I cannot tell you how many times I've encountered travelers, and often groups of travelers who TRY to get off the subway train just as people start to enter the train. They had to fight their way out of the oncoming throng of passengers to avoid getting trapped inside the train and miss their stop.
Don't be one of these folks...Do you know how ANNOYING it is to people who are trying to get into the train?! Like, what were you doing BEFORE THE DARN TRAIN GOT INTO THE STATION?
Pay attention and get ready to GET OFF THE TRAIN, ON TIME!
What's on time?
On time is having all of your things packed away and on your body. It's getting out of your seat as soon as the train doors open. It's if you are already standing, stepping toward a train door as soon as the train stops, BEFORE the doors have opened. It's knowing that THIS IS INDEED YOUR BLOODY STOP AND YOU NEED ALL OF YOUR KIDS AND YOUR PEOPLE WITH YA AND LET EVERYONE IN YOUR GROUP KNOW THAT THIS IS THE STOP TO GET OFF SO GET READY!
The subway train doors are only open for so long. It's not lightning fast but it won't wait for you to make up your mind.
Be prepared.
Be an efficient traveler.
Be out of the train before people start getting onto the train.
Be subway-savvy and avoid pissing off the locals.
And good luck Tzeing New York!
May 1, 2019
Chinese Softshell Turtles & Pre-calculated Tips
Do you normally assume that restaurants get the math right and you simply put down the pre-calculated-for-you, whatever-tip-percentage-amount-is as your tip in the receipt?
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
What a Chinese softshell turtle.
You are a Chinese softshell turtle because that is what Hong Kongers call gullible folks. And you most certainly are a Chinese softshell turtle if you trust restaurants to do math for you! You think they have your best interest at heart? Please. What a naivete. They are in it for the business, aka money, at the end of the day!
Listen my dear readers:
Because these despicable restaurants calculate their suggested tips' amounts based on the AFTER-TAX total, not the BEFORE-TAX total!
You should ONLY tip on the amount of foods and drinks you have consumed/ordered, PERIOD. Not on the amount of taxes New York City and New York State (and the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District) charge you to eat at a restaurant. You have to paid a total of 8.875% sales tax, an amount also pre-calculated for your convenience and stated on the receipt, and you would have done your part in regards to taxes by paying that already.
If you calculate your tip amount based on the AFTER-TAX total, you would be paying a tip on this tax too, not just on your foods and drinks. Why should you pay EXTRA money on this tax as part of your tip too?! Because you don't have to and you shouldn't.
This is an up-to-no-good receipt:
And this is a normal-as-it-should-be receipt:
Next time you get a receipt from a restaurant, click the calculator app on your phone and check the math by multiplying the PRE-TAX TOTAL with whatever % of tips you would like to leave. This resulting number (x) would be the tip amount you are tipping the restaurant, so to get the ultimate final total you are paying the restaurant before you leave, you add (x) and the AFTER-TAX total together. That's it, easy.
E.g.
Now, do you feel, even if just a little, that I am being cheap for caring this much about this tipping difference? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not being cheap. I am just being a smart consumer, not a Chinese softshell turtle. Do you like paying more than you need, should or even want? If you are so keen on tipping your servers more, perhaps you can make a donation to my blog? I work hard to deliver this post to you! :p Otherwise, you are welcome as my tip (pun intended) just saved you money!
Good luck Tzeing (silent T, pronounced like seeing) New York!
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
What a Chinese softshell turtle.
 |
| photo by Wingham Wildlife Park |
You are a Chinese softshell turtle because that is what Hong Kongers call gullible folks. And you most certainly are a Chinese softshell turtle if you trust restaurants to do math for you! You think they have your best interest at heart? Please. What a naivete. They are in it for the business, aka money, at the end of the day!
Listen my dear readers:
you have got to do the math for yourself because you probably paid more than you intended, for many, many restaurants. Not all of them but a good number of them. I have and I am a bloody, supposedly savvy New Yorker! Why?
Because these despicable restaurants calculate their suggested tips' amounts based on the AFTER-TAX total, not the BEFORE-TAX total!
 |
| yes, maybe they didn't know better but maybe they did! See, naivete. |
You should ONLY tip on the amount of foods and drinks you have consumed/ordered, PERIOD. Not on the amount of taxes New York City and New York State (and the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District) charge you to eat at a restaurant. You have to paid a total of 8.875% sales tax, an amount also pre-calculated for your convenience and stated on the receipt, and you would have done your part in regards to taxes by paying that already.
If you calculate your tip amount based on the AFTER-TAX total, you would be paying a tip on this tax too, not just on your foods and drinks. Why should you pay EXTRA money on this tax as part of your tip too?! Because you don't have to and you shouldn't.
This is an up-to-no-good receipt:
And this is a normal-as-it-should-be receipt:
Next time you get a receipt from a restaurant, click the calculator app on your phone and check the math by multiplying the PRE-TAX TOTAL with whatever % of tips you would like to leave. This resulting number (x) would be the tip amount you are tipping the restaurant, so to get the ultimate final total you are paying the restaurant before you leave, you add (x) and the AFTER-TAX total together. That's it, easy.
E.g.
Now, do you feel, even if just a little, that I am being cheap for caring this much about this tipping difference? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not being cheap. I am just being a smart consumer, not a Chinese softshell turtle. Do you like paying more than you need, should or even want? If you are so keen on tipping your servers more, perhaps you can make a donation to my blog? I work hard to deliver this post to you! :p Otherwise, you are welcome as my tip (pun intended) just saved you money!
Good luck Tzeing (silent T, pronounced like seeing) New York!
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