The Chinese version of Cafe Europeen
Today, I found a Chinese restaurant in Quartier chinois of Montreal whose service and food were very similar to Cafe Europeen in the village. Let me explain.
Cafe Europeen in the village is known for OK food, horrible service and uppity waiters who demand for tips as if it's their right to have some.
I tried out a youth orchestra (Westmount Youth Orchestra) today. After, there were two people there whom I knew, so we decided that we would hang out. I only wanted a bubble tea, but they wanted food and a bubble tea. I was persuaded to go to this restaurant called Mon Shing, since they had some very cheap lunch specials... I got a Cantonese style chow mein for $4.95. Although the servings, in my opinion were small, they were a good size considering that it was only $5. However, it was when we were leaving the restaurant that I decided I would never go back to this restaurant.
Now, in popular restaurant etiquette, you tip 15% before taxes. And since each one of us had a meal that was $4.95, let's do some calculations. We're going to round to $5 for nicer numbers.
To calculate 15%, let us first calculate 10%. 10% is easy to calculate, since you move the decimal one place left. So, 10% is $0.5 (50 cents)
And to calculate 5%, we will take 1/2 of what we got for 10%. So, 1/2 of $0.5 = $0.25 (25 cents)
Therefore, the total tip (15%) is: $0.5 + $0.25 = $0.75.
And each of us left $6 for the bill.
The waiter had the never to call after us and say, "You're not leaving a tip?". This was the exact type of crap that made me not go back to Cafe European. It's the waiters demanding that we tip. I realize that waiters make less than minimum wage, because they get it back in tips. However, the food was only $5. By my calculations, $1 in tips is more than 15%. In fact, it's 20%. 1/5 = 0.2 = 20%. Either this waiter was stupid, or he can't do math, or both. How dare a waiter ask for tips, especially when the amount that was tipped from three parties all went beyond 15%?
If I had been in a bad mood, I would have said, "Actually, no, I'm not leaving a tip." and I would have taken the change that was left, and I would have left.
posted by radoboist @ 7:58 PM
3 Comments:
Is $4.95 before taxes? What's the taxes in Québec? In any case, as per my comment a few posts down, I believe that tips should not be MANDATORY, so if the service's poor, I really don't feel guilty if I don't pay 15% tips.
Yes, it's $4.95 before taxes. The taxes in Quebec is slightly more than 15%, because it's tax on tax. I.e. they do the GST first, and then after that amount, they take the provincial tax. I think it ends up being 15.25 % or something like that.
I do not feel guilty about leaving the $6... I mean, I gave 15%. The service was not spectacular. I mean, it's the type of service you would expect in a Chinese restaurant. However, what I was pissed about, was the fact that the waiter had the nerve to demand more of a tip that we already left. The tip is calculated on the amount before taxes, not after.
But to be honest with you, which action is more silly? Demanding a tip from customers who are leaving, who have the intention of coming back to dine again at the restaurant for some extra tips, which would then cause them to never come back (I mean I am never going back to the restaurant). Or, is it better to just to leave it, and then hope that they do come back, and then that way, you get more tips. In fact, you get a rolling total, for as long as your restaurant is open and/or the person is in the city.
And I highly doubt that this Chinese restaurant declares ALL of its tips. If what I suspect is correct, they probably declare at most 15% (perhaps 25%, if they are daring)
The reason I saked about the taxes is because final cost = pre-taxed item + taxes + tips
Let's just say the taxes is 15% to make it simpler:
$4.95 + $0.74 + $0.74 (I rounded down)
= $6.43
Unless I'm mistaken, you'd calculated only pre-taxed item + tips, but not the taxes...
But, like I said, if the ppl do not deserve the tips, then they don't deserve it. So you're preaching to the converted =)
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