On Fri, 19 Aug 2016 22:30:59 -0600, graham > wrote:

> On 8/19/2016 8:50 PM, sf wrote:
> > On Fri, 19 Aug 2016 12:36:56 -0400, Dave Smith
> > > wrote:
> >
> >> On 2016-08-19 11:19 AM, sf wrote:
> >>> On Fri, 19 Aug 2016 09:02:29 -0400, Dave Smith
> >>
> >>>>> Dave, Dave, Dave. It's obvious you were a naive tourist.
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Care to explain that? I was aware of the practice. I asked and it was
> >>>> explained to me.
> >>>
> >>> It accidentally posted before I finished my thought and I didn't feel
> >>> like replying to my own reply. You have to look carefully at your
> >>> bill. Some of them include the tip and many do not. You could be
> >>> stiffing your waiter in Paris if you don't pay careful attention.
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> I knew that restaurants in France are required to indicate on the bill
> >> of service is included. A server in Paris told me that Paris is exempt
> >> from that requirement because in Paris the service is always included.
> >> Many tourists are not aware of that and, not knowing they are already
> >> paying 15% service, the leave more.
> >>
> > Not all tourists are stupid. French law does not require that service
> > charges be distributed to waiters, so the server might not get any of
> > it and we have the right to leave extra if we wish. I don't think
> > that's against French law - yet.
> >
> Waiting is an honourable profession in France and one has to go to a
> hospitality school to be trained. We were waited on by a trainee doing a
> 3 month "stage" when we were in Bordeaux a couple of years ago. They are
> salaried and not paid the miserable wages that are paid in N.America
> with the expectation that they will make it up in tips.

I'm glad for them, but I'm all for tipping anyway - although not at
the double digit rate that we tip here. There's no excuse for the way
we treat the wait-staff in N. America.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.