I remember the first time I saw my husband walk up to the waitress and hand her the tip, I thought it was really strange. She also gave him a strange look and was a bit embarrased. It was almost as if he invaded some kind of personal space. Americans have this wierd philosphy not to discuss 3 things with people you don't know well: Politics, religion, & money. Perhaps directly handing the tip to the server violates that unwritten rule in non-verbal language. Which is why we leave it on the table and walk away. The server picks it up after we are gone.
Dana, I decided to read some more of the boards and was delighted to see your entry. It took me two nights to read all the responces. Wow! I was most happy to hear you report a happy family life. If you do decide to start a restaurant I sure do wish you the very best. If anybody can do it you can.
Exactly genemetrix - I cannot imagine counting 18% from e.g. 127kč without calculator and them leaving 22,86(round to 23)kč on table while paying by 100 and 50kč banknotes (waiter pays me back 23kč first).. May be its because operating with coins and non-rounded numbers is consideret as something unpolite/uncomfortable... I would just: a) tell him "its OK" b) take one 10kč coin (for caffemachine) c) let him pay all to the last heller. sorted by service quality. btw: I was confused about mentioning taxes and govenrment in tipping issue - imho tipping is "non of government business" .. more over tipping is not the main source of income for waiters(at least in pubs and restourants, I am not sure about bars) Could someone correct my czenglish? thanks.
In the states, tipping is the main source of a server's income. A waitress at a regular restaurant like Applebees or Chili's will bring home about $100-$150 after a 5 hour Friday/Saturday night shift whereas her hourly rate of pay will only amount to $16.25 for 5 hours of work. Therefore, since it is the main source of her income and she is suppose to pay taxes on her income, she is required to report her tips to pay taxes on them. Most servers under report to pay fewer taxes. When one obtains a serving job at a restaurant, most servers will tell the new server how much to report so that the government doesn't catch on by thinking "hey, how come this server makes so much more money in tips than the rest of them" It creates a dilemma for a server with scruples. The server must choose to either cheat the government or sell out his/her co-workers.
of course under reporting has another problem - social security benefits depend on earnings. that is why you can find 75 year old servers on the job. can't afford to retire.
Taxes are just so complicated and it's so difficult to find the best way of doing it. That's probably why our tax system changes almost every year.
Agree - tipping depends on a country culture. But I still remember my first "faux-pas" in the USA - it was in Marriot, Dayton OH and I was tipping 1-2 dollars only. But I guess I was lucky - those guys knew I came from a different country :cry: On the other hand I thing that waitresses should be paid a regular wage and that the restaurant owners should not rely on tips. I believe this attitude would make the income more transparent (taxes wise) and that guests should just leave "a few quarters on the table" based how happy they were with the service. To SMZ: I understand that Americans may be obsessed with germs. But so far I experienced many restaurants and many waitresses cleaning up the table (sometimes covered with a vinyl tablecloth) with some cloth right in front of you. Honestly, I find this experience much more disgusting because I do not know how well this girl cleaner her rug. Czech Republic they have an under tablecloth (usually colored) and upper tablecloth (usually white). The white one is generally changed very often, sometimes after each guest. So there goes the obsession with germs; at least in my book.
Dear Duane, Thank you for you reply; yes, we are doing fine; we somehow keep on fighting. Well, having my own restaurant would be nice but as for now this is a big dream far away from being true. You probably think I am crazy, but I just applied for my CDL drivers license; I will be a truck driver. I am very excited and I cannot wait to complete the whole course! And after a few years I might open my own restaurant one one condition = you MUST be my first guest :!:
We recently went to a very nice, upscaled restaurant. They had white tablecloths on each table. However, on top of the white cloth tablecloth, they had a white paper covering the top of the table. This way, after each party finishes dining, they remove the paper and replace it with a new clean piece. You really do not notice that he paper is there, but are assured your table is clean when you sit down.
Dannae, next time you go to Chicago, visit Cafe Gullistan in Harbert (right on your way). The restaurant is so nice. I'll even meet you there for a drink if you like. We can compare the table cloths, service, etc. Btw, it's owned by a European - a Kurd from Turkey. So the food is Kurdish. Here's pics http://www.freeibrahim.com/cafe_gulistan.asp As you can see, there is paper on the table. But it's very nice and perhaps you won't even notice. :wink:
Oh sorry, I guess Middle Eastern? I don't know. Heck, I'm one of those Americans who say Czechs are Eastern Europeans. :twisted:
Don't worry, everyone except people living there says that about Eastern Europe, using Cold War geopolitical Europe division. And Turkey is a part of Europe, and a possible candidate for European Union membership.
Well, I would say that Turkey is partially in Europe and partially in Middle East. Both parts are separated by Turkish Straits (the Bosporus and the Dardanelles) ... see Turkey in Wikipedia. I would refer to Wikipedia also if anybody wants to rank Czech Republic to Eastern Europe. As a matter of fact, Prague is just a few km from the geographical centre of Europe.
Maybe true but since I now know it annoys Czechs to say they are from Eastern Europe, I can't stop now. :twisted: :twisted: It fits right in with my infamous party toast: "Český pivo je špatné" (while all the drunk men drink to it and then get angry) :twisted:
Welcome Dana: I am born and raised in Michigan, but my wife and I are making plans to move to České Budějovice in order to serve as missionaries in the Baptist Church there (Baptist Union of the Czech Republic). Our web site is www.sharethecrown.com. I could see the adjustment being difficult as America is bigger, louder, and more abrasive. I know that I will have a lot to learn when I move to the Czech so that I can honor the language and culture of its people. Adam Parmenter
Yes but russia s in europe though look how far it strtches over to the east. Come to think of it the USA is full of europeans are they in europe or is that just stupid?
