Tipping

There is no requirement to tip here and long may it remain so. That said, the Pizza delivery guy is one of the few I might consider tipping.

Did you know that not too long back a couple in the USA were arrested for not paying the ...get this....."Compulsory gratuity".

The what?

I order via Deliveroo and Uber Eats quite a bit and always give the delivery guy or girl (as is often the case) a five-euro note. Without fail they look very, very surprised and are always very appreciative, so I deduct that tipping is not the norm here.

I always tip our delivery guy or girl, even a few euros can make a difference to their bottomline. The bigger the order, the bigger the tip. Also, it's a cheap way of doing something nice for a stranger. Pay it forward and all that...

Just to explain - yet again - the tipping system in America. Let me be very clear that I am not a fan of the system, but it is what it is.

I worked at a very busy restaurant during my university studies. There is no minimum wage for waitstaff, so I was only paid $1 per hour. All my sales were tallied on the register, and I was TAXED on expected tips (at the time the government set this at 8%). So for example, if customers had ordered $1000 worth of food and drinks during my 12-hour shift, the government assumed I had been left $80 in cash tips. So I was taxed on that amount. But since I had only "earned" $12 in wages during that shift (which were also taxed!), at the end of a 4-shift week my paycheque would say something like "minus $120". I actually owed money to the government every month.

My restaurant had mainly local (business) customers, who knew how the system worked and tipped appropriately (usually 15% of the total). But we also had plenty of tourists who would say things like "But that's not how it's done where I come from". Well, great, but your attitude means that - if you don't tip me at least 8% - I am actually PAYING for part of your meal! I speak 5 languages, so would politely try to explain to the tourists (in their own language) how the American system worked - I also thought it would be helpful to them so they had a more pleasant holiday in the US. Needless to say, those who answered with a snooty "But that's not how it's done where I come from" line got crappy service. Everyone knows you need to expend your resources as efficiently as possible, and I had up to 22 tables to cover. You don't waste time with those tables where you are not going to earn any money.

To be clear, I don't think the tipping system in the US is a very good one and much prefer the European model of gently rounding up the total bill -- and only if you feel like it. But the restaurant owners in America believe that tips are why their waitstaff are so smiling and attentive and trying their damnedest to make your dining experience a positive one so that you will spend more money/come back again. So while it is rare to have a bad experience with restaurant staff in America (remember, they are desperate for your tips!), we all have our horror stories about the rudeness of waiters throughout Europe.

So there's no point in berating your server about "stupid tips" when you are visiting the States - your waiter/waitress needs to get back to work and not listen to lectures about how things could be done differently.

Anyway, those three years of waitressing, practically begging for tips, probably explain my unfailing generosity with Brussels delivery people who show up at my door on a cold and rainy night with warm food!

Tipping isn't normal here we often do round up though, I fail to see why we need someone belting on about their experience in the USA on a Belgian site. Any whose travelled to the US knows some service is terrible and you still get a nasty look if you don't leave the tip at the expected rate, it doesn't make people nicer.

The question is whether not giving a tip is bad form here.
The answer is that it is not.
Of course tips are always welcomed but there is no general expectation here that you will give one.
I have always been of the opinion that a tip should be for something extra rather than for something for which I have already paid and I happily give a tip in those circumstances but never just automatically as a matter of course.

Question is pertaining to tipping in Belgium. What's expected in other countries is irrelevant.

It is not bad form to not give a tip. I never tip here. I give them a nice smile and a wonderful compliment and that's enough.

Well put Kasseistamper.

The kid cycling across town should have a salary, social protections and a pension. The US system?