Why on earth...

[● kaneisdaman ●]

Ok now i'm sure there is an abundance of members on here who have travelled overseas to some country or some other place and we know that not everywhere is exactly the same.

So the topic question i am raising is what single thing do you fail to comprehend or find reason for in a country that you have travelled to.


For me, i discovered it big time when i went to the US this year. Now yes there is the metric system, driving on the other side of the road, powerpoints and many other thing but the thing that bugged me was tax and tips.

Honestly why so complex! When you buy something it is always the price you see plus tax and then even the tax rate changes based on where you are, why make it so difficult. Here the price you see is the price you pay and the tax is included. Its just so annoying to think its the price plus tax. Then when you go to restaurants and places where you get serviced tips come into it. It seems outrageous. The server usually asks for a tip which is a percentage of the bill. Like surely they get payed enough already or something is odd. Here you dont give tips except in a little jar at the paying desk. The whole tax and tip concept was something i just didnt 'get'.

So what about you all?

[Suckasays]

Actually servers don't really get paid all that much. The bigger portion of their money comes from their tips. As for taxes...I don't understand why we don't just go ahead and add the tax on the price tag of items. I guess that's a stores way of making something seem a tad cheaper than it is.

Personally I don't mind tipping. Especially if they do a good job. In my line of work, I deliver large appliances (refrigerators, stoves, washers dryers etc) to people's homes. It's pretty hard work. But to be honest, I rarely get tipped at all. Not even once per week. And we do about 4-8 homes per day. I've never understood why people will tip a dude who simply walks a pizza up to their door, but won't give a nickel to the dude who just managed to squeeze a 400 + lb refrigerator through their tiny ass doorway without putting a mark on anything whatsoever.

[● kaneisdaman ●]

Wow, thats prett harsh on you. I wasnt taking a shot at the way you do things, thats just the novelty of this topic really. Like here, those who serve get payed well enough from what they do and that therefore stops a need of tips. Hence because i am used to that i see the way you do things to be odd. But hey thats what this is about and its a part of experiencing different culture and ways of life. Stories like this are good to share.

[onionmaster]

Yes, i have one.

When I went to Paris i failed to comprehend why anybody would want to go to Paris.

[kanekilledvince]

in Ireland (and possibly the whole European Union) the law is "The Price You See Is The Price You Pay." I dont understand the american tax thing either.. confuses me.

I do sometimes tip people in restaurants or whatever, but only in some places because i know the waiters are making more than me in some restaurants.

[Suckasays]

kaneisdaman said:

Wow, thats prett harsh on you. I wasnt taking a shot at the way you do things, thats just the novelty of this topic really. Like here, those who serve get payed well enough from what they do and that therefore stops a need of tips. Hence because i am used to that i see the way you do things to be odd. But hey thats what this is about and its a part of experiencing different culture and ways of life. Stories like this are good to share.

nah I didn't take it as a shot dude. It's cool

[CM Poor]

Servers in this area make, on average, about $2.50 an hour.
Tax isn't that big a deal to figure out. Then again, NH has no sales tax, only meals, which is 8%.

[carly1988]

$2.13 an hour is what i made when i was a server. Min wage here is $5.50 an hr. If not for tips i would have been living out of a paper bag

[CM Poor]

carly1988 said:

$2.13 an hour is what i made when i was a server. Min wage here is $5.50 an hr. If not for tips i would have been living out of a paper bag

There is a clause is most states labor laws that exempts tipped employees from minimum wage laws.

[Reasoning through Questioning]

smashyourenemies said:

carly1988 said:

$2.13 an hour is what i made when i was a server. Min wage here is $5.50 an hr. If not for tips i would have been living out of a paper bag

There is a clause is most states labor laws that exempts tipped employees from minimum wage laws.

From what I've seen and the states I've worked in if a server does not meet minimum wage with tips then the business has to make up the loss. Sad thing is most people don't know that and they get f*cked.

[● kaneisdaman ●]

suckasays said:

kaneisdaman said:

Wow, thats prett harsh on you. I wasnt taking a shot at the way you do things, thats just the novelty of this topic really. Like here, those who serve get payed well enough from what they do and that therefore stops a need of tips. Hence because i am used to that i see the way you do things to be odd. But hey thats what this is about and its a part of experiencing different culture and ways of life. Stories like this are good to share.

nah I didn't take it as a shot dude. It's cool

Ok, thats good just thought i should say so just in case.

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So has anyone got their own answer for:

What single thing do you fail to comprehend or find reason for in a country that you have travelled to?

[Hulkamaniac]

Here servers make peanuts per/hr and make the lion's share of their wages on tips. As for the taxes, taxes are decided here on a local base. There you have a VAT and we don't have anything like that (mainly because it's not the best economical ideas).