Hello, Devon, Well, I think your tax structure stinks! You don't tax people "as if". I can't believe that the nation that prides itself on being more democratic than anyone else has come up sith such ideas!!! (I don't think much of your health services, either) In both cases, the people who work there are not to blame, it's the bureaucracy that's crazy. As regards tipping, I said, I think, that I would tip if service above the norm had been offered. DH also believes in calling the manager and conmplimenting a good waiter in front of him. We got free glasses of port in a few places because of that, so it works. I would consider mopping up after children extra service, and would probably tip too, particularly if the waiter had been nice about it. As for the "big spenders", I'm quite happy for them to squander their money on people who have got less than they have, as long as those recipients don't feel that they are entitled to provide bad service to people who cannot afford to tip lavishly! And unfortunately, some waiters feel that way!
In Australia, there is a "service" charge of 15% included in the bill. What's that for, then? Paying an extra 10 or 15% as well on tips is going to double my bill. I might as well stay home and cook. As I said, it's the whole society that needs to be educated. And, in the case of the US, some laws need to be changed, obviously! Assumption of guilt is not guilt, so why should you be taxed on what you "might" have earned? Helene, the froggy from Melbourne > I'm not the biggest proponent of the tipping culture, but I think that > American Restauranteurs make the argument that the customer receives > better service > in a tipping situation. In the US the pay structure for waiters and > waitresses assumes 15% tipping. In fact, since tips are often in cash > and easily hidden, I believe the government taxes waiters as though they have received 15% tips on all their tables. So, when you fail to leave a tip you are not only depriving the staff of their gratuity, but they have to pay tax as though you had left a gratuity. I have to say that this makes you very disinclined not to leave a tip even when the service is poor because you don't necessarily hate the waiter so much that you want to pick his pocket, but some people do. > People who like to entertain and want their guests to have a good time tip lavishly, go to the restaurants where they are known for tipping lavishly, and always get excellent service there, from what I understand. > I don't think I would characterize it as begging, because some people > are excellent waiters and make very good tips and some people are very > indifferent waiters and get poor tips. When I had a young child with me I often found the waiter had to spend more than the ordinary amount of time with us, cleaning up spills, etc. Most of them were very pleasant and accomodating and got very good tips as a result. > Devon Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies. http://au.movies.yahoo.com To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
