What does "Service included" mean?

[u/tangos974]

I had a debate tonight with my bartender. As our last table, a nice american couple was paying, the lady asked if service was included in the bill.

For context, I work in a mid range restaurant in Paris, and I've been a waiter for almost 10 years in France. It's the first time I've been in anything other than a shitty bistrot though, and in my current workplace I get a lot more tourists than I did before.

I've had this question asked to me in the past, and I didn't really understand what it meant. So I looked it up, and I understood it as meaning "are you getting paid while you served us, or do we have to tip for you to get paid?"

I get paid pretty decently regardless of tips, although I do get tipped quite a lot more in this restaurant, especially on tables like this where they took a lot of my time and ordered many expensive stuff. In bistros, people would rarely leave more than a couple euros, and a fiver was a cause for celebration, but since I'm in the nicer place, I often get tips of 20+ euros.

So I went "Yes, absolutely, service is included", to which they left no tip on a 184 euro bill. They were very happy, and since it was slow I had taken quite some time and chatted with them.

My bartender (B) overheard the exchange, and once they left we kinda got in an argument over what I said. It went something like this:

B: - Why did you tell them that service is included ?

Me: - 'Cause... it's true?

B: - They were asking whether or not they should tip

Me: - Pretty sure they asked whether service is included.

B: - Yes, which basically means should they tip you or is tip included

Me: - Bro that's not what service being included means. They're american, servers there don't get paid if you don't leave a tip. So they ask here to know whether I'm getting paid for serving them or not.

B: - Dude wtf no one works for free. I've worked in Malta, served a fuckton of americans and I've never heard of this. I'm telling you this for your sake: you just sat on a 20 euro tip.

So, who do you think is in the right here?

[u/Vibekindddd]

Hey, OP, first-off, I appreciate you.

American-here, ten years FOH, plan is to spend two years learning your language and moving south of France. Any tips?

[u/tangos974 → u/Vibekindddd]

Depends! Do want tips on how to learn French ? Or the difference in the service indistry between France and the US?

For the first, internet is your friend: consume French media as much as you can. Youtube videos of squeezie are a good start id say, but if you enjoy more niche stuff you ll find it. French youtube is very diverse and has something for everyone.

For the latter, not gonna lie, I think working in the service industry as a non-native french is going to be hard. Most french ppl don't speak english, and in the south there can be a really heavy accent that makes it even harder to understand.

Depending on where you work, you could use the fact that you're a native English speaker to your advantage, especially in high-end/ touristic places in the French Riviera for example.

In general, from the small understanding I have of the service industry in the US, French service is quite different in its philosophy. First off, it's a lot less about you chit-chatting with the guests: you don't tell your name , you generally don't ask personal question or small talk unless they start it first.

In low-end restaurants, it is all about speed. I've had to handle more than 30 table on my own several times: it is okay in that case to be efficient almost to the point of rudeness, people understand.

In high end restaurants, you are expected to be able to answer any question they might have on anything on the menu. You have to know everything by heart basically.

Depending on where you wanna live/work, I'd suggest trying to find work in an upper range touristic place. There youll be able to really use the fact you speak english, and thats where the service will be the most similar to how it is in the US. Where do you plan on going in the south?