Hexpane wrote:There is no such thing as a $350 bottle of wine

its really a bottle of asshat ego

Unless one is a sommelier or has the skills to work as one, this is certain.

Hexpane wrote:my girlfriend has been traveling a lot to europe lately, she did mention that how pretty much no one tips ever. Even cabbies get no tips.

What I don't understand is without tips, why would anyone be a waiter? What could the base salary be? I guess it must be good to afford to live in london.

I'm not completely sure about the specifics of this but yes, the base salaries are far higher in France than they are here. They can do this because the money that would fund tips and benefits are passed back to the consumer in the form of inflated prices for menu items, higher income tax, etc.

Hair stylists, taxi drivers, and servers don't collect tips. I tipped anyway because most people seemed to find it a charming American custom. Imagine that.

Edit: I think a lot of servers do collect tips because I can remember a French word for it... But not in such high amounts as here. Waiting for correction on this...

Isn't the tip already added to the check in Europe, at least most of the time? Kind of like when there is a party of 5 or more at many restaurants in the U.S.?

barndog wrote:

Mark Hansen wrote:Is there anyone on this forum who would spend $250 on a bottle of wine at a restaurant?

I wouldn't - but that's just because I don't drink wine a lot and wouldn't really appreciate the distinction. I have no problem spending that on a great meal at a restaurant once in a while.

I drink quite a bit of wine, but I definitely think the law of diminishing returns applies as the price of a bottle of wine goes up. Plus, a lot of times you're paying, at least partly, for reputation and prestige.

Then again, I don't claim to be some kind of expert regarding wine. I can generally pick a decent bottle, but I don't go for the flowery descriptives some oenophiles use.

I suppose, if my tastes mature more in the future, that could change.

Just got back from dinner there, and had the beef cheeks this time. They were fantastic. I intend to go back there pretty much every week. Doug, the honcho, even offered to buy us dessert (we were already full). It was great. God bless this place.

Mr. Trainer was not my waiter this evening (though he was present) and, for what it's worth, I was not called "sir" until after my card had been processed, so I didn't have to do any serious soul-searching over the issue.

Couldn't be happier that this place is within a mile or so of my house.

If I'm ever up in Minneapolis again, I will search out this place. Not knowing the elusive name, I will ask all the cool people where the drummer from Shellac works, or where that dude from Rifle Sport makes sausages. If I'm still greeted with empty stares, I will play the Dave Foley card.

I will then enjoy a nice meal - that may or may not be delivered by the man repeatedly referenced in this thread. He may or may not call me sir.

After that, I will seek out the nice man known as "Bubber" and we will revel and play Trip Shakespeare at the loudest levels until neighboring Zom Zom gets fed up and calls the police.

barndog wrote:I will then enjoy a nice meal - that may or may not be delivered by the man repeatedly referenced in this thread. He may or may not call me sir.

It is then that I will freak you wild.

YardDancer wrote:

Hexpane wrote:There is no such thing as a $350 bottle of wine

its really a bottle of asshat ego

Unless one is a sommelier or has the skills to work as one, this is certain.

Hexpane wrote:my girlfriend has been traveling a lot to europe lately, she did mention that how pretty much no one tips ever. Even cabbies get no tips.

What I don't understand is without tips, why would anyone be a waiter? What could the base salary be? I guess it must be good to afford to live in london.

I'm not completely sure about the specifics of this but yes, the base salaries are far higher in France than they are here. They can do this because the money that would fund tips and benefits are passed back to the consumer in the form of inflated prices for menu items, higher income tax, etc.

Hair stylists, taxi drivers, and servers don't collect tips. I tipped anyway because most people seemed to find it a charming American custom. Imagine that.

Edit: I think a lot of servers do collect tips because I can remember a French word for it... But not in such high amounts as here. Waiting for correction on this...

The French world for tip is pourboire. You could translate that by money to buy yourself a drink. Hair stylists, taxi drivers, and servers do collect tips in France too.
The service is always included in the restaurants, it's even written on the bills so the tips are smaller than in the States. The waiters' wages are usually higher in France.
They usually put the tips in a collective pot and share them between the waiters and the kitchen staff at the end of the day.

The French rednecks just don't understand that service isn't included in the US most of the time and don't tip enough. Agreed.

How I usually tip here and you could do the same if you'd go to France:
2 euros to the person who cuts my hair (it's about 10%),
20 cents for a expresso that I pay around 1.50 € at a café,
At the restaurant, the people at the table should never tip less than:
- from 0 to 10 euros: 1 €
- from 11 € to 20 €: 2 €
- from 21 € to 50 €: 3 €
- above 50 €: 5 € (for the entire table). Of course, you can give more if you want. It's what happens most of the time.
If you aren't pleased with the service. Don't tip. You already paid the service anyway and you don't want to give a bonus to someone who wasn't nice.
10% to the taxi drivers.
A 2€ token to the dealer everytime I win a big pot playing poker [/i]

todd trainer repeatedly calling you sir?

not as weird as steve albini repeatedly calling you sir.

bob weston doesn't figure into the equation because he's married.

^Do you know Claytron? He died for your sins you know.


You are only annoying regular guests of the forum thus far.

Bubber wrote:

Steve V. wrote:Did you tip him?

Is there anybody under the age of eighty, walking this Earth, who actually believes it's an option to NOT tip?

Plenty. Australians for a start. But then we pay people who work in the hospitality industry.

In Japan, it would be considered rude to offer a tip.