Private Tours and Tipping

[marazul]

This appeared yesterday in the Washington Post:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/why-some-restaurants-are-doing-away-with-tipping/2015/04/13/cb1b5a86-c299-11e4-9271-610273846239_story.html

 

The tide may be turning in favor of fair wages and against tipping.

 

It certainly would eliminate the practice of customers of punishing or rewarding employees instead of complaining or praising to the management.

This is a great quote by a restaurant owner:

 

“The idea that if you get bad service, you get to punish the server — that’s awful,” said Cohen. “All the negative comments have been, ‘But what if the service is bad?’ And my response is: ‘Then complain, say something to the manager, let the restaurant take care of it.’ Not, ‘I’m going to decide how much I’m going to pay you for your job.’ Nobody works that way except servers.”

 

And by an industry expert (and by cruisemom):

 

"Tipping boils down to guilt, says Michael Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. “I personally believe that most people tip because of social expectations, and they want to avoid the disapproval that comes from violating that — which means they’re giving up money not to get anything, but to avoid a negative outcome,” said Lynn. “That suggests to me that overall, they would be better off if they didn’t have to tip at all.”

 

That's the way it works in Europe and most of the rest of the world. There are no "social expectations" that the customer should tip.

Edited April 15, 2015 by marazul

[MMOMOM]

This appeared yesterday in the Washington Post:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/why-some-restaurants-are-doing-away-with-tipping/2015/04/13/cb1b5a86-c299-11e4-9271-610273846239_story.html

 

The tide may be turning in favor of fair wages and against tipping.

 

It certainly would eliminate the practice of customers of punishing or rewarding employees instead of complaining or praising to the management.

This is a great quote by a restaurant owner:

 

“The idea that if you get bad service, you get to punish the server — that’s awful,” said Cohen. “All the negative comments have been, ‘But what if the service is bad?’ And my response is: ‘Then complain, say something to the manager, let the restaurant take care of it.’ Not, ‘I’m going to decide how much I’m going to pay you for your job.’ Nobody works that way except servers.”

 

And by an industry expert (and by cruisemom):

 

"Tipping boils down to guilt, says Michael Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. “I personally believe that most people tip because of social expectations, and they want to avoid the disapproval that comes from violating that — which means they’re giving up money not to get anything, but to avoid a negative outcome,” said Lynn. “That suggests to me that overall, they would be better off if they didn’t have to tip at all.”

 

That's the way it works in Europe and most of the rest of the world. There are no "social expectations" that the customer should tip.

 

Thank you marazul ... excellent article and it certainly makes sense to me. Regarding the Driver for the tour, instead of a restaurant though, I think I would rather keep it on a personal level and either show appreciation directly to him in a small way ... be it lunch, snack and drink and/or a few Eruos. And, that would have to depend on our experience I would imagine. However, that being said, I think I understand now more than before and besides wanting to respect the culture, I would respect the Driver as a person going that extra mile for us, if that is the case. I feel more comfortable with the whole thing now after reading all of this and not just the 'US expectation' feeling, which is not personal at all! Thank you so much for your input.

[mickeysgal]

What do you mean by this? People "see an opportunity" to follow the cultural norms -- and you make that sound like a bad thing?

 

The truth of the matter is that Europeans tip minimally and not necessarily in the same circumstances as we do in the US. It is not taking any kind of "opportunity" to do that when traveling --you know, the whole 'when in Rome' thing -- just as I'm sure we would hope Europeans follow our tipping habits when in the US.

 

I think most Americans have it so deeply ingrained that not tipping will look cheap that they simply can't bring themselves not to do it.

 

You're right that this is a controversial topic. I'm curious why there is such a difference in the way we respond to Europeans asking about tipping in the US -- we would NEVER say that " it is a personal choice and do what feels right to you." Instead, we ask that they respect OUR culture regarding tipping, which is alien to them.

 

Why do we not do the same when we travel to THEIR countries? This disconnect has just never made sense to me.

 

Of course, most people are not going to turn down a tip (except in Japan, where it is considered an insult). But Americans are bringing their tipping culture to places where it doesn't belong. Drivers and guides receive fair wages. They do not depend on tipping like service sectors in the US.

 

No one is saying you shouldn't give a token tip of appreciation for excellent service. But companies recommending a 15-20% tip is just preying on Americans' fears about tipping too little.

 

(One of my Italian teachers, a Roman, was complaining recently about how the expectation for tips has escalated in Rome during the last decade. She has made it very clear that Romans do NOT tip that way.)

 

These two posts sum it up perfectly. Couldn't agree more.