Guest Post: Rituparna Dey

Rituparna is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here she writes about multicultural communication.

We go out for lunch at Houlihan’s. I order a lunch combo—it’s chicken soup in basil tomato sauce, a chicken wrap, and french fries. The waiter asks me, “Do you want soup-or-salad?” I am still unfamiliar with the American twang. I hear it as, “Do you want super salad?” I say, “NO! I want a lunch combo.” My teammate willingly interprets for me. All is good. ;)

My bill comes to $11 including tax. Our waiter indicates that we need to mention the total amount before signing the receipt. I fret for a minute, glance over my teammates’ shoulders to check how much they are leaving as tip. I finally walk out as confidently as ever, after having signed my name on the merchant's copy and leaving 0 bucks as the tip amount :).

I am not sure whether I should have left something. I have a nagging question; I somehow cannot leave anything less than a dollar for a tip, so should I actually leave 50 INR or more as tip? I think of a thousand and one things that can come from $1 in India. So when my cousins call, I pose the same question to them. They indignantly shout back, “Oh, how can you do such a thing? It is a crime in the US to not leave a tip. Most of these waiters have to pay taxes wherein it is assumed that they are earning a 10% tip on each table they serve. So, it is advisable to pay a 10% tip. We even pay 20-30% if we are highly pleased with the service.”

Rich philanthropists? I would say so, but my heart still cringes when I leave a $2 (read 100 INR, more than two meals at Shantisagar and so much more...) at each restaurant.
So far, I have been to PF Chang's, Bravo's, Stir Crazy, Bamboo (Thai), Benihana- so that’s a $10 tips.

By my magnanimity, I am probably being very instrumental in getting the American economy out of recession. ;)