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Comment by wtvanhest | Hacker News Reader

I don't know about other Americans, but when I visit other countries I typically find the servers nice but slow and the overall quality of service much lower.

When I was a server I would work hard to make sure I got every dollar. The tip is always on your mind, all night.

The other good thing about tipping is that it also makes the job a sales job. The higher the bill, the higher the tip and therefore it properly aligns incentives with the restaurant. The exception to that is fraud where a server provides free items to attempt to get a larger tip.

I get that it must be extremely irritating for people from outside the US to get a price and then have to do the math to figure out what it really costs, but that is a small price to pay for superior service all the time.

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I'm European, and am used to not tipping— and I hate service in the US :)

Waiters come bother you every 5 minute asking if everything ok, if they can refill your water, etc. I just like to enjoy my food and have conversation with my tablemates without being interrupted every 5 minute. In France, the waiter comes to take your order and give you your food, and that's it. You usually have a caraffe of water and a basket of bread on the table so that you don't have to wait on the waiter's good will to refill your glass.

Additionally, in the US, you tend to be escorted out as soon as you're finished eating because the more tables the waiter serves, the more money he makes. This is extremely irritating— after I'm done eating, I like taking the time to talk with people and hangout without having the bill shoved in my face and the waiter asking us to leave (happened a few times). In France, you leave whenever you want to (unless the restaurant is extremely busy I assume, but it never happened to me).

So no, I wouldn't call the service "superior"— rather more irritating and intrusive because that's the best way to get a good tip, while pretending to be superior.

It's subjective. Whichever standard you're used to, the opposite is irritating.

As an example, when I (an American) visited France and Italy, I couldn't stand that it took 30+ minutes after finishing our meals to pay the bill and get out of there.

But that's not really linked to tipping or the lack thereof; tipping's unusual in Japan, and yet they're the gold standard for getting out of a restaurant quickly once your meal is done.

Protip for your next travel: if you're in a hurry and want to pay the bill fast in France, you can just walk up to the counter and pay there :)

Interesting about Japan.

Anecdotally you can do this many places in the UK, too. Don't have to wait for them to get the payment processor machine either!

>So no, I wouldn't call the service "superior"— rather more irritating and intrusive because that's the best way to get a good tip, while pretending to be superior.

This seems to lend more support to the inference that you personally have atypical preferences than it does to the inference that the American tipping system as a whole doesn't result in greater aggregate satisfaction with service.

You acknowledge that most people tip more when their servers do things that you find "irritating and intrusive." To me, this suggests that most people don't find those things irritating and intrusive, and in fact like them, and that's why they're willing to surrender more money when they experience them.

This is extremely irritating— after I'm done eating, I like taking the time to talk with people and hangout without having the bill shoved in my face and the waiter asking us to leave (happened a few times).

Pure curiosity here, have you ever been waiting to get into a restaurant, wishing some people would leave so you may be seated? Wouldn't you be more comfortable hanging out in a lounge?

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