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French Canadians singled out as bad tippers in Vermont

tokugawa

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Sep 8, 2005
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French Canadians singled out as bad tippers in Vermont

By François Shalom, THE GAZETTE

Wait until Pauline Marois gets wind of this. Speaking French in Burlington, Vt., could cost you at restaurants.

The practice has apparently stopped since a local Burlington paper, Seven Days, published an account of it recently, but waiters and restaurant managers said in interviews Tuesday that some local restaurants routinely added up to 20 per cent in gratuity to Quebecers’ cheques to counteract their widespread reputation as bad tippers.

“No restaurant here has a policy to do that, mainly because it’s illegal,” said Niall McMahon, a waiter/manager at Burlington’s Asiana Noodle Shop.

“But sometimes servers will do it. It’s at the waiter’s discretion.”

“A few times a week, we get tables that will eat for $100 and leave, like, three bucks or $5. And 100 per cent of the time for stuff like that, it’s French Canadians. Not all French Canadians do that, definitely not, but when it happens it’s always French Canadians. Basically, it’s large bills that get loose change as a tip.”

McMahon said that until recently, a tip was added by waiters at Asiana Noodle Shop “maybe three times a week. But I don’t think they’re doing that anymore since the story came out.”

One resident of Williston, Vt., recounted to Seven Days how 18 per cent had been added to her bill at another restaurant for the third time after the waiter heard her speaking French - igniting the controversy. Anne-Marie Humbert is French-born but has lived in the U.S. for 30 years. When she objected to the gratuity being imposed, it was withdrawn and she left a 15-per-cent tip.

Since then, a few restaurants have owned up to the practice, almost entirely aimed at French-speaking Canadians.

McMahon and a waitress at a restaurant in Plattsburgh, N.Y., who did not want her name or that of her establishment used, voiced a common complaint about cheapskate tipping from Canadians.

“It’s really discouraging,” said the waitress. “They’re lovely people, so I don’t know where it comes from. But most of the time, they leave between 5 and 7 per cent.”

The manager of the restaurant that got the ball rolling with the Humbert incident said the issue had gotten “completely out of hand. It’s totally absurd.”

“I love my northern neighbours. I pretty much ruled it out when I found out it happened. It was the fault of the waiter. I did not give anyone permission to do this.”

She asked that her name be kept confidential.

Josh Carpentier, a 33-year-old waiter/manager at Three Tomatoes, a trattoria on Church St. in the heart of the lakeside town, said that “we don’t add a gratuity unless there’s six people or more. We don’t base it on where they’re from, the language they speak or anyhting like that.”

He conceded that some Canadians, like some Americans, are bad tippers, but that “it kind of averages out.”

Like others, he noted that Canadians’ business means survival for his trattoria.

“I’d say upward of 65 per cent of our business comes from across the border.”

Kim Blow, 47, a part-time manager and waitress at Leunig’s Bistro & Café, also on Church St., added that perhaps Quebecers were not aware that the minimum wage for wait staff in Vermont is $4.10 an hour, half the $8.25 for Quebec restaurant and bar staff.

Blow, who has been in the business for 30 years, said that “we don’t discriminate that way.”

She knows about Quebecers’ reputation, but “I make out very well when I’m on the floor. The Canadians take very good care of me.”

“And my French is getting a lot better all the time.”

Her bistro is also highly dependent on Canadian business. “Some nights, it’s more Canadian than American.”

The Plattsburgh waitress said that a sort of linguistic profiling is inevitable when the same incidents occur time and time again.

“I give terrific service for 5 per cent a lot of the time. And unfortunately, it’s not the exception with Canadians.”

Nick Di Martino, kitchen manager of the Naked Turtle restaurant at Plattsburgh’s marina, said that lousy tipping by Canadians is “not a major issue. I think it’s a bit of a myth. But we’re talking about a place where people moor their $300,000 or $400,000 boats.”

It’s not the first time Canadians’ behaviour has come under fire recently from U.S. retailers dependent on cross-border business.

After Ottawa dramatically upped duty-free allowances for Canadians in June, some Facebook members petitioned a Costco in Bellingham, Wash., to set aside specific hours just for Americans. They complained of the rude, piranha-like conduct of British Columbian shoppers who parked chaotically and emptied pallets of cheap milk in seconds flat.

One B.C. entrepreneur tried to milk the controversy by selling $20 T-shirts emblazoned with the words “milk piranha.”

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life...pers+Vermont/7157701/story.html#ixzz24tyZRK5q
Guess it's not just only BC residents that are giving Canadians a bed reputation in the US but French Canadians as well!
 

badbadboy

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Nov 2, 2006
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Must really suck to receive a $3 tip on a $100 bill. Why even bother $3 is an insult. I have been to Vermont a few times and always found the service in hotels, bars and restaurants to be quite good.

I remember seeing a waiter at a local Keg go outside and throw the loose change at the customers who stiffed him one night. Five people got pretty drunk during their dinner and thought they were being funny by leaving a few dollars in coins as their tip. The waiter said, "hey, you forgot something". Talk about some free spontaneous entertainment.
 

Avery

Gentleman Horndog
Jul 7, 2003
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Canadians in general tip servers less than Americans. It isn't because we're inherently cheap or less generous than Americans. It's because Canadian restaurants, bars, etc. are required to pay their servers at least the statutory minimum wage, so even 10 percent as a tip isn't too bad. In many US states, people who earn tips are not subject to minimum wage laws and have to survive exclusively on tips. As a result, American restaurant customers are in the habit of tipping 15 to 25 percent. Many visiting Canadians are unaware of this, and tip according to their normal practice at home.

That said, tipping only 3 or 4 percent is cheap, regardless of the location.
 

Avery

Gentleman Horndog
Jul 7, 2003
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1) Lemme tell you something. Americans are just as frugal as Canadians in terms of tipping. My God, heaven help you if your American customer didn't do their US/Canada currency exchange.

" What? You mean $1CDN isn't worth 35 cents American? That's outrageous! Is this meal on special?"

I cannot tell you how many times I got this, followed by a very mediocre tip (and no, I was not a terrible server).

2) It's the same here. Servers make below minimum wage and they rely on tips to survive.

3) It's now common sense and courtesy to tip at least 15% in Vancouver. It hasn't been 10% in almost a decade.
In most provinces, and definitely in Manitoba, it is illegal to pay anyone less than minimum wage. I don't know about BC, but, given its history of several NDP governments and its general left-leaning population, I find it hard to believe anyone would be paid less than the minimum wage rate.

I generally tip around 15 percent anyway, unless trhe service is shitty.
 

tokugawa

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Sep 8, 2005
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In BC, minimum wage is $10/hr. However, servers get paid $9 and change/hour. They are paid this on the basis that they will infact get tips.
If that's the case, then why aren't all servers more inclined to give better service in BC? Most decent (mid to high end) restaurants as well as the Earls, Cactus Club and Joeys in Vancouver, the servers there know the routine i.e., a smile here and there, being attentive to your table , etc. will go a long way in getting a decent tip. But then there are the other places where service is very indifferent.
 

wilde

Sinnear Member
Jun 4, 2003
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I have always tipped 10% for your run of the mill servers, and 15% for exceptional service or a hot server with a big rack:p. And that's based on the invoice total BEFORE taxes. I once argued with a server who accused me for leaving less than 10% of the TOTAL invoice. So I asked her why I should tip on taxes and got total silence...
 

vancity_cowboy

hard riding member
Jan 27, 2008
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i now tip 15% (or more if drunk... or dazed by a set of tits!), but i secretly wonder why it's gone up from 10%

the cost of meals has at least kept up with inflation, if not exceeded it, so 10% of a meal today is as much money in terms of real purchasing power as it was 20 years ago, and nobody complained about a 10% tip then

why the increase in percentage? just wondering :)
 

wilde

Sinnear Member
Jun 4, 2003
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3) It's now common sense and courtesy to tip at least 15% in Vancouver. It hasn't been 10% in almost a decade.

i now tip 15% (or more if drunk... or dazed by a set of tits!), but i secretly wonder why it's gone up from 10%

Apparently, we didn't get that memo...

At least 15% eh, only if I am drunk and you have been showing some flesh. But if you are a dude, you will get your 15%, only if your service was out of the ordinary. And I say this with all due respect, common sense and courtesy.
 
I apparently didnt get the memo that they upped it to 15%, perhaps because I usually tip minimum 10 and as high as 25%.

What really irritates me is that when I eat at some high end restaurant where a single dish can cost me up to $80, why would I want to tip 15%? Its not like they are bringing me out multiple dishes, just a single plate and thats it with maybe 2 drinks over the course of an hour or so. Perhaps if the server had a few tables where we each left them 10%, they are still making money hand over fist alot of the time. Certainly making more then me while at my day job atleast. Another good example is if I order a bottle of Dom Perignon, why on earth would I pay someone 15% on a $300 bottle of champagne if they are just bringing it out from the cellar? I personally think its outrageous, but thats just me.


Call me cheap or whatever you want, but whenever I eat out, its usually a minimum 10%, and service matters, but im also not tipping like a mad man either.
 

storm rider

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Dec 6, 2008
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You beat me to it blazejowski LOL

I do tip but I tip based on service....if I get shitty service the waiter/waitress gets a shitty tip as well as the opposite end of things with good/fantastic service.

The worst situation I dealt with was a waitress at the North Hill Diner on 16th ave by SAIT hereinCalgary.
she prettymuch was forcing my order out of me and then she fucked it it up...I got scrambled eggs when I asked forfried eggs...she then starts an agruement with me and insists that I ordered scrambled eggs...I sent it back and she shows up 10 minutes later with my proper brekky with the fried eggs....but now everything else was cold....I voiced my displeasure and she starts into me again....another 10 minutes goes by and I finally get a brekky as I ordered it and also hot....when I paid my bill I did so by interac and I specifically chose .01 for the tip....after the transaction she freaks out on me over the tip and my response was "well lets see...first off you fucked up my order and then you argued about it like it was my fault...then you brought me what I ordered but everything but the eggs was cold and you argued about that...I have no cash and thats why I paid with a debit card....if I had cash I would have sawed that fucking penny in half just to make my point.

Never been back to the North Hill Diner ever again....the food sucks as well.

SR
 

EvilPettingZoo

Evil Genius
Aug 10, 2008
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if I had cash I would have sawed that fucking penny in half just to make my point.
Hilarious! :pound:

Back to the OP, $4.10/hr sucks, but whose fault is that? French Canadians? Cheap or generous, the argument that they aren't paid a living wage implies their bosses, not customers, are the real cheap bastards in this story.

And if a waiter/waitress ever took it upon themselves to add a tip on top of my bill on their own initiative they would get NOTHING from me. Period.
 

tokugawa

Member
Sep 8, 2005
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As for men, they're pretty much screwed if they get a table full of men because they know they have to give immaculate service to see anthing near 10-15%. So, they half ass it. Although, that definitely changes depending on the read they get with the customer.
So how exactly do they size up a customer? When I go into a restaurant, I am pretty laid back and not very demanding. So are you saying that before I even order, a waitress has already decided if I am going to be a good tipper or not? hmm.... I guess that's her loss. My standard tip is 15% and as soon as a waitress or waiter takes my order, that amount can either go up or go down or stay the same.
 

wilde

Sinnear Member
Jun 4, 2003
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I shit you not when I say that they did announce this thing in the newspapers and I think it is even mentioned in Lonley Planet.
I also shit you not but Wikipedia says tipping is a practice originally designed to encourage better services amongst hospitality workers who are often poorly paid as the skill-sets required to do the job is minimal, and is entirely optional.
 

lenny

girls just wanna have fu
May 20, 2004
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I often tip taxi drivers 30% (& up to 300%) & way overpay SP's.

In BKK i'll even tip money changers, 7-11 employees & bank tellers.

Word is, they tell me, they love Canadians.
 
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blazejowski

Panty Connoisseur
Dec 20, 2004
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I worked in the service industry for over a dozen years - when it comes to service, a server has to fuck up pretty badly for me to give no tip whatsoever...
 

Ned Flanders

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May 19, 2004
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Quebecers have a poor reputation for tipping in lots of places like Florida as well as Mexico and Cuba, and it has been this way for years.
 
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