Things that annoy you while dining in restaurants

The Greeks tip. Not sure what percentage though. One thing that is different is that you DO NOT remove any plates until they have paid and gone. It is quite normal for them to stop eating for half an hour, smoke, drink and then continue eating. One disgusting habit they had was to extinguish cigarettes in half eaten plates of food ie tzatziki!!!. It is supposed to be non smoking in any bar and restaurant in Crete, and probably the rest of Greece. However, it doesn't work. People were going into bars and saying "Oh, can I smoke"? Sure, the bartender said "I'll get you an ashtray". It is however, a lot better that when I first got there in 89. The porters would all be smoking in the hospital corridors even when wheeling gurneys. They smoke in the banks, in the government offices, everywhere. Walks are measured in how many cigarettes it take to get there. Despite this, they have the lowest heart disease in Europe. Must be the Olive Oil.

Must be the Olive Oil.

In Spain last week, I was corrected by collegues when I went to tip- standard was 1 euro per person. However, the wonderful cabbie who drove from Madrid to return my laptop left in her taxi, got the fare plus $50 and many muchas gracias!!!

Deb

I hate it when I get sauce on my pants and my girlfriend makes fun of me. I always blame the restaurant in question.

I hate it when I get sauce on my pants and my girlfriend makes fun of me. I always blame the restaurant in question.

LOL.

You may not agree with the concept of automatic gratuity but it exists for a reason. As long as it is enforced uniformly, there shouldn't be cause for complaint.

This term "automatic gratuity" is just a snow job designed to obfuscate and sugarcoat. Again, it is not a tip or gratuity unless it is voluntary. Contrary to what you said in another post, it is about more than semantics.

Your argument that it should be left up to chance is ridiculous. For every bad tip there is a good one to make up for it? I don't think so. There are a lot more 10% tippers out there than those tipping 30%. Especially on large parties.

I never said it ended up being equal, but it doesn't have to. Whether or not you think it is ridiculous, that is the way it works. Your tip being left to chance is just a fact of life that goes along with waiting tables.
If a waiter is committed to providing great service, chances are it works out better for them in the long run.

It has also been my experience that those who complain about the auto-grat just reinforce it's need.

I am obviously one that complains about this service charge. However, I am not one of the reasons for it. As I posted earlier in this thread, I routinely tip 20% or more. I only tip less for overtly bad service.

You may not like the way the restaurant industry runs in order to turn a profit, but as pointed out earlier... you wouldn't have nearly the dining choices if certain things were done differently.

That is not necessarily true. As I pointed out earlier, it is done all the time all over the world, yet there are plenty of fine choices in dining.

I hate it when I get sauce on my pants and my girlfriend makes fun of me. I always blame the restaurant in question.

Make sure to leave a bad tip!