Global Etiquette G
Tipping In Restau
Alison J. Stein wrote, “The word ‘tip’
started to be commonly used for
a gratuity around the 1700s in
England, according to the Oxford
English Dictionary, although Cornell
University professor Michael Lind
found evidence of a craftsman
asking a customer for ‘tinkgeld’
envelopes in rooms for the
housekeeping staff for people to
know to leave tips. We do, but I will
tell you that guests from Australia,
UK, Switzerland, Japan, and many
other countries will not. They are
not being cheap, but in their
countries the workers are doing
their job at a livable wage.
or ‘drink money’ in German, for
apprentice dating back to 1509,
so the practice emerged before
its current name.”
In general, Americans tip more that
most and do not pay attention to
local customs. That is a mistake.
Both my husband Norm and I tip well,
but we pay attention to what the
customs are where we are traveling.
I know some of this was covered in
my column on “Gifting,” but general
tipping is somewhat different. What
set me off was Marriott announcing
they were going to be putting
In this article, we are going to focus
on restaurants; otherwise it would
be pages and pages.
Even throughout the US, tipping is
not standard. In New York, it is
usually 20%+, based on the quality
of service. Other states, it is 15
to 20%. Buffets are generally 10
to 12%. The tip makes up a good
portion of the wait staffs’ income.
In small establishments where the
bill is not astronomical, we try to
leave the tip in cash. If service has
been horrible, leave less, but when
and if I do that, I write a note on the
back of the check as to why. In some
more expensive restaurants in larger
cities, there are so many lines for
tips it seems just too much. I do not
want to tip the maître d’ who seated
me, server, assistant server, bus boy,
PHOTOS BY MARALYN D. HILL
C
overing tipping is a daunting
subject that varies around
the world. If you do the
wrong thing, it is far from
appreciated—but what
is wrong and what is right is
a challenge.
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