背包走天涯之纽约

The Art of Tipping

The first thing I did after reaching my hotel was to go out and hunt for food. The chilly wind was stronger in Hudson Valley than in the city so I had to move really fast to get indoors as quickly as I could. There was an Applebee's in sight. What exactly was Applebee and what food they served I had no idea but I thought I would just eat whatever they had. After four meals in the airplace you would really settle for anything. In the end I ordered a steak, which was pretty delicious and filling and when the bill came I paused for a moment and looked at the waitress. The bill was 12 dollars. "How much should I tip you?" I asked.
"Well, its not necessary. You just tip whatever you want to."
Ok, so the tipping that Lonely Planet said was mandatory for all services was simply bullshit. I would like to think of it as a scam to increase consumer spending in America. I tipped her 2 bucks nevertheless for the service if not the advice.

It's a funny feeling when you do tipping. You feel an air of superiority and it's a false sense because in the end you are the one that is worse off.

On Sunday I met Uncle Danny at New York City and he took me down the endless avenues. He worked in NYC before so he was really familiar with the directions there. It's not that I would have got lost but it is always a nice thing to have company in the weekends, especially if he is your relative and you are in a foreign land. We went to this place called Lobster's and we were served by a smart looking waiter who spoke in a friendly tone.
"Hi guys how are you doing today? Good? My name is James and I would be serving you today."
After we ordered our food he would come by occasionally.
"How are you guys doing?"
"You like a refill of water?"
"How is the food today? Good?
"If you do need anything do feel free to get me."
"Like more juice? Can I clear this?"
I thought it was really professional of the waiter and I certainly did not get this kind of service back in Singapore. I would choose to think he didn't do it for the tip, which would go to the restaurant anyway. Comparatively the service level in Singapore is always atrocious and it is not difficult to know why when almost all of them are schooling part timers. The bill came and they charged 8% for the taxes and Uncle Danny paid double of the taxes for the tip. That's the norm and the waiter deserved it for the service we got.

When I went back to the house I had a discussion with the landlord and he said if he wasn't getting served properly he wasn't going to give any tipping. Ya that certainly made sense and made me wonder why I gave a tip for a chinese take away at the restaurant near my place.

posted by wayne @ 6:37 PM