The Gap Between People

Inside the restaurant.

"What's wrong?"

"Monica asked."

Rachel had already guessed the reason and covered her eyes with her hands, feeling somewhat ashamed.

"It seems our great surgeon isn't so good at math."

Ross shook his head and said smugly, "He only gave 4% as a tip."

"So?"

Adam dismissed it.

"So, he's too stingy."

Ross said disdainfully, "Normally it should be 15%, and with so many of us, it should be 20%, but at the very least it can't be less than 10%. What's 4%?"

Is tipping mandatory?

Adam countered, "Is it mandatory?"

"Certainly!"

Ross exclaimed, "This is a thank you to the waiter for serving us. Rachel, you're the waiter, why don't you say something?"

"Uh-huh."

Rachel coughed and whispered, "This is my dad."

"This is your father?"

Ross exclaimed, "Don't you find his behavior bothersome?"

"Alright."

Seeing that Ross wouldn't let it go, Rachel said angrily, "If he comes to our coffee shop, someone will definitely sneeze in his coffee, but I've told him countless times, and he just won't change."

Why change it?

Adam interjected, "It's you who need to change!"

"What?!"

Rachel and Ross exclaimed in unison.

"Tipping is just a custom, and a bad habit that has been formed over many years. It is not mandatory. Otherwise, not tipping would be considered dining and dashing."

Adam explained, "This custom originated in Europe. It started as a way to thank people for good service and to show off wealth, but now it has evolved into something you have to give, and there are specific rules about the proportion. Giving too little will result in being looked down upon, and the waiters might even contaminate the food. Isn't this a bad habit?"

"How can this be considered a bad habit?"

Ross countered, "That's like not paying a portion of the meal cost to the restaurant, but giving it directly to the waiter, as long as you give the right amount..."

What does "suitable" mean?

Adam interrupted, "10%, 15%, 20% of the meal cost? Can you guarantee that every waiter's expectations are the same? If you give him 15%, he might feel he deserves 20%. Even if you give him the highest 20%, but he feels he's handsome and provides exceptional service, wouldn't he demand an even higher percentage?"

Don't say it's impossible. The ever-increasing percentages of 10%, 15%, and 20% say it all. And once they become dissatisfied, your food is at risk of being contaminated!

People pay to eat, to enjoy themselves. Why should they have to guess the expectations of every restaurant and every waiter, and worry about whether their food has been sneezed on?

Instead of doing this, why not just cut off this bad habit altogether and simply include the portion that should be given to the waiter in the meal cost, and have the restaurant distribute it?

Without the direct financial entanglement between waiters and customers, and without excessively high expectations, the cleanliness of the food is significantly improved.

Moreover, isn't serving customers the job of a waiter?

Hiring waiters to serve customers is a restaurant's job. Otherwise, are customers expected to cook for themselves? It's not a buffet or takeout!

Furthermore, isn't it troublesome for customers to calculate the tip themselves every time?

Shouldn't businesses provide the best possible service to their customers?

These are universally accepted rules; you are the ones breaking them!

"You're wrong, you're wrong..."

Ross was speechless, and could only repeat his denials like a broken record, unwilling to accept Adam's 'fallacies'.

"Adam, tipping is now a common practice, and it's acceptable as long as it's within certain limits."

Monica explained, "What you're describing is Tai Chi."

"Yes!"

Ross's eyes lit up. "You're Tai Chi. How many people are so insatiable? At least I've never seen one in my life."

"Yeah?"

Adam chuckled knowingly, "You've never seen this before? I've heard that someone, every time they stay at a hotel, not only packs up all the toiletries, but also keeps asking the staff for roll after roll of toilet paper, and even takes the bedside lamp light bulb with them..."

"Monica!!!"

Ross couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, his face flushed red.

Yes, that's him!

He would normally assert that this was his right, and the hotel staff and staff would have to keep their displeasure to themselves. Moreover, being as shrewd as he was, he would never stay at the same hotel twice.

But he had just criticized Leonard for being stingy and giving too little tip. Tipping is not mandatory, and even if the waiter is unhappy, he can only retaliate next time.

What's the difference between the two?

Obviously not.

Therefore, he was embarrassed.

"I didn't tell Adam, I swear!"

Monica immediately raised her hand, determined not to be a scapegoat.

"Okay, I was just using a metaphor."

Adam laughed and said, "Leonard is Cardiothoracic Surgeon at New York University Medical Center. His annual income is equivalent to yours in ten years. Does he lack that little tip? He's treating us today, and it cost $500. Is that stingy?"

Of course not! Just like you definitely don't need a few rolls of toilet paper or a lamp light bulb!

As long as it's within the rules, any choice is a personal freedom. Don't use this to judge others, or even escalate it to matters of morality and character; that's pointless.

What are you talking about?

Just then, Leonard returned and asked curiously.

"It's nothing, it's nothing!"

Ross quickly covered himself up, still gazing longingly at Adam.

"Nothing."

Adam smiled and brushed it off.

His words were half true and half false.

In his eyes, tips in the United States are like wedding gifts in his previous life, driven up by a few people to an exorbitant level that exceeds the affordability of most people.

Nobody wants to accept a wedding invitation, but they have no choice but to bite the bullet and accept it. It's no joke.

Not giving enough food will make you look bad and lose face. Here, you risk being sneezed on or spat on by the waiter. Even some 'righteous' friends and relatives will despise your morals and character. It's definitely a bad habit!

This is the truth.

Whether Leonard was fighting this bad habit out of principle or was simply stingy... well, Adam wasn't sure; he was just flattering him.

As for why he didn't tell anyone what just happened?

We've already filmed enough openly tonight, so let's switch things up. We'll have Rachel say it unconsciously, which will seem more genuine and have a better effect.

Sigh, he really went to great lengths to prolong his Lifespan and avoid dying young.

To console myself, as Leonard had told Sheldon, this is just an unavoidable convention in interpersonal relationships, one that I have to follow even if I don't like it.

But a little flattery and nice words are much better than 'withered chrysanthemums, wounds all over the ground, your smile has faded, flowers fall and people are heartbroken'...

"Let's go."

Leonard ended the dinner in a good mood.

As Attending Physician in a major department of a large hospital, he was used to being flattered by interns every year in various ways, and he should have taken it for granted and ignored it.

But people are different.

Adam is talented, wealthy, and ambitious, and he's also a good friend of his beloved daughter. How can those 'pretentious and shady' actors compare to him?