Fine but a few things. 1) the service at restaurants and bars in Europe is terrible. 2) the employees at US restaurants and bars often make more money than people doing the same job in Europe. 3) it allows the folks with more money pay a larger share and those with less to pay a bit less.
The problem with tipping is tipping in places which aren't restaurants and bars.
The service in Europe is great in many many places. My experience with US service is that it feels very fake most of the time. Plus, staff having their own table/zone means you cannot ask any other waiter to help out cause "it's not their table". That's one of the many problems with this tip culture.
I agree with the tiered pricing argument, but ehm, you know you are allowed to tip in Europe also right? If you are rich and feel benevolent, feel free to leave cash on the table. You don't need others to be forced into dark-pattern PIN machines or feel guilty for not paying more than the bill for that reason.
>The service in Europe is great in many many places. My experience with US service is that it feels very fake most of the time. Plus, staff having their own table/zone means you cannot ask any other waiter to help out cause "it's not their table".
I'm literally 0 for 3 on those claims. Not sure how you have such experiences. Maybe its a choice of words 'Many many' could be like 20 places out of 10,000. Maybe 'feels very fake' is something that isn't actually a problem, and might be a benefit, so I didn't notice it. And that last line about 'not their table'... I can't say I've ever experienced it.
Service in restaurants in Europe is way better than in USA. I don't want waiter to ask me anything except taking the order. I don't want to be ushered away as soon as I finished eating. I usually do that anyway, but I want to choose so myself and have option to sit and talk with my friend or family sometimes. I don't want to give my credit card to a stranger, who will carry it to some back room without control. An finally I want to pay exactly what is advertised, without scam fees or blackmail "tips".
> Service in restaurants in Europe is way better than in USA.
Eh. Having eaten at plenty of restaurants all over the USA and Europe, they seem equally littered with both good and bad service. Understanding and adjusting to the culture of individual countries helps make your experiences better.
Yes, this isn't a question about the US or Europe.
Some of the absolute worst service I've received have been in the US, yet they ask for tips. I've also received some of the best service at a US restaurant, where the suggested tip was 10% and the prices where pretty low.
The weirdest thing I've experience is the large number of staff in US coffee shops, compared to locally, yet basically not being able to order, and then having a suggested tip at 20%. I've encountered this a multiple locations, and different chains. Four people, one person takes the order, one makes the drink, one continuously mop the floor and the last person just stands around (manager?) You could significantly increase the base pay by getting rid of two of these people.
I totally disagree. The only good service I've found in the US was in very small cities (Fayetteville WV is the only name I remember and probably the biggest one). It also seems like restaurants there don't take their bread from local bakeries, and all their food, even vegetables, even in 30+ dollar meals, are from a food distributor. Here, if I pay more than 20 euros for a meal, I expect that at least the vegetable aren't from Metro, and if I pay more than 30, it's for sure a local fisherman/butcher that provided the proteins.
The problem with tipping is tipping in places which aren't restaurants and bars.