Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Unless told that it's not customary, normal Americans will still tip 15% for "normal, decent" service.

Life / Womans day in Poland? [242]


that's what I was thinking.. my guy insisted on procuring his toys all by himself, and definitely preferred more .. er... elusive gifts from me.

And then, Zimmy... I chewed him up and spit him out! Hehehe!

Life / Womans day in Poland? [242]


LOL! You must be living under a rock, isolated from the world the rest of us know...

Life / Womans day in Poland? [242]

<smiling>
Thanks!

Love / They seem nice, but could Polish girls be "gold diggers"? [196]


If she was a man, he would be called ambitious. A real go-getter.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

they way I think of the difference in service between US and Europe is that in America, when you walk into a store or a restaurant, you are made to feel like a patron. In Europe (and most other places), one is much better off assuming a role of their guest.

Life / Womans day in Poland? [242]

men don't want us to buy them gifts. Really.

Love / They seem nice, but could Polish girls be "gold diggers"? [196]

I think I need a definition of gold digger here.
Granted, he got shafted, but would he have been happier if she invested his money is something more frivolous than her education?
There is another side to this, maybe. I'm not saying that's the case here, but consider.
Some men do not want "their" women to work, they take great pride in being in total control and can't even imagine any possible reasons why another human being (well, a woman, which must be a completely different beast) would feel seeds of discontent when she is so well materially compensated for making him the goal of her life. Possible?

If marriage is really a partnership, each partner contributes whatever "currency" they have, and agree, to contribute. It irks me to no end, the husbands who believe they have have automatic authority at home because they pay for it. These men you can't convince that it's not all about money, so it's kinda ironic that they complain about gold diggers.

A scattered thought: Jewish mothers tell their daughters here: "It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man, as it is with a poor one".

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

wait, wait! I worked at seasonal place where I killed it in the winter and starved off-season! Dayum!

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Thanks for the link, but I have never heard of anyone invoking that law. I wonder if you have to average your earnings over a week, a month, a year, to see if you're getting a minimum wage? If it was for the day, a lot of people would be all over it!

Language / Spelling / pronunciation of Polish words and phrases [30]

Looks good to me!

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]


Here is another secret about waiters: if you ask them how much they make, they will always quote their top nights earnings. Nobody will ever tell you about going home with ten bucks, or, as restaurants are known to overstaff in hope for the big crowd, about all the shifts they are sent home when the crowd does not materialize.

And yes, most of the time, the good tippers do make up for the cheapskates. That does not excuse cheapskates.
In some instances, like for tables of 8 or more, when the waiter's considerable chuck of income is on the line, the management will allow him to put 15% right on the check. Then it's up to the waiter - many Americans might have left much more but were put off by what they presume is an insult of the tip already included, or the table of nicest in the world Canadians that thought the tip is included, will send him digging into his own pocket for the privilege of serving them.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Believe me, most would prefer for the tip to remain an expression of pure benevolence, but the system here bastardized it. Some don't believe it, some are unable to comprehend. Hopefully, even with all that yapping going around, maybe somebody found out something that he/she might have honestly not known.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

OK, but did you know that your server pays taxes on 15% of what he served you, whether he gets it or not?

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]


That is everyone's goal, obviously. And another one is for everyone to understand this system.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]


Bingo!!! That is why I took the opportunity to highjack this thread, and try and explain!
As far as changing this system, I'll get right on it.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]


That was a quote from delphia..'s link, and not meant for you, so how about you just move on and stop repeating yourself?

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

crap - I was having a good ole time here last night, didn't I? LOL That's what happens when I'm stuck drinking home on a Friday night! I was abandoned!

I never heard that there was a possibility we could have had the state supplement if our wages fell below minimum wages. Maybe we were making too much money, maybe the law is new.

Either way, it's been long time since I was in service industry, and I'm glad. That kind of life is not good for one's health. Still I hate cheapskates, or people that give waitresses a hard time. And I've been known to sneak an additional tip as we're leaving, so no one can see. It must have rubbed off on my son, since he is an outrageous tipper as well.


You listed a great link! Here are some quotes from it:
"If you get awful service, talk to the manager. The manager cannot correct the situation if he doesn't know about it. Skipping the tip will not accomplish anything, and the next poor customer who gets that server will get the same service you did. (edit: or worse)

Restaurants report a percentage (around 12%) (edit: in my case it was 15%) of the gross sales for food and beverage to the IRS for their staff. This means that if you have a $200 food bill and $200 wine bill, the restaurant will report 12% of $400 or $48 as income to the server. In other words, the server has to pay tax on it whether you tip it or not."

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]


You kidding? If you get no customers, you're going home with 8 bucks for the day.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]


I explained it few times already. I'm done.

UK, Ireland / Why are Polish people, especially women, so disrespectful toward the English? [437]

Yea! At this point, it follows that I should throw Rockefeller, and his dealing in illegal alcohol, into a discussion.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]


Do you know what might be the salaries, before tips, of the wait staff in Poland? I would be interested. Are there any minimum wage rules?

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]


Just what I thought. It's bad enough not to know the standard, but acting like your d!ck's going to fall of if you learn something new is another matter.


yup.. a roofer.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

OK. Admittedly, I am a moron for continuing this, but, forget the fact that I have worked in the service industry for 5 years, from waitress, bartender, to food and beverage manager of a 4 star hotel, and you just "talked" to some people and eat in restauarants... how do you explain the fact that this system allows wait staff to work on salary of one dollar per hour? Or takes taxes on 15% of gross sales?

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

I have totally waisted my time trying to explain to you how it works.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Quote: "Are you saying I am a roofer? "

I'm just trying to think of other people I've met who cling to the idea that a 15% gratuity in a restaurant is just a "sign of appreciation".


Then, I guess your vote is for Polish system, where the salary of your wait staff is in food prices, and you can kiss your waitress a$$.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

beelzebub
Service industry paid for my college education. You, and your ilk (lot of roofers), who are deluding themselves that the fact that someone is waiting on them makes them superior and that they know anything about the bussiness are a thorn in everyone's side. Like i said, just pull up to the drive in window. you don't have to tip anyone there.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

I hate repeating myself. If you can't get it through your head that the moment you walk into a restaurant with full service, you are agreeing to subsidize the wage of your wait staff to the tune of 15% of your bill, I don't know what else I can say. The low wages of the wait staff are based on civilized, honorable clientel that, for most parts can grasp this concept. "Appreciation" is above and beyond that. This is not a 'napiwek' for someone that already makes a full salary. Do you get it? Do you understand that they pay income on 15% of their sales? The system sucks, I grant you that, it's like if you were able to take back half of the saleslady's hourly wage if you were not satisfied with the service. Ask yourself this, why would your waitress purposly give you bad service? Or screw up your order? If I am really ticked off about something my waiter did, I talk to the owner - if the help is incompetent, he should know about it. But I will not be a part to somebody serving me, however badly, on slave wages. In this country, if you are not happy with your employee, you have to pay them for the time they worked, then you can fire them. I know this is a difficult concept for you to grasp, so I'll say it again: the moment you walk into a restaurant with full service, you are agreeing to subsidize the wage of your wait staff to the tune of 15% of your bill. That is the system. And people like you are just ignorant.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

I bet most of the wait staff has you pegged walking through the door. No wonder you have problems getting good service.
The "appreciation" is above and beyond the 15%. Get his through your head!
And do not assume you know more about this bussiness than I do. You don't.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

You are just thick as a brick. NO, THE 15% GRATUITY IN US IS A PAYMENT FOR HAVING YOUR FREAKING GRUB BROUGHT TO YOUR PIEHOLE! IF YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND THIS, NEXT TIME JUST PULL UP TO THE DRIVE THROUGH WINDOW!