EWOT Nine

Having been in the U.S. for 2 months, I’ve recognized between China and here some genuine cultural difference, one of which is the way customers pay for the service of a waiter. In China, there are no such things as “tips”; while here, the charge for the service is not included in the food so that customers should pay extra fees to the waiter or waitress.

“Isn’t that unfair? ” as asked by some Chinese people who believe that service should be provided by the restaurant for “free.” Yes, it’s true that there is some unfairness here, but I argue that the way Chinese people pay for the bill is unfair.

First of all, is there really anything free in the world? Yes, it seems that Chinese don’t pay for the service fee, but the truth is, the charge for the service has already been allocated within the price of foods. You actually have to pay for the service every time you pay the bill.

Then, why do I they Chinese way of paying is unfair? Because Chinese people actually charge the same amount of service fee no matter the quality of the service. Since we know that value is subjective, the value of certain service should be charged according how much the consumer of that service values it. Flexible tips, the amount of which is totally determined by consumer’s opinion, represents the quality of the service. Hence, I argue that Chinese ways of paying is unfair since low quality service sometimes gain extra compensation that they don’t deserve.

Finally, how does this difference affect the general level of service within the country? The Chinese way posits a wrong incentive that no matter what the quality of the service is, waiters are always paid the same. Thus waiters have an inclination to gradually lower the quality of their service or at least, not to improve.