I wonder if people realize...

[bigb]

It’s ironic that this thread popped up today. My wife and I went to Black Bear Diner today. Had probably the worst service I’ve ever had anywhere. The server was grumpy. The food took forever (there were empty tables and no wait). I had to ask to get my drink refilled. When the food finally came, another server had “stolen” my plate, so my wife got her food, but I only got my pancakes for awhile. They ran out of bacon, so I had to wait for bacon (what kind of a breakfast place let’s themselves run out of bacon?). When I got my bacon, it was overcooked. Had to ask again to get my drink refilled. The server plopped our bill down and disappeared. I had to go ask for a box for the rest of my wife’s food.
I’m a standard 20% tipper. It takes a lot for me to drop from there. I gave 10% today.


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[Rubashov]

Went out with Mrs Rubashov last night, had a lovely dinner at small country restaurant, the food was good (not great) the service from the waitress was poor, didn't give us the specials ect. but the service from the owner was fantastic. I normally tip and gave them 20 bucks on a 170 buck bill, I probably would have paid 30 if I was completely satisfied with the service tho.

 

[Gameface]

Went out with Mrs Rubashov last night, had a lovely dinner at small country restaurant, the food was good (not great) the service from the waitress was poor, didn't give us the specials ect. but the service from the owner was fantastic. I normally tip and gave them 20 bucks on a 170 buck bill, I probably would have paid 30 if I was completely satisfied with the service tho.

Is tipping standard practice in the AU?

I've been led to believe we Americans are like the only people still doing it.

 

[lauriandres]

Is tipping standard practice in the AU?

I've been led to believe we Americans are like the only people still doing it.

Gameface, how US based restaurants and eateries find employees if the conditions are as bad as told here (no health insurance, ultra minimum salary i.e the owner expects that you earn your salary from tips from the customers)? Of course, maybe for some months it is good for a rookie to experience that even the most demanding teacher at school is like an angel when compared the management at some chain restaurant.
For comparison, in Estonia it is difficult to find servers even if the minimum required salary is about 350 EUR (and that includes nationwide health insurance) per month, but realistic is something between 500-1000 EUR per month if you want to have somebody who works for you 8 hours per day, 40 per week.

 

[Gameface]

Gameface, how US based restaurants and eateries find employees if the conditions are as bad as told here (no health insurance, ultra minimum salary i.e the owner expects that you earn your salary from tips from the customers)? Of course, maybe for some months it is good for a rookie to experience that even the most demanding teacher at school is like an angel when compared the management at some chain restaurant.
For comparison, in Estonia it is difficult to find servers even if the minimum required salary is about 350 EUR (and that includes nationwide health insurance) per month, but realistic is something between 500-1000 EUR per month if you want to have somebody who works for you 8 hours per day, 40 per week.

There can be a huge difference between how much wait staff make. Some make a decent living, but yeah, no health insurance. Not having health insurance isn't uncommon in the U.S.. Especially for the age group that is most common for restaurant work, 20-30 somethings.

There are some things that attract people to working as servers. For one it's easy to change jobs and you can most likely work close to home if you want to. Your history, education, etc. are not critical for getting the job. They generally do not drug test. You can also usually work the hours you want, the days you want, as many or as few hours as you want. There is a bit a party lifestyle associated with being a server. You walk out with cash at the end of your shift.

 

[Rubashov]

Is tipping standard practice in the AU?

I've been led to believe we Americans are like the only people still doing it.

Nah people here tip for food and drink but not at the sort of levels people do in the US. Standard meal for 2 is normally 100 bucks minimum.

 

[Archie Moses]

I honestly don't care how the service is when I go to a restaurant. I only care about how the food tastes.

And the most chill af person award goes to...

 

[lauriandres]

Nah people here tip for food and drink but not at the sort of levels people do in the US. Standard meal for 2 is normally 100 bucks minimum.

In Estonia and in Europe in general the tipping is not compulsory i.e both de jure and de facto the owners and the servers should not be angry should you not tip. Sometimes we have tipped a la when we had a birthday party at the restaurant, then we gave about 30 EUR (total bill for 15 persons was about 400) the main server.
My theory is that if the main dish is about 20 euros and the cheapest bottle of wine is 30 euros, then the owners should have more than enough funds to properly pay to the server. Specially if that same wine costs 5 euros at the supermarket. IMHO when compared to Croatia or Italy or Japan - in Estonia i will pay for the interior, furniture and location, not for food (i.e sometimes the portions are quite small compared to other countries). Therefore i cook more at home than eat at the restaurant. I do not want to brag or something like that but if the raw product is good enough (i.e good steak or duck fillet) then you can cook equally well at home. That is why i envy the selection of raw stuff at US supermarkets - it seems that the selection of different meat and fish products are much much more larger than in my country.

Also, what is food thread without some links of the recently visited restaurants. World is small, you never know when you might visit some of those.
https://sardiinid.ee/en/
https://io-restoran.ee/en/restaurant/menu
http://www.restoranmoon.ee/menu/?lang=en

Restaurant in Suwalki, Poland where we spent a night during our autumn vacation.
https://www.hotelloft.pl/en/restaurant-tatarak-menu-page-105744
Actually, everywhere in Poland (with the exeption of tourist traps and Warszawa, Krakow and Gdansk) - should you visit some restaurant, then for a typical family (2 adults, 2 children) you need to order only 3 main dishes . Maybe even only 2 main dishes and 2 lighter ones. The portions are huge. And price is less than in Baltics or Germany, Austria, France or Italy.

 

[Rubashov]

In Estonia and in Europe in general the tipping is not compulsory i.e both de jure and de facto the owners and the servers should not be angry should you not tip. Sometimes we have tipped a la when we had a birthday party at the restaurant, then we gave about 30 EUR (total bill for 15 persons was about 400) the main server.
My theory is that if the main dish is about 20 euros and the cheapest bottle of wine is 30 euros, then the owners should have more than enough funds to properly pay to the server. Specially if that same wine costs 5 euros at the supermarket. IMHO when compared to Croatia or Italy or Japan - in Estonia i will pay for the interior, furniture and location, not for food (i.e sometimes the portions are quite small compared to other countries). Therefore i cook more at home than eat at the restaurant. I do not want to brag or something like that but if the raw product is good enough (i.e good steak or duck fillet) then you can cook equally well at home. That is why i envy the selection of raw stuff at US supermarkets - it seems that the selection of different meat and fish products are much much more larger than in my country.

Also, what is food thread without some links of the recently visited restaurants. World is small, you never know when you might visit some of those.
https://sardiinid.ee/en/
https://io-restoran.ee/en/restaurant/menu
http://www.restoranmoon.ee/menu/?lang=en

Restaurant in Suwalki, Poland where we spent a night during our autumn vacation.
https://www.hotelloft.pl/en/restaurant-tatarak-menu-page-105744
Actually, everywhere in Poland (with the exeption of tourist traps and Warszawa, Krakow and Gdansk) - should you visit some restaurant, then for a typical family (2 adults, 2 children) you need to order only 3 main dishes . Maybe even only 2 main dishes and 2 lighter ones. The portions are huge. And price is less than in Baltics or Germany, Austria, France or Italy.

On my last trip to Europe with the exception of Norway, everywhere i ate was cheaper than here, i was getting Australian Wagyu cheaper in Hamburg than i could ever hope to find it here. Prices here are inflated mainly by rent, wages have hardly moved in ten years. Rent on a busy high street can easily be 10k a week, restaurants are a really good way to loose money.