Tipping is not the norm in China, which feels a little strange because it seems like I have to tip everyone at home. I really enjoy the no tip culture, and I don’t mean to sound cheap by saying this. I always tip at home, regardless of whether or not I get good service. I just don’t like the obligation when the service is bad (in these instances I do leave a smaller tip and let the management know why), but I do it anyway because I know that servers are depending upon me (and everyone else) to tip.
Here’s the ironic part: there is no tipping in restaurants, but I swear that the service is better here. It’s refreshing, actually. The servers here are attentive and someone is always available to come take our order, bring us a to go box, and take care of our check. We never have to search around for a server when we need assistance. I like the attitude of, “do your job and you’ll get a fair wage”, instead of “let’s pay you a shitty wage and make you ingratiate yourself to people for tips to make up the rest.”
When there is a no tipping culture, everyone gets the same service. The quality of the service is not dependent upon your server’s assessment of the probability that you will leave a generous tip. I don’t know how many times I’ve received bad service at a restaurant, only to look around and see my server giving much better service to other patrons.
Today was our last trip to Wal-Mart. Drew and I leave on Wednesday morning, so we didn’t need much food to get us through the remaining week and weekend. I know I just complained about not being able to shop in peace at Wal-Mart, but I’m going to miss it a little bit. I’ll miss wandering up and down the halls, looking at the new and interesting stuff. And that’s just what Drew and I did yesterday. After realizing that we hadn’t purchased any souvenirs yet, we bought some chopsticks.
Chris with a 'K' 