In the posh resort of Saint-Tropez, tips, as it turned out, are needed posh: a scandal broke out in the French press when a waiter was outraged by a 500-euro tip left by a “very rich” Italian tourist. The waiter was offended by such a small amount and demanded at least 1,000 euros, that is, at the current exchange rate, it is as much as 42,000 hryvnias. Moreover, taking into account everything, after the start of the scandal, the local business is trying to convince everyone that this demand is fair.
According to local press, one “very rich Italian” tipped a waiter €500 at a restaurant where he was eating. The waiter was outraged by the amount: he chased the rich Italian, saying that the tip was not enough and demanding 1,000 euros.
“He thought that giving 500 euros is quite generous,” a friend of the “rich Italian”, already from France, added to the press. And he said that in this way the resort secured anti-advertising.
However, the local press stood up for the waiter, saying that the €1,000 tip the waiter asked for was 20% of the bill. And this is the standard rate of tipping at luxury resorts. At the same time, they say that some restaurants in Saint-Tropez ask customers to spend at least 10 thousand euros. Moreover, restaurant managers ask waiters to report customers who do not tip enough or spend too much money.
Although the city leadership seems to recognize the problem. As recently as last year, Sylvie Siri, the mayor of Saint-Tropez, urged the restaurant owners he met with to treat customers better and reduce the number of complaints.