Today was our first day in Paris and we have eaten out twice. I realize service is built into the price, but I have not seen %26quot;service accompli%26quot; anywhere. On our bill it says Montant TVA 19,60%. Is that the service charge or tax?
Our totalill was 242,00
Base HT 202,35
Montant TVA 39,65
We also left 20 euros on top of that. Did we do the right thing? Or did we not need too much? Thanks in advance, we would like to clarify this before we spend more money we are not supposed to.
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Its %26quot;Service Comprise%26quot; and that is the case in ALL restaurants in France. TVA = tax. Base HT = Base without tax.
20 euros is WAY to much . You dont say how many people ate... on a 242 euro bill if it was for 2 , I would probably leave about 10 euros. If thats a meal for several people at a less expensive restaurant, say 30 - 35 euros fixed price I usually leave 1 to 1.50 euros per person as a tip.
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TVA is %26quot;Taxe Sur La Valeur Ajoutee%26quot;, which I believe is on %26#39;consummation of services%26#39; - it is not the %26#39;service%26#39; nor a %26#39;tip%26#39;.
The service is often built into the pricing, therefore the 242€ already included the service. (not shown separately). That%26#39;s why menus say %26#39;service compris%26#39;.
Tipping is generally not expected but more often tourists do leave a tip - it shouldn%26#39;t be at the same % as is done in the US, for instance. Rounding up is a good way to go, ie. 42€ bill - leave 45.
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If you had a 242 Euros bill for two then 20 Euros (~10%) is just fine because that means you%26#39;ve eaten in a really good restaurant and the service was probably more than adequate, if you had the same bill with 20 people then you could have left more. TVA is indeed the VAT, 19.60%, which applies on EVERY good you buy, in some cases it can be a bit less (5.5% in a mc donalds for example) and as travelnutty said you may find a %26quot;service compris%26quot; or %26quot;prix net%26quot; or %26quot;service inclus%26quot; somewhere on your bill.
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If the restaurant doesn%26#39;t have a stand-up bar, they usually don%26#39;t itemize the service on the bill. You can assume it%26#39;s included.
I agree with Morgan, 5% is a generous tip and that%26#39;s only if the service was exceptional. The only time I leave a larger tip is if we have certain high-maintenance relatives with us and they burden the wait-staff more than usual.
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Now I feel awful. On our trip, I thought the %26#39;tip%26#39; was included in the bill. I never left a tip over that amount (except in a cafe when I noticed that people next to me had left a tip and I was insecure and so I left one too!)
I thought it was great that the tip was included in the bill - it was daughter who told me that all restaurants must include it. I wish we did that in the States.
I wouldn%26#39;t have known how to figure an amount to include in addition to that. In the states, the tip reflects what the customer thought of the food and service. If that were the criteria in France, I would have been tipping until I was broke - because both food and service were always good to great.
And if I threw down a 2 euro coin or a 5 euro note for a superb meal, I would have felt like it was practically an insult. AGGGHHH! I hope I didn%26#39;t come across as a clumsy American clod because I didn%26#39;t tip. Oh, well... too late now!
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No - you have done nothing wrong. There is a law in France that says that the prices on the restaurants%26#39; menus must include tips.
Waiters get paid also in France, they have trade-unions and legal rights as everybody else.
I give tips when, and only when, I have been serviced extraordinarily well by the waiter - with personal contact and smiles all the way through.
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kathyw, not to worry. Restaurant workers earn a living wage here so they don%26#39;t rely on tips to pay the rent. When you leave a tip, you%26#39;re saying %26quot;thanks for the EXTRA effort%26quot; when they treat you well. Tips aren%26#39;t the primary source of income for restaurant workers. Tips are assumed to be a tribute, not an entitlement so you shouldn%26#39;t apply the same rules that you%26#39;re accustomed to in the states/elsewhere. If you decide that you loved the service at a restaurant so much that you want to leave a 20% tip, the staff will be delighted but they won%26#39;t expect or demand it.
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