Trend or one off. Our french waiter stated that he "accepts tips".

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/tipping-in-europe
The above link is Rick's advice on tipping in Europe, which may be of interest.

I have had the same thing or something similar happen in Paris and Nice. I understand why the servers do it. I mean why not get some extra cash in a perfectly legal way. I once had a waiter in Nice specifically ask me why I had not tipped. I replied that I thought that it was not expected in France. I’ll always remember his reply: “you are American so you tip so I thought something was wrong when you did not.” I still did not leave a tip for the same reason I had not rounded up the bill which is that I had no cash on me and had paid by credit card.

I always tip in France. Certainly not as much as I would in the States, but a small amount.

Unfortunately there is a percentage of (mainly) American travellers who tip because "that's what I do at home" (don't laugh, I have seen people state that in other online forums - some of the posts here are most enlightening https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k6811263-o40-Tipping_for_Breaksfast_delivered_to_room-Paris_Ile_de_France.html).

Given that attitude, is it any wonder that some waiters let it be known they are not adverse to a bonus?

I have never tipped in the past 10 years of living here. Make of that what you will.

I would have probably considered leaving a little something if (a) he hadn't brought it up and (b) the food hadn't been so terrible.

Tipping, other than very small amounts, indicates nothing other than a lack of awareness. It is no more appropriate for Americans to tip in France than it would be for the French, traveling the US, to never tip.

Never tip someone who begs for tips. You can be sure he doesn't do that to French people who would laugh in his face as should you. Waiters in France unlike waiters in the US have health care provided and are paid decent wages; it is not a tipping culture. Clueless American tourists who insist on applying their own cultural norms have created a situation where unscrupulous opportunists try to shake down Americans. Don't contribute to that. Same on cabs. Cabs don't expect tipping.

it is fine to leave the change from a cup of coffee -- 20 cents or whatever. Some people put down a couple of euro after a dinner out for the waiter; we dine with French people all the time and some do and some don't, but never more than a couple of Euro. For cabs, tip only for exceptional service e.g. I had a cabbie come into the apartment foyer and carry my bags and then get me a cart at the airport when I was traveling with my elbow in a cast. Another time, a cabbie turned back so I could drop the keys at the apartment gardienne which I had forgotten to do when I left; he could have charged extra but didn't. In both cases I gave a tip for this extra service. IN both cases they were surprised and pleased. It is not normally expected.

If you want to leave a little something don't exceed the small change guideline BUT not a cent for someone who asks you for a tip. (in Italy one time we had a terrible waiter who gave terrible service at a touristy place near the Pantheon in Rome and then he egregiously padded the bill to almost twice what we had ordered thinking two old ladies -- me and my then 80 year old mother -- would not know or stand up for themselves. After we got the bill fixed, he said 'the tip is not included' --- even my easily intimidated mother laughed at that one. But it is that sort of waiter who begs for tips)

Its happened to us many times ever since I can remember. I don't necessarily think its evil, just that the servers' experience tells them that Americans will usually ask if a tip is included, so they might as well give them that piece of information ahead of time.

Kate, Was the restaurant in an English-language guidebook? If so, which guidebook ?

The only time a waiter has ever pointed to the bill and lied that service wasn’t included was in German-speaking Murren and the restaurant was in a RS guidebook. We were speaking French but he did that anyway. It’s kind of intimidating because for a moment you don’t know how to react.

I would have probably considered leaving a little something if (a) he hadn't brought it up and (b) the food hadn't been so terrible.

2 good reasons not to.

I've never had that mentioned to me anywhere in France, although I've seen comments about that happening in Paris. I would never have expected it in a small town.

"It is no more appropriate for Americans to tip in France than it would be for the French, traveling the US, to never tip."

Here in South Florida, the heartland of Low Paying Tourist Dependent Mc Jobs the French are renowned for not tipping. Just saying . . .

You should have said, "I tip when my meal gets comped!"

French tourists who don't tip waiters in the US are stealing their services. Everyone needs to understand the basic rules of the culture they visit. Our underpaid waiters living on tips system is stupid, but it is the system by which these people are compensated and most of them also do not have employer provided health insurance.

Just returned from France, and had two separate occasions in Paris where the waitress asked me what tip I wanted to leave! I was appalled, surprised, taken aback, etc. the first time. And she was the most in-our-face about being quick! I thought the french way was t take it easy, chill, and enjoy your meal. Needless to say, I said no thank you and she gave me a bit of an attitude. Oh well.

I may have told this tale on the Forum before, but my most memorable incident like this was in Amsterdam a number of years ago. I had lunch in a rather upscale bistro near Centraal Station with an elegant Dutch lady. We spoke in English, as my Dutch was almost nonexistent. The waiter must have thought we were both Americans.

When I paid the bill, I rounded up the amount on the table and added a few guilders (I told you it was a few years ago.), and glanced at my friend to see if that was appropriate. She nodded that it was proper.

As we left the restaurant the waiter came running out onto the sidewalk and tried to give me back the coins, sneeringly saying I must have forgotten my small change, implying I was a cheapskate and should give him more.

Now, Holland does not have nuclear weapons, but my Dutch lady friend, a distinguished researcher and Government functionary, instantly gave a very good imitation of one when she exploded on that poor waiter. I could not follow the Dutch, but she herded the waiter back inside and loudly gave he, the manager, and the rest of the customers a lecture about no tipping, humiliating diners, national pride, courtesy, and probably their ancestry. Her tirade would have blistered paint.

I thoroughly enjoyed the process, and felt I should have tipped my friend instead of the waiter.

I did not experience anything so direct in Paris last week, the closest was a bill that included several statements in French (regarding taxes and the like) and then in English "Service Not Included", but no French equivalent.

I did specifically watch others pay bills, and rarely recall any tipping. The one instance I did see was an older French couple that left a few coins, but handed them to the waiter with a "merci".

I did actually tip a bartender after a few beers, but the backstory was that I ordered a draft beer, halfway through the pour the keg blew, so he had to go from behind the bar, move a table, open up a hatch, down in the basement, change the keg, back up and finish. My second beer I ordered something different, and believe it or not, the same thing happened, same effort to change a keg. We joked about it, but when I was done and paid the bill, I took a euro or two and handed it to him thanking him for the extra effort and we had a good laugh.

You actually saw "Service not included."

That's very rare, so I hope it's not a new trend of an employer shifting the service fee to the patron in touristy eateries frequented by Yanks. You can be sure prices aren't lowered to reflect the change in status of the employee. I wonder if bills in French said the same. In 40+ years, I've never seen this.
And, like Simon, we pay with credit cards and don't tip.

Well, I guess I need to correct myself a bit, I went back and found the receipt, it actually states "Tips Not Included".

I would not call the receipt one made up for "English" guests, it appears to be the same one printed out for everyone, all in French, breaks out the VAT, 20% for alcohol, 10% for food, a "thank you for visiting" in French, the only English is the "Tips not included"

While the restaurant (Le Moliere) itself was not necessarily a tourist trap place, it was in a heavily touristed place (Rue de Buci) on the Left Bank. The attraction to me was a decent beer list, including French Craft beers, and not too bad food.

" I went back and found the receipt, it actually states "Tips Not Included . . . the only English is the "Tips not included."

Hmmmmm...... very interesting. Thanks for posting that.

The only thing written in English—disturbing.

Some Americans I know would break into cold sweats at the thought of not tipping - even when the service was demonstrably awful. I tip well at home, less if the service is lacking and more if it's exceptional.

In France, if the service is notably good, I'll round up the bill a couple euro to an even number and pay that. If the service isn't exceptional (including asking for a tip, which I think is rude) I'll pay the bill only.

• and (b) the food hadn't been so terrible.

I worked in restaurants, as a cook, to earn my way through college. I always thought tips should be shared. The wait staff took home double to triple what I earned working half the hours. Their tips were dependent on the food (as well as cleanliness of the restaurant/toilets/dishes) as much as table service.

I'm just wondering if Americans tend to be generous with tips because most of us have had these service, tip dependent jobs at one time or another in our lives. I worked my way through college as a waitress in a resort during the summer.

Opinions?

In reference to Brad. Our kitchen help, cooks, dishwashers salad chefs etc were well paid. Waitresses and bus staff were not. We shared tips with the bus staff

In a typical American restaurant model, there is much more emphasis on service, notably personal service, and far less importance is placed on the skill of the kitchen. The ever popular steakhouse is an example: low/unskilled labor grills steaks and replenishes salad bars. Desserts are purchased from wholesalers and never/rarely made in house. Success depends upon upscale atmosphere and staff friendliness. Staff itself often works for the federal wage minimum of $2.13 per hour, receive no vacation, no retirement, no healthcare. Tips are the expectation in order for these people to meet the most basic subsistence levels. They are the face of the restaurant.

In the French restaurant model, the skill of the kitchen staff is critical. People go to restaurants for what is served, not first name introductions by overly friendly waitstaff. Staff is paid approximately a 9€ per hour minimum, has 5 weeks of paid vacation annually, complete health care, and a guaranteed retirement compensation. The chef himself is the face of the restaurant and many people follow chefs.

Anyone taking the time to read restaurant reviews in French will note comments about (or lack thereof) freshness of ingredients, originality of presentation, and overall execution of food preparation. Service is a given which varies little. It is not the reason for going anywhere as it should be unobtrusive. Yet read the number of comments within this thread by those leaving tips for service. Few if anyone leaves tips for the very reason one goes to a restaurant - the food.

These are the reasons why wait staff in the US is tipped and why it is unnecessary, even embarrassing to see in my view, when someone leaves a wad of cash on the table of a restaurant in France. Anything other than minor amounts left as tips indicates nothing other than a lack of awareness and understanding and is no more appropriate for Americans to do in France than it would be for a Frenchmen not to leave an appropriate tip when eating at restaurants the USA.

nukesafe, loved your story.

75020, you’re so right, i worked as a waitress too and i know all the hard work it takes to please a customer. I’m a generous tipper when the service is good.

75020, tipping seems to be one of the most contentious of all issues that comes up here on the forum. There are those who insist on following local custom, and those who insist on doing what they do back in the US. The underlying assumption of those in the second group is that restaurants in European countries follow the same business practices as their US counterparts and that the staff will only provide good service if they can expect extra money from the customers. In the US, I think we tip out of habit, rather than a judgment on the quality of service. Tipping in the US because we know they're underpaid? Thats really not based on the quality of service, is it? Good service in the US is totally different from the what would be considered good service in most European countries. So what standard would you use to judge the size of a tip? I got no problem with tipping well for exceptional service (special needs, accommodations, menu help, etc.) but not the automatic way we do in the US, which as the OP provides evidence, does have an impact on creating "touristy" restaurant experiences.

Americans are 'generous' with tips because that is how wait staff is paid in America and so there is a lot of pressure to conform; otherwise you are stealing the services of the staff. Dump system. But THE system and not tipping just cheats the worker.

I am so hoping that the horrible American tradition of tipping is not being adopted in Europe. I so much appreciate going to Europe and paying for the meal and assuming that the staff is getting an appropriate salary that comes out of the charges for the meal.

We just spent two weeks in Paris and two weeks in Provence. One waiter in Paris told us his shift was about to end & that we would be well cared for by another waiter but that “if we wanted to tip him we would have to pay our bill now.” He didn’t seem pushy but I still didn’t appreciate it. I didn’t tip him, nor anyone else in either location, and no one ever seemed to have a problem with it. (Actually I did tip an Uber driver — he was driving us to the train station in Paris and encountered some hellacious traffic, which he navigated with considerable difficulty. It was only a 7 euro fare but it took more than 20 minutes. Seemed above-and-beyond to me so I added a small tip afterwards.)

Some waiters in France have a belief that Americans visitors have been mistakenly instructed that tipping doesn't happen there at all as they have noticed a drop off in the tips from them that they have received over the years, although I doubt this strategy adopted by a minority in response is likely to be fruitful. They would probably prefer these days to be serving Germans, many of whom still tip around 15%.

I've seen and heard this only in Paris (including service non compris); down in the south(east) I've yet to see it, so it is surprising to see it happen in the sw. But, I've seen it in Italy. I follow the custom; small euros for good service, rounding up the bill as appropriate or leaving a few euro (never more than 5 to 10%). While French servers are paid a better salary with benefits than their US counterparts, I still feel modern life in my city can be a struggle on that wage. I think it is important to note that customs differ slightly in each country -- depending on the type of service.

Nothing to do with tipping in France, but I think it's darn lousy of a customer to base a waiter's tip on how good, or bad, the food was. Tipping should be based solely on service--the waiter didn't cook the food.

Willy, absolutely right.