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To tip or not to tip

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SOME FRIENDS from Hong Kong had lunch at the Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York, which is at the top end of the scale in a city filled with expensive restaurants.

After the couple left a US$5 (HK$39) tip, their waiter went to them as they were about to walk out the door. He asked if they had any complaints about the service, adding pointedly, 'because I was just wondering why you left so little'. My friends handed over another US$5.

The waiter's strong-arm tactics were perhaps a matter of economic necessity - the United States Internal Revenue Service taxes service staff on tips they're estimated to make - whether they receive them or not.

Compared to that way of extracting a tip, the propensity of most Hong Kong restaurateurs to add an automatic 10 per cent service charge seems mild. The charge appears on bills at almost all restaurants, from those in five-star hotels to street-side noodle shops.

In the US, though, if you give that perfect waiter a US$20 tip, you can rest assured he's going to get it.

In Hong Kong, the diner who pays the added-on service charge won't know precisely where the money is going. Customers who assume it's going to the waiter who served them frequently do not leave any additional cash.

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