i really don’t. i’ve never really tipped anyone for offering their charged service before visiting and living in the US of A, with the exception of visiting a developing country. i don’t like tipping when you’re already charged for a service. but it’s the norm here and i keep doing it wrong… or so it seems to me. you pay on top of your bill (which includes taxes) another 15% or more for the services at a restaurant here, and possibly also for a cab-driver. it was made to my awareness the other day that you tip 25% at a hair-dressers… and i was and still am APPALLED! no way am i inclined to pay another 25% for haircuts in the US of A when i don’t get the nice services that a typical hair salon in Edinburgh would offer e.g. a spot of tea and chocolatey biscuits with a hair-wash and cut, and i don’t even have to tip! over here, you get a dry cut for a lot less without any additional service (unless you request and pay for them) at places like cost-cutters. for a more up-scaled hair-pampering, the Aveda salon charges ~2.5-3x the price of a cost-cutters hair-cut and offers more pampering… but i am obliged to add a tip on top of the somewhat exorbitant price. do the people in service here really earn so little such that tipping is required? in europe, it seems derogatory to tip. a service IS service… and you tip on the rare occasion, e.g. in a very fancy resto. that you’ve thoroughly enjoyed yourself. in singapore, service charges are included so you don’t pay extra; assuming that the people offering you their service benefits from it. hmm.
can someone make me feel better about the tipping ‘culture’ in the US of A? or share your views on tipping?!
… i wish too that they would include the taxes in their prices at stores and supermarkets here and break it down on the receipt… like most other places in the world! i wish too that the electrical plugs in all countries were the same… or that we drove on the SAME side of the road, or that we understood each other despite linguistic and cultural barriers… or that we agree on not having to tip… =)
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4 comments
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Friday, 12th October, 2007 at 22:06 pm
monoceros
In restaurants and hair salons, what you pay for food or haircuts goes to the owners. Waiters and hairstylists receive a small wage, and whatever else they hope to earn must come directly from the customers. They have to work to earn your tips. This motivates them to work for their pay and not slack off. If they’re especially good or lucky to serve a generous customer, they get tipped highly. In the US, if a waiter had to serve a table of 20 customers, that would be a lot of work, but the typically higher tip would make it fair and worth the work. In Singapore, for example, a waiter could serve the same number at a table, but his wage is likely to remain the same that month; this doesn’t seem fair if he works at a busy restaurant and often has to wait on tables with large groups.
Also, in places that don’t require you to tip, everything goes to the diner/salon, and the waiter/hair stylist gets a fixed wage. As it is in Singapore, this often – but not always – breeds complacency. As long as he does “just enough,” he gets paid and that’s that. No point putting in any extra effort if there aren’t returns to be had.
I’ve been to salons in Ann Arbor that gave me stuff to drink (wine even!), so I think decent salons in the US do exist. However, while it’s tempting to compare salons in the various countries you’ve lived, it’s inevitable that you’ll find a few that are more or less to your preference. Each country has their own ways of doing things; it’s just how it is. I’m not sure I’d want the world to be the same all over anyhow. =)
Friday, 12th October, 2007 at 22:06 pm
monoceros
In restaurants and hair salons, what you pay for food or haircuts goes to the owners. Waiters and hairstylists receive a small wage, and whatever else they hope to earn must come directly from the customers. They have to work to earn your tips. This motivates them to work for their pay and not slack off. If they’re especially good or lucky to serve a generous customer, they get tipped highly. In the US, if a waiter had to serve a table of 20 customers, that would be a lot of work, but the typically higher tip would make it fair and worth the work. In Singapore, for example, a waiter could serve the same number at a table, but his wage is likely to remain the same that month; this doesn’t seem fair if he works at a busy restaurant and often has to wait on tables with large groups.
Also, in places that don’t require you to tip, everything goes to the diner/salon, and the waiter/hair stylist gets a fixed wage. As it is in Singapore, this often – but not always – breeds complacency. As long as he does “just enough,” he gets paid and that’s that. No point putting in any extra effort if there aren’t returns to be had.
I’ve been to salons in Ann Arbor that gave me stuff to drink (wine even!), so I think decent salons in the US do exist. However, while it’s tempting to compare salons in the various countries you’ve lived, it’s inevitable that you’ll find a few that are more or less to your preference. Each country has their own ways of doing things; it’s just how it is. I’m not sure I’d want the world to be the same all over anyhow. =)
Sunday, 14th October, 2007 at 13:36 pm
overacuppa
hmm… that’s true… it’d be boring if everywhere’s the same… i won’t have anything to moan about! =) i do prefer the random incentives that employees get if they did well though, like i heard they do at Banana Republic, that way you keep up your motivation coz you just ever know when’s your lucky day! i still think i should save up for a bit of hair pampering instead of going to cost-cutters! =)
Saturday, 20th October, 2007 at 18:54 pm
wee
i actually don’t think that’s uncommon. you have to tip here in london too. and i find the english more hoity-toity. at the end of the day its to incentivize people to perform a service better than what they would do if they were just given a wage. if you’re not happy with the service, don’t tip! it’s not an obligation. just be sure you can defend it.