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	dragonfangirl 2007-12-25 04:59 am UTC (link)
	Well, there are places in the world where tipping is unnecessary and considered rude, but I wasn't aware that Montreal was one of them. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	tunxeh 2007-12-25 07:00 am UTC (link)
	It isn't. has been hassled by waiters in Montreal for mistakenly thinking the tip was already included in the check (Reply to this)(Parent)

	antigone 2007-12-25 07:01 am UTC (link)
	I love how everyone in the comments is like, "I wish I lived in Tokyo/Europe/Oz/Wherever were you DON'T tip!!!" Yeah, where there is a resturant fee, or the food prices are super-high, or they charge for water, etc. No such thing as a free lunch, lol. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	knightrider 2007-12-25 08:36 am UTC (link)
	Tipping in Australia is not generally done because award wages here are a hell of a lot higher than minimum wage in the US. I'd guess it probably IS more expensive to eat in a restaurant here, but I'd sooner the person serving me was making a wage they actually have a chance of living on. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	antigone 2007-12-25 04:29 pm UTC (link)
	No question. Although waiters here can make serious bank at a fancy resturant thanks to tips. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	blackflag 2007-12-25 07:22 pm UTC (link)
	OT, but your icon, what is it? Is it a felty Ash from 'Evil Dead'? (Reply to this)(Parent)

	bemysty 2007-12-25 12:46 pm UTC (link)
	You know what's more confusing? Being in one country where you DO tip, but visiting an ethnic restaurant of a country where you DON'T. I've never figured out whether I need to tip in the Japanese restaurants here or not. this wouldn't be as much of an issue if the quarter in question wasn't 50% Japanese (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	antigone 2007-12-25 04:32 pm UTC (link)
	My guess would be tip. Don't know where you live, but in the US (where I am) it is customary to tip even at ethnic restaurants. I sometimes see restaurants have little signs in English and the language of the resturant that say, "It is customary to tip %15" on the menu. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	dragonfangirl 2007-12-25 06:28 pm UTC (link)
	Huh! Tricky. Good question. I'm guessing, tip, because probably everyone who works there is Filipino anyway. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sparkysrevenge 2007-12-25 10:47 pm UTC (link)
	At ours, they're all Korean. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	bemysty 2007-12-26 12:12 pm UTC (link)
	Nope, all Japanese. There are close to 10.000 Japanese living in this town, and the majority of customers in those restaurants is, hence, Japanese - it wouldn't make sense to hire someone not fluent in the language. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	jaseroque 2007-12-26 02:45 pm UTC (link)
	I'd say tip. Your average employer is always going to try and get away with as little output as possible, so they're probably paying the minimum serving wage, which in a tipping country of course factors in potential tips. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	ladybirdsleeps 2007-12-26 01:17 am UTC (link)
	You have to tip! It's not even a question. If you haven't been tipping, you've been screwing over a lot of people. (Reply to this)(Parent)

frequentmouse
2007-12-26 05:07 pm UTC (link)

The important point is not the ethnicity of the restaurant, but the national and state tax system: the IRS assumes a 15% tip for tax purposes, so failing to tip at least that much means your server is paying taxes on zero income. Unless one's presence confers permanent bliss, or cures cancer, or conveys the ability to pick winning Lotto numbers, or conveys some other tangible benefit, you owe your server a tip.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bemysty 2007-12-26 06:13 pm UTC (link)
	I'm not in the US, and tipping isn't mandatory here. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	frequentmouse 2007-12-26 06:35 pm UTC (link)
	My abject apologies; from the way you structured your comment I assumed you were USian. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	amymccabe 2008-01-06 02:56 pm UTC (link)
	Tipping isn't mandatory here in US either. It is just considered extremely rude, unless the waitress or waiter is extremely rude. I only didn't tip once, and the serve was incredibly God-awful that time. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	gorogoro 2007-12-25 02:22 pm UTC (link)
	I never figured out where people were eating in Japan that was so expensive. Eating out in Japan can be ridiculously cheap! (To the extent that I thought paying 950 yen for dinner was pretty expensive) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	antigone 2007-12-25 04:36 pm UTC (link)
	I got good at finding the lunch specials and cheap eats, too. But compared the cost of living I was used to, the prices in Tokyo were overall higher. After a while, I adjusted and when I'd visit the US I'd be like, "OMG! Everything is SO CHEAP!!" buy buy buy (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	gorogoro 2007-12-25 04:40 pm UTC (link)
	I dunno, I can't seem to eat out in North America for less than $10, $13 if I want a drink too. Maybe I'm just eating at the wrong restaurants. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	altera 2007-12-25 08:13 pm UTC (link)
	$10-13 is way cheap, I'm usually at a $15-20 minimum (incl. tip) when going out with friends unless I limit myself to just an entree and drink only water (granted, am in the NYC area but I usually go to chain places...) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	rarirurero 2007-12-26 08:31 am UTC (link)
	These people have clearly never discovered Yoshinoya. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dragonfangirl 2007-12-27 02:55 am UTC (link)
	Mmmmm, gyuudon... (Reply to this)(Parent)

	tree 2007-12-26 03:11 am UTC (link)
	Yeah but at least you're free of the awkwardness of Have I tipped enough? What's the policy here? etc. You pay your bill and you're good to go. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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