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Comment by hkmurakami | Hacker News Reader

>if the taxi industry in Japan is honest, competent and well executed

I've used Taxis in Japan across the country for 20+ years, can attest to its quality, reliability, and professionalism. It's on the expensive side, with rides usually starting at 700 yen (roughly 7USD) [1], but the drivers are courteous professionals who drive smoothly and know their cities and routes cold (if they don't, they'll apologize for not knowing and ask you for directions).

The only downside is that sometimes the drivers are cigarette smokers. While they won't smoke inside the car, the odor can be very noticeable.

[1] I believe this will be reduced to 500 yen soon.

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And no tips too. The price on the meter is the price you pay, which avoids a whole set of extra hassle.

Which, for what it's worth, how a lot of the world outside of the US operates.

Taxis are rubbish in Australia, but you also aren't expected to tip.

Tips are the most confusing thing by far about the US for me as a European.

One of my best friends is from a country without tipping. He's well-traveled and has something like 20+ stamps in his passport. He says he loves tipping. I was a little curious so I asked him why, he said in countries without tipping, service is shit. Moreover, the demeanor of everyone involved is shit. He said "you Americans don't know how good you have it". I guess even someone fake being nice to you in expectation of a tip is better than being treated like dirt because you disrupted someone's cigarette break in Paris.

He said the only exception to this is Japan. He says they have, hands down, the best service in the world. Whether you're in a family owned shop out in a rural area or some upscale joint in Roppongi, the people there actually care if you've enjoyed your food (and will nearly be offended if you try and tip them).

Thought his opinion was a bit odd, but I think it might be valid considering his experience and the fact that he's not a naive, anti-establishment 20-something. He's fairly pragmatic and a realist.

Yep Japan is amazing. No tipping, but if you ask for help in a shop the staff will literally run to help you.

Honestly, I find American service kind of creepy and fake. It's like everyone is performing the role of good service.

Maybe if you're used to that, someone just giving you what you want without incident feels lacking?

Nonsense. In my experience (granted not 20 countries but more than a dozen) the service is at least as variable and often worse in countries where tipping is common. Also, it encourages behaviour that exists only to extract a larger tip.

Just price the goods correctly so that I know when I start the transaction what I am going to pay, then I'm more likely to return to your establishment to enjoy the food and service.

That has also been my observation. However, where the US stands out alone for me in the developed world, is that tipping hasn't just become common in a few isolated situations - like getting something served at the table or getting ones' room cleaned. I can somewhat understand those because you as a customer can judge best how labour intensive / stressful your particular case has been for a low paid worker. But in the US it's everywhere. Why the hell do I have to tip a hairdresser? A taxi driver? A gas station serviceman? They have prices based on workload and materials anyway, so please, why do I have to figure out your correct salary for this interaction based on some arcane percentage system myself? This, at the end, is just what I call unprofessional. If you want to see how professional the service industry can get - as others have pointed out - just visit Japan.

Hmm, from my years in New Zealand, I can't say service was any less good than it is in the U.S.. There were more "pay at the counter and take a number to your table" establishments, but usually that was for classes of restaurant where that model totally made sense (e.g. pubs).

I'm told that Switzerland is a no-tip country, but the service there was excellent the two times I visited Zurich. I left tips anyway, because I didn't think the staff having to put up with my atrocious attempt at speaking German was part of their normal job description.

Why countries besides the US and Japan is he talking about? I live in the US and have received great service everywhere I've gone, including no-tipping countries like China, France, the UK, Spain, Italy, and Greece, so this doesn't fit my observations at all.

¥710 ;)

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