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Here's a Tip

Here's a Tip

Date: Oct 12 2007

Themes: Food, How To

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

In the United States, a lot of people make a good portion of their money from tips. When you give a tip at a restaurant or bar, it’s usually split between the waiters and waitresses as well as the bussers and cooks.

It’s also customary to tip taxi drivers, bellhops, and even hair dressers. With so many people to tip, it can get confusing how much you’re supposed to give in a given situation. Listen to Marni and Mason talk about tipping at a pizza parlor.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

Log in to Listen

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Marni

Mason

Mason

Marni:  So, did you tip for the pizza?

Mason:  For the pizza? Like a little bit. Like a quarter or something. I mean it’s not…wasn’t as much as it should be.

Marni:  It’s true. Mine was $2.50, I gave him $3, I put in the 50 cents for a tip.

Mason:  Yeah. well that was a good tip. That’s like a what…a 20%?

Marni:  I don’t know, is it a good tip? What do you think about tipping? Do you have a customary standard?

Mason:  Well I’ve worked in the service industry, right, so I feel very entitled to tips and I feel that it’s good to give tips. But, so my pizza was like $2.75, a quarter doesn’t really cut it, but I also don’t want to have give them a dollar which I’d have to do because I never carry change around. It’s kind of a circumstantial thing.

Marni:  So now, you’ve worked in the service industry, have you ever encountered people from other countries coming in and not knowing the custom, or when you travel, going to a country where tipping isn’t customary…

Mason:  That’s one…It’s always weird for me not to tip. It’s very weird.

Marni:  It is weird. I know some countries it’s kind of a grey area and you tip and they’re really excited. And I’ve heard, I’ve never been to Japan but it’s my understanding that they will literally chase you down the street and give you back your money if you try and tip ‘em so…

 

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Discussion

As they eat pizza together, Marni asks Mason if he tipped at the counter. He says he gave a quarter, which he knows is a little less than he should have given. Marni tipped 50 cents. Mason notes that a 50 cent tip for a piece of pizza that cost $2.50 is a good tip. It’s 20% of the price of the food, and 15-20% is the customary amount to tip in a restaurant where the waiter comes to your table, so it’s a really generous amount at a place where you order at the bar.

Marni asks Mason if he has a system for figuring out how much he’s going to tip. Mason used to work in the service industry so he takes tipping seriously. But on something like a slice of pizza, he just tips whatever change he has left.

Marni asks Mason if he’s ever traveled to a place with different tipping customs. He says he has and that it’s weird for him not to tip. Marni says that in Japan, people will absolutely not let you tip them.

Do people tip where you live? How much is an appropriate amount?

 

Comments

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senorita_boyz

United Kingdom

I love something , travel like free I like to travel to the foreign countries , live unambitiously but , be colorful ,

06:33 PM Oct 16 2007 |

osmano

osmano

Sudan

 life is just monent we can take rest and gone for that  we are do all things we need (love play drink music all tings you need

osman

12:34 PM Oct 16 2007 |

kapil kumar

India

all are waste less

09:33 AM Oct 16 2007 |

wenhuo525@sohu.com

Hong Kong

Your forever friend lifts you up in spirits and makes that dark and empty world
suddenly seem bright and full.

08:13 AM Oct 16 2007 |

chineseBill

China

  you can do it as you mind,if you want to tip he or she,you can do it .it should not to be a rule for everyone.in fact,the service people can get the salary from their boss,why should we must give the tip to them.

07:39 AM Oct 16 2007 |

chineseBill

China

 

07:34 AM Oct 16 2007 |

victor25

victor25

Moldova, Republic Of

In Moldova tipping is not a common thing because the price for service is already high enough, but if you tip they'll be happy.

  I only tip when the service is good, if not…forget it! Even if it's a customary thing in different countries. 

04:33 AM Oct 16 2007 |

carlos07Super Member!

Argentina

In Argentina restaurants tips are about 10%. But I agree with the member that says is like corruption.The waiters are paid here. Is one of the things I cant believe in the U.S. Tipping should be prohibited, and workers should be paid

02:14 AM Oct 16 2007 |

andre0065

Brazil

Hi, my name's Andre, I live in Brazil

02:26 PM Oct 15 2007 |

lirenwoyou

China

in my country,china,i have not heared that when we go to restautant ,we should give a tip.

12:59 PM Oct 15 2007 |

rocket1

Kuwait

it is an area or a subject that is still not clear and difficult to understand or generalise it to all people .In other words it means a contrversial or debatable cause . some people may agre and accept while others refuse and neglect .

12:45 PM Oct 15 2007 |

spiritosa

Spain

In Spain it isn't  customary give the tips, only at restaurants or hair dressers but not everybody.

If you had a very good service you give a good tip, but usually you give some coins for a meal.

I think the tips it shouldn't be under obligation, sometimes if you don't give tips the waiter is angry, but he's paid for his job, if you want give extra money for his service is because you have got un extra service.

I'm agree give tips but only if i find that the person  merit it. 

11:14 AM Oct 15 2007 |

Chinmai

Thailand

If the restaurant add 15% of service charge(+ +),How should I do?

I have to pay tip again or not.

08:50 AM Oct 15 2007 |

carlosbertholdi

Brazil

Here in Brazil anybody gives tips and anybody needs to give tips.

If you someday have a bad idea to come here (watch out for dengue and bring a respirator because Brazil is full of asbestos) most people here in Brazil who sell things will try to exploit you, and don't go to Rio de Janeiro, I live here my hole life and I will never go there. There are lots of drug trafficking in that city. In normal cities the police block street to catch delinquents and robbers, but in Rio de Janeiro the criminals are the ones who block streets and started to shoot everybody and it's a very very tourists friendly city, just for you have an idea how friendly it is, there are gangs in that city specialize on kidnapping groups of tourists.

If you are a man and want to get some chics here, don't go to the northeast, actually just go to the south states there are three: Paraná, Santa Catarina and the best of all Rio Grande do Sul, here in the south most people are white, and there lots of slender beautiful women, the rest of Brazil there are just ugly chubby women with undistributed fat on the body and most of them are a mix of black, white and indigenous that in the most cases doesn't look nice.

Just to summarize, if you still want to come here, only go to the south states and don't give tips. 

01:33 AM Oct 15 2007 |

Vuqar007

Azerbaijan

BAKU IS THE BEST ;)

11:39 PM Oct 14 2007 |

pansuntia

Togo

In Thailand tip is alomst all restaurant.

10:54 PM Oct 14 2007 |

teacher renato

Brazil

HI EVERYBODY. HERE IN BRAZIL, WE CAN CHOSE IF WE GIVE OR NOT A TIP, BUT IN SOME RESTAURANTS, THE OWNERS TRY TO OBLIGATE PEOPLE TO GIVE A TIP, NOT FOR THE WAITERS…., BUT TO THEM.

SO, I THINK THAT TO GIVE A TIP IS A GOOD THING WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE ONE, BUT IF YOU DON'T WANT, WHAT'S THE REASON TO DO IT.

OF COURSE, WHEN IT IS A CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY OR REGION, WE NEED TO GIVE IT.

 

07:13 PM Oct 14 2007 |

primfrost

primfrost

China

Here’s a Tip.

03:15 PM Oct 14 2007 |

sdang

Italy

I think that tip might be more or less justified in according to the reward policy in service industry. For example in Italy a waiter is already rewarded by a fixed wage with respect to other country where the tip is basically great part of guy earning. Anyway tip is one of the first tool to make a right meritocracy spread for all people applied in.

01:20 PM Oct 14 2007 |

ArtIII

ArtIII

Russian Federation

Hi

12:53 PM Oct 14 2007 |

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