Not being an American the whole idea of not including tax in the stated price just seems so alien. You expect me to work out what 12.5% of my bill is on the fly as I’m shopping? Fuck you, that’s your job. You are the one actually paying the tax to the government, you work it out
Not being an American the whole idea of not including tax in the stated price just seems so alien. You expect me to work out what 12.5% of my bill is on the fly as I’m shopping?
well, no.
They do that when they ring you up. The price on the shelf is pre tax. The price at the register is post tax. So you just do a mental adjustment as you shop, adding about 10% or so on top of what you’re buying.
It’s not ideal, but it’s not impossible.
I think realistically, sales tax should probably be at the distributor side. But it’s kind of nice being explicitly aware of what the sales tax is.
We generally tip 15% or 20%, depending on quality of service, 10% if it’s bad but not atrocious. And that’s pretty easy:
- 10% - just move the decimal place once
- 20% - move the decimal place once and double
- 15% - in the middle of the first two (or move decimal place once, cut in half, and add that to the 10% figure)
In Canada, they have the wireless chip readers everywhere. It was nice since a large chunk of stolen credit cards are when employees scan it before charging it.
Some places in the USA is starting to do the same thing. But yes, the US is way behind.
They have had wireless chip readers for years, but many restaurants still take your card anyway. Some places bring the payment device to you, which is nice, and some have it there always so you can see exactly what’s on the bill (sometimes you order on it too).
But taking the card is a cultural thing, not a tech thing. Even back before wireless readers were a thing, they still had portable payment terminals and could have you swipe there or have you pay up front on the way out. It’s not an issue at all.
Do you guys still do the hilarious chip & sign thing or have you finally switched to using a PIN?