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New York waiter's worst nightmare? Europeans

By Rebecca Wolfson | Special to amNewYork

5:32 PM EDT, June 2, 2008

Almost every New York waiter or bartender has a horror story about bad tippers, and don't be surprised if it involves Europeans.

Tourism is booming in the city and many foreigners are drawn here because the euro goes a long way against the dollar. But even with Europeans' strong currency, many restaurant workers are being stiffed.

"If someone doesn't speak English, you just expect to see it coming," said a bartender, who works at a high-volume restaurant in the West 50s. "You can sit there and schmooze people and have a good time, and all of a sudden they don't tip at all."

Europeans often tip between $0 and $3 -- regardless of the size of the bill, said the bartender, who spoke on the condition that he and the restaurant he works for remain anonymous. Recently, a table of tourists left $170 for a $168 tab, he said.

Most servers are quick to point out that bad tipping habits might be more due to differing customs than anything else.

At Chevy's in Times Square servers include a card with the bill that reads: "Our international guests often ask about tipping. No service charge or gratuity has been added to your bill. Quality service is customarily acknowledged by a gratuity of 15 percent to 20 percent." It is translated into Spanish, German, French and Chinese.

Some restaurants have wizened up and now put gratuity right into the bill.

In August 2007, during the first two weeks of business at Ruby Tuesday in Times Square, servers often left work with next to nothing in cash because of the high volume of European guests. One waiter said he once did $2,000 in sales and only $50 in tips.

"It was a ridiculous amount, and people quit because of that," said Dina Laura, a server at the restaurant. After two weeks the restaurant began to include an 18 percent gratuity after 4 p.m.

The Trump Grill on Fifth Avenue started to include an 18 percent gratuity in the bill about a month ago. Before the switch, John Nagel, a manager at Trump Grill, would sometimes inform European tourists who failed to tip about American tipping customs.

"Before, it created almost an uncomfortable situation sometimes, especially with European tourists," Nagel said. The switch to gratuity-included bills has created no problems, Nagel said, though he is curious to see if it will impact servers' motivation.

In France, the tip is always included -- it's called "service compris," said Amaury Latorte, a press officer at the French Embassy in the city. Some French tourists don't realize that the tip is generally not included in America.

"Not everyone reads their guide books," Latorte said.