HO 1

Tipping

A number of tourists visiting the U.S. face more than the language barrier when
they visit New York or other large American cities. The intricacies of tipping have
some of them puzzled.

France, as well as many other European countries, has a “tip-included” policy

which means the service is included in the bill. But if a customer is especially
satisfied with the service, he or she might leave an extra franc on the table.

A tourism official tells the story of a French visitor who felt insulted when an
American waiter followed him to the door, handed him the dollar he had left on the
table as a tip and told him: “I think you need this dollar more than I do. Take it.”
The French visitor has assumed, of course, that the tip had already been included in
the bill.

In many countries in Asia, there is basically no tipping, so none of the waiters

expects to find a tip on the table after serving customers. In spite of these
differences, foreign visitors learn quickly about U.S. tipping customs.

Just how much should a person tip? “Fifteen percent is acceptable and twenty
percent is preferable,” says John Turchiano, spokesman for the Hotel and
Restaurant Employees Union Local.

Lawrence Goldberg, an official at the Taxi Drivers and Allied Workers’ Union,
said that for taxi drivers, $ 25.00 a day in tips is the average for a large city. This
represents about 25-30 percent of his income. When Goldberg was asked who the
worst tippers were, he replied, “Those rich old ladies out shopping on Fifth Ave.”