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comment by oyster
oyster  ·  2034 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Racist, Twisted History of Tipping

I think the big thing is yes the industry would have to change but people’s expectations would also need to change. I serve tourist but I also work with servers from other countries who are on working holiday visas, they generally have a lot of catching up to do in terms of meeting people expectations of service in America/Canada. I still laugh about the Russian guy who looked at me like I was psychic for bringing his table another pitcher of water before the first one was empty. That’s why I don’t ever see tipping going away, people’s expectations aren’t going to change. It’s like if you go to a grocery store during a busy hour, you know you kind of screwed yourself and most people understand why it’s slow. They might not be happy but they get that they made a choice to do groceries at 3pm on a Saturday The restaurant industry though everything has to be prompt no matter what. I was never in the weeds or behind as a grocery store cashier because that’s not a concept, it’s just busy. The entire computer system could crash and people still expect prompt service in a restaurant. You basically have to have worked in a restaurant to know when the wait is going to be longer for food by just seeing the place, most other people need to be told and they’re shocked every time.

Canada is probably the best place in the world to be a server honestly. Good wage and comparable tips to what you will find in the states.





kleinbl00  ·  2034 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Good wage and comparable tips to what you will find in the states.

And this, I believe, is why service in Canada is an order of magnitude worse than in the US.

American service is of a spectrum between respectful and obsequious. A talented server at an expensive restaurant in the US can get you to order more drinks than you would have, buy dessert and an appetizer where you wouldn't have, and still tip 25%. Canadian service, on the other hand, is of a spectrum between diffident and respectful. A talented server at an expensive restaurant in Canada will make you confident that they're telling the truth that the monkfish is fresh. I've never had an experience in Canada that was worth more than 15%.

I think it comes down to the fact that Canadian servers can suck balls and still earn a living. American servers without the knack quickly cycle down to the restaurants you don't want to go to.

oyster  ·  2034 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It’s true in a lot of places, American’s have higher expectations for service than Canadians. I think it’s that a lot of people get into it thinking it’s easy money and they don’t stand to lose that much by taking a chance since the wage is similar. The best servers are sales people and that’s not for everybody.