Chris Selley: Rules For Social Revolutionaries (and Other Crappy Tippers)

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Chris Selley: Rules For Social Revolutionaries (and Other Crappy Tippers)

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There are no good guys in this week’s news about certain restaurants in Burlington, Vt., allowing their servers to add an automatic gratuity to French-Canadian customers’ bills - on the theory that the servers would otherwise get stiffed. Canadians certainly have a reputation among Americans as lousy tippers, which some ascribe to our higher minimum wages for servers. But a “Queeb tax,” as one local charmingly put it, is just plain rude. Frankly, it’s the last thing I’d expect of Americans, whose hospitality is almost unfailing. Game Servers An A Lot Of Fun


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It’s also discrimination, by definition, and therefore indefensible.


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It is a measured statistical phenomenon that, on average, black Americans tip less than white Americans. But that’s no excuse to treat an individual black diner worse than an individual white diner. (In fact, it would be against the law.) Indeed, doing so is an excellent way to ensure that black diners, on average, continue to tip less.


The same is likely true for Quebecers in Vermont. “If you can clearly tell they’re from Montreal, the restaurant will add on an automatic 18% just to sort of hedge their bets,” a Burlington server told the National Post this week. That’s a bet the restaurant would be likely to lose. If a French-Canadian discovered the discriminatory treatment he was getting, he probably would simply take his business elsewhere.


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All that said, the whole concept of mandatory tipping is a social convention that is hard to justify logically. Why does the menu-printed cost of a restaurant meal impute the cost of ingredients, rent and utilities, appliances and cookware and preparation … but not delivery from kitchen to table? Why does the production of a steak-frites have a set, non-negotiable price, while its delivery has a purely discretionary price decided by the recipient - a price that could theoretically be zero? Moreover, if the tip doesn’t go entirely to the server, as is usually the case, shouldn’t I be informed how it’s being divvied up?


As I say, I’m willing to play the game - if only because I don’t want to be unwelcome at my favourite haunts.


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Speak up. This may be difficult for timid Canadians. But while you might feel justified leaving 5% (or less) for terrible service, you’ll feel much better about it, and do the world a service, by telling the server and his manager what a rotten experience you had. Also: If the steak is overcooked, if the soup is tepid, if the beer is flat - that’s not the server’s fault. Send it back.


Mount your revolution at home. Tip as the locals tip. There is nothing more infuriating than being out to dinner with an Australi … er … with a person from a non-tipping jurisdiction who decides to explain to his North American companions, as the bill arrives, how silly mandatory tipping is. We know it’s a bit weird. But your well-prepared speech suggests you knew the rules before you came out. Your presence signifies acceptance of chipping in at a reasonable rate.


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Mount your revolution with other revolutionaries. If you feel a lower-than-normal tip is justified, you may attempt to negotiate this with your tablemates. You may not, however, unilaterally decree what should constitute a baseline tip. And in any event, if you lose the negotiation, you’re in for the agreed-upon percentage. Again, your presence signifies consent.


As a last resort, the tip revolutionary may ask for a separate cheque, and reveal himself as a clod individually, without embarrassing his dining companions. But he should expect many fewer dinner invitations in future. Just as restaurants in Burlington should quite rightly expect many fewer French-Canadian visitors.


National Post


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