better off if you
just stay home.


A colleague of mine who honeymooned in Hawaii was told by a tour bus
operator, that he EXPECTED gratuities for his efforts, because his job
was poorly paid. What more can I say.???

I think you've said quite enough. Incidentally, being sheparded around
on a tour bus is probably the worst way to visit a foreign county.

Yes and No. Tours offer a tourist with no local knowledge to see sights
with guidance of a professional tour guide. They tend to lack flexibility
sometimes, but can be good value for others.

Bus tours offer a tourist the opportunity to be completely isolated from the
culture that they're supposedly there to experience. If all you want to do
when you travel is "see sights" then, by all means, take a bus tour. That
is, certainly, why some people travel but you won't come away with any
understanding of the people or the cultural aesthetic of the country that
you've come to visit.



I'm going to cop a lot of flak on this subject, but never mind I have
and open mind on accepting advice on World Travel.

Advice given: change your attitude or stay home.

No way. My wife and I have strict moral guidelines for tipping. we will
NOT be bullied, coerced or manipulated in any way to part with our hard
earned money. From time to time we will offer tips at our own discretion
and we will be answereable to our own conscience and judgment if we
refuse.

I'm curious. Have you ever visited a strict Muslim country? When you do,
does your wife dress modestly, or do your strict moral guidelines preclude
respecting someone else's beliefs and customs? Have you ever been to
France? Do you always say, "bonjour" to the shopkeeper when you enter a
shop, or do your strict moral guidelines preclude honoring one of the most
fundamental tenets of courtesy in a French society? Have you ever been to
China or Japan? When you go and someone offers you a business card, do your
strict moral guidelines require that you just stuff it in your pocket or do
you take it with both hands and read it politely, so as not to give offense?
Ever been to Italy? Do your strict moral guidelines allow you to wear
shorts and your wife to wear sleeveless dresses when you visit the great
cathedrals?

I'm very curious about your "strict moral guidelines." What is the source
of a morality that says being disrespectful and judgmental when you're a
guest in another culture is acceptable?



I do understand that Americans depending on tips have been disadvantaged
by substandard work practices by their employers. Having been down that
road previously, I earnestly suggest they find a job where they DONT rely
on tips.

You don't understand anything about American workers who depend on tips. I
earnestly suggest that, rather than project your values and beliefs on the
rest of the world, you accept that other cultures have different values and
beliefs that, frequently, may conflict with your own.


You and the rest of
the world will be a lot happier.

Always been happy wherever I go O/S. As the for the rest of the world
they wont even know who I am.

Oh, but they will -- they will know you as the "rude [I'm going to guess
from your screen name] Australian." And for those foreigners who have had
limited contact with Australians, they will judge Australia and all
Australians by your actions. Like it or not, we are all de facto
ambassadors for our countries when we travel internationally. By
deliberately ignoring the customs and practices of the countries that you
visit, you are setting a very poor example for your own and one by which
your fellow countrymen will be judged.