禮節(jié)美語(yǔ):253 Tipping 1
Lily: Good afternoon, guys. Am I interrupting something?
Kyle: Jerry and I were just debating the American custom of tipping.
Jerry: Yeah, he's in favor and I'm opposed.
L: It's not just the custom in America....I'm from Canada and tipping is also common there. I'm not too fond of tipping, either. So Jerry, tell me why you're opposed.
J: I just don't like the inconvenience. I like to look at the menu and if the price of a meal is $10.45, I know that that's what I have to pay....$10.45. Back in China, I never have to think about whether someone deserves a tip or not.
Kyle和Jerry正在討論美國(guó)給小費(fèi)的習(xí)慣。tipping is spelled t-i-p-p-i-n-g, tipping 是給小費(fèi)的意思。美國(guó)和加拿大都講究給小費(fèi)，Kyle is in favor of it. Kyle 贊成這種做法，但是Jerry is opposed to it. Jerry覺得這種習(xí)俗不好。他說，中國(guó)不用給小費(fèi)，看菜單消費(fèi)價(jià)格一目了然，根本不用考慮服務(wù)員的服務(wù)如何，是否 deserve a tip 應(yīng)該給小費(fèi)。
K: I can understand how tipping might not be convenient, especially for visitors to America. The one thing that I dislike about tipping in the U.S. is how sometimes the restaurant staff forget that tips are supposed to be a reward for quality service.
L: Yeah, that's a problem in Canada as well. Tipping has become such a part of the culture that everyone just expects one....even if they don't offer good service.
J: But quality service is supposed to be a part of the job! A restaurant hires staff to be a waiter or waitress and that means service is part of the job! The restaurant is paying you....your salary is your tip!
Kyle和Lily都覺得，給小費(fèi)本應(yīng)該是 a reward for quality service, 是對(duì)優(yōu)質(zhì)服務(wù)的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)，可如今，餐館服務(wù)員好象覺得拿小費(fèi)是理所當(dāng)然的，不管服務(wù)質(zhì)量的好與壞。Jerry反駁說，餐館雇服務(wù)員就是為了服務(wù)顧客，工資就是他們的報(bào)酬，為什么還要給小費(fèi)呢?Kyle解釋說：
K: But in the United States, restaurant staff depend on tips because American law allows many restaurant owners to pay workers less than minimum wage.
J: Why is that?
K: Because they're expected to get tips. Tips might make up as much as 30% or 40% of an employee's income.
L: That's true....many servers in restaurants depend on tips for a big part of their income.
J: I would rather they paid the workers more. I'd even be OK with adding a 10% service charge to the price of the meal. I just refer things to be upfront.
Kyle說，正是因?yàn)橛行≠M(fèi)，所以美國(guó)法律允許餐館老板給服務(wù)員的報(bào)酬低于最低工資水平 the minimum wage. 服務(wù)員收取的小費(fèi)占了他們收入了很大一部分，有30%到40%之多。Jerry說，他寧可餐館多付點(diǎn)錢給服務(wù)員，哪怕在飯菜價(jià)錢上增加10%的服務(wù)費(fèi) service charge 也在所不惜，他就是希望價(jià)錢能一目了然，upfront is spelled u-p-f-r-o-n-t, upfront, upfront在這里是直截了當(dāng)?shù)囊馑肌?/p>
