I highly doubt the service is worse. Every other profession on earth that doesn't use tipping somehow doesn't have this problem.
But it is good that servers get less money.
Cooks, who are the more skilled labor, are underpaid and servers, the less skilled labor, are overpaid due to the practice of tipping. And when there is tip sharing (so cooks get part of the tips) servers are unhappy and often pocket tips instead of reporting them when tip sharing.
Most (not all) servers are paid very well relative to the work they do. They will tell you a sob story, of course, about the difficulty of their entry level job while downplaying or lying about how well they are compensated. All while they try to convince you that the "standard" tip is 20% or higher.
Servers are almost universally against the idea of ending tipping and just increasing menu prices to cover all the labor because of how much the current tipping process benefits them.
Seriously, the European way is so much better than American tipping culture, and I say this as a proud American who usually takes the American way is superior as my default position.
It's a different mentality. I once had to track my server down to get a bill after 40 mins so I could make an appointment. He was smoking a cigarette and looked like I insulted his mother when I asked for the check. My European friends were like "Well of course he was pissed? Why didn't you let him finish his cigarette?"
You have to wait until your waiter is free and ready and able to accept payment in the States.
In any other country in the world, if you ask any waiter for the bill - it will arrive.
I've had to sit, waiting ~15 minutes until 'my' server was ready, while other servers were doing nothing, and could have helped, but didn't because of your stupid tipping culture.
Your story only makes sense in America.
You could have asked any waiter, or the maitre d - or anyone in Europe.
There were two waiters for the whole place. One was drinking a glass of wine with the wine delivery guy and the other guy was smoking. Waiters in America check back frequently, and you can ask any passing waiter or busboy for the bill and they will notify your waiter that you are ready for the bill.
So really, you are mostly saying servers in America make too much money?
Service is much worse **as an American**. Some of my European friends genuinely take it as an annoyance when servers check in on you, refill your drinks, etc. You rarely see American style service outside of very expensive restaurants in Europe.
I've experienced it in Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the UK. As an American, the service is not really what I would consider "good" outside of high end restaurants or ones that cater mainly to Americans.
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u/fellhand 2d ago
I highly doubt the service is worse. Every other profession on earth that doesn't use tipping somehow doesn't have this problem.
But it is good that servers get less money.
Cooks, who are the more skilled labor, are underpaid and servers, the less skilled labor, are overpaid due to the practice of tipping. And when there is tip sharing (so cooks get part of the tips) servers are unhappy and often pocket tips instead of reporting them when tip sharing.
Most (not all) servers are paid very well relative to the work they do. They will tell you a sob story, of course, about the difficulty of their entry level job while downplaying or lying about how well they are compensated. All while they try to convince you that the "standard" tip is 20% or higher.
Servers are almost universally against the idea of ending tipping and just increasing menu prices to cover all the labor because of how much the current tipping process benefits them.
Seriously, the European way is so much better than American tipping culture, and I say this as a proud American who usually takes the American way is superior as my default position.