I was recently out to dinner (actually, I'm out to dinner quite a bit) and so it was rather fascinating to reflect on my experience as a diner without tipping culture vs. other experiences I've had in the US.
One of my first experiences of waitstaff in the US was back in 2000, when I was a twenty-something with friends at a diner in LA, and my friends all said that the waiter was flirting with me (which I seriously did not see). At the time, I didn't realise that tipping was such a significant part of the server's wage - or American culture - although I always tipped because "when in Rome" right?
It's interesting to have the whole system pulled apart and exposed for what it is, though - I never thought of it in terms of commodities and several layers of business going on, and how that's actually detrimental to the effective running of a restaurant.
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One of my first experiences of waitstaff in the US was back in 2000, when I was a twenty-something with friends at a diner in LA, and my friends all said that the waiter was flirting with me (which I seriously did not see). At the time, I didn't realise that tipping was such a significant part of the server's wage - or American culture - although I always tipped because "when in Rome" right?
It's interesting to have the whole system pulled apart and exposed for what it is, though - I never thought of it in terms of commodities and several layers of business going on, and how that's actually detrimental to the effective running of a restaurant.