Worried about tipping?

LONDON – While the IOC plans to make the coming Paris Olympics an unforgettable experience for delegates and spectators, there is a strange apprehension, at least in English and even in French media, that tipping in restaurants may be a problem when the Games roll out.

An editorial in The Times newspaper called out French waiters who, if speculation is accurate, expect to be tipped beyond the usual 15 percent service charge when Olympic visitors dine out. Apparently, this attitude has infuriated the French public and the French network RFMTV recently dedicated a segment on how tipping has corrupted the otherwise pristine reputation of upright French waiters. The Times went as far as saying the American practice of leaving tips over and above service charge is because American waiters are paid low wages and almost demand to be given extra gratuity. “The French, who long scorned tips, are being corrupted by the Anglo-Saxons,” said The Times in an editorial titled “Keep the Change.”

About 15 million visitors are expected to descend on Paris for the Olympics but that doesn’t mean French restaurants will enjoy a boom. At the 2016 London Olympics, prime English eateries failed to cash in and even took a dip in sales as visitors went mainly to fast-food places where there are no waiters. “Restaurant owners fear they may lose business because many of their regular customers rent out their homes and leave the city and that tourists who paid for expensive tickets may avoid costly restaurants,” wrote David Chazan in The Times. The situation could lead to French waiters pushing Olympic visitors for tips in exchange for prompt service and it’s worrying French authorities. French pride is at stake and surely, surly French waiters won’t hear the end of it if they persist in prodding customers for a  "bonus". Business could wind up even worse.

But to tip or not to tip shouldn’t bother the Paris Organizing Committee as much as finalizing the program for the Games. The first priority is the opening ceremony, the host nation’s welcome and display of staging excellence. It is reported that French organizers are doing away with the traditional parade at the athletics stadium and instead, plan on gathering delegations in river boats to sail down the Seine with 500,000 spectators lined up along the banks.

IOC president Thomas Bach is excited to witness a spectacular kick-off without hitches. “The very meticulous, very professional approach gives us all the confidence that we can have this opening ceremony in the River Seine and that this will be iconic, will be unforgettable for the athletes and everybody will be safe and secure,” said Bach. There are certainly more urgent concerns than tipping.