3 ms·

I’ve been to low or no tipping countries like France and Brazil and the service is incredibly bad. Coming back to the states is a breath of fresh quality servic

by GoRudy 3y ago

I’ve been to low or no tipping countries like France and Brazil and the service is incredibly bad. Coming back to the states is a breath of fresh quality service air.

chank 3y ago
Times I've been to low/no tipping countries; service was literally idistinquishable from what I experience in the U.S.
yardie 3y ago
The service is what it is because the restaurants haven't offloaded paying the staff directly onto the customer. A restaurant owner in the US doesn't care if 1, 25, or 50 servers are on duty. They pay almost nothing for them to be there. A french restaurant is staffed just like a retail store. Just enough staff to provide minimal to adequate coverage and nothing more. Because the owner eats the cost not the server.
Ericson2314 3y ago
Some of us don't want to be pampered, we just don't want to cook. We're tired of subsidizing others' ludicrous desire for aristocracy role-playing when we just want to eat food.
- Ekaros 3y ago
  I only need what 3 to 5 interactions in whole process. 1. Bring me to table (or let me find it myself) 2. Take my order (food and drink) 3. Bring my food/drinks. 4. Allow me to pay... Could add one or two in between, but I don't see any reason why there should be need for anything beyond these basics.
  - Ericson2314 3y ago
    Dream bigger :) I want more buffets/ cafeterias. We can cut the labor down far more than that. I'm not saying I would go on a date to the cantina, but I sure as hell would do that instead of cook 10/10.
    - Ericson2314 3y ago
      I think this relates to America's NIMBYism: In the places where there is enough density to support this stuff, the sorting from insufficient housing has made too many rich residents that are not sufficiently price sensitive. If we had abundant housing and thus poorer residents on average (in a relative sense), we would already have these labor-saving amenities. The fact that cities are both more efficient and more expensive demonstrates just how fucked up the economics of all this stuff has gotten.
bane 3y ago
Service quality in most countries is completely fine -- just different depending on the service culture of the country. You're probably just used to how they do it in the States (which isn't immune to lousy service in anyone's bravest fantasy).
jfim 3y ago
I've been to Japan and the service was fantastic, with no tipping expected. It's almost as if tipping really doesn't correlate with service quality.
- zol 3y ago
  This. Same in Australia.
switch007 3y ago
But the food in France is so good I forget about the bad service.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
VancouverMan 3y ago
Then there are countries like Canada, where economic pressures on both business and consumers (nearly all imposed by government) have resulted in a situation where restaurant service is atrocious, yet hefty tipping (15% or more these days) is still expected. Many Canadians just can't afford to visit restaurants to begin with these days. Lately, though, even those with the financial means to not care too much about the cost are avoiding restaurants because it's such a miserable experience overall. The portion sizes are typically quite small compared to the cost. Even restaurants that used to offer generous portions now give less and less. Many of the servers are low-skilled, low-cost foreigners who lack basic language/communication abilities. Even just placing an order can became an ordeal, with mistakes and misunderstandings being far too common. The kitchen staff don't seem particularly skilled, either. At lower-end and even mid-tier restaurants, they seem to just be reheating frozen meals most of the time. After what's often a rather negative dining experience, it's common to be prompted for a tip of 18%, 20%, 25%, or even more when paying. Even some fast food restaurants, including ones at mall food courts, and take-out pizza joints now have tip jars, or prompt for large tips when paying. I'm not sure if the Canadian restaurant industry can be saved at this point. More and more people I know are learning how to cook at home, and even if it takes more time and effort to do, the cost is significantly less than going to a restaurant, and the experience can be far better in pretty much every way.
- FireBeyond 3y ago
  > After what's often a rather negative dining experience, it's common to be prompted for a tip of 18%, 20%, 25%, or even more when paying. Last two mid tier restaurants I went to had the tip options as "20, 25, 30, 35%"
JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B 3y ago
Service is great in the south of France. Your experience seems pretty limited to Paris I guess.
csomar 3y ago
These are just two countries with bad service. And the service in the US is Okay but nowhere near as a "breath of fresh quality air".

by GoRudy 3y ago

I’ve been to low or no tipping countries like France and Brazil and the service is incredibly bad. Coming back to the states is a breath of fresh quality service air.

chank 3y ago

Times I've been to low/no tipping countries; service was literally idistinquishable from what I experience in the U.S.

yardie 3y ago

The service is what it is because the restaurants haven't offloaded paying the staff directly onto the customer. A restaurant owner in the US doesn't care if 1, 25, or 50 servers are on duty. They pay almost nothing for them to be there. A french restaurant is staffed just like a retail store. Just enough staff to provide minimal to adequate coverage and nothing more. Because the owner eats the cost not the server.

Ericson2314 3y ago

Some of us don't want to be pampered, we just don't want to cook. We're tired of subsidizing others' ludicrous desire for aristocracy role-playing when we just want to eat food.

Ekaros 3y ago
I only need what 3 to 5 interactions in whole process. 1. Bring me to table (or let me find it myself) 2. Take my order (food and drink) 3. Bring my food/drinks. 4. Allow me to pay... Could add one or two in between, but I don't see any reason why there should be need for anything beyond these basics.
- Ericson2314 3y ago
  Dream bigger :) I want more buffets/ cafeterias. We can cut the labor down far more than that. I'm not saying I would go on a date to the cantina, but I sure as hell would do that instead of cook 10/10.
  - Ericson2314 3y ago
    I think this relates to America's NIMBYism: In the places where there is enough density to support this stuff, the sorting from insufficient housing has made too many rich residents that are not sufficiently price sensitive. If we had abundant housing and thus poorer residents on average (in a relative sense), we would already have these labor-saving amenities. The fact that cities are both more efficient and more expensive demonstrates just how fucked up the economics of all this stuff has gotten.

bane 3y ago

Service quality in most countries is completely fine -- just different depending on the service culture of the country. You're probably just used to how they do it in the States (which isn't immune to lousy service in anyone's bravest fantasy).

jfim 3y ago

I've been to Japan and the service was fantastic, with no tipping expected. It's almost as if tipping really doesn't correlate with service quality.

zol 3y ago
This. Same in Australia.

switch007 3y ago

But the food in France is so good I forget about the bad service.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

VancouverMan 3y ago

Then there are countries like Canada, where economic pressures on both business and consumers (nearly all imposed by government) have resulted in a situation where restaurant service is atrocious, yet hefty tipping (15% or more these days) is still expected. Many Canadians just can't afford to visit restaurants to begin with these days. Lately, though, even those with the financial means to not care too much about the cost are avoiding restaurants because it's such a miserable experience overall. The portion sizes are typically quite small compared to the cost. Even restaurants that used to offer generous portions now give less and less. Many of the servers are low-skilled, low-cost foreigners who lack basic language/communication abilities. Even just placing an order can became an ordeal, with mistakes and misunderstandings being far too common. The kitchen staff don't seem particularly skilled, either. At lower-end and even mid-tier restaurants, they seem to just be reheating frozen meals most of the time. After what's often a rather negative dining experience, it's common to be prompted for a tip of 18%, 20%, 25%, or even more when paying. Even some fast food restaurants, including ones at mall food courts, and take-out pizza joints now have tip jars, or prompt for large tips when paying. I'm not sure if the Canadian restaurant industry can be saved at this point. More and more people I know are learning how to cook at home, and even if it takes more time and effort to do, the cost is significantly less than going to a restaurant, and the experience can be far better in pretty much every way.

FireBeyond 3y ago
> After what's often a rather negative dining experience, it's common to be prompted for a tip of 18%, 20%, 25%, or even more when paying. Last two mid tier restaurants I went to had the tip options as "20, 25, 30, 35%"

JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B 3y ago

Service is great in the south of France. Your experience seems pretty limited to Paris I guess.

csomar 3y ago

These are just two countries with bad service. And the service in the US is Okay but nowhere near as a "breath of fresh quality air".