Chapter 10 — Quiz
Try the whole quiz before checking the key.
Multiple choice
1. In the United States, the price on the tag usually: - A) includes all taxes - B) excludes sales tax (added at the register) - C) is negotiable - D) is the final price by law
2. In the UK and Europe, posted prices usually: - A) exclude VAT - B) include VAT (the price you see is the price you pay) - C) have no tax - D) change at checkout
3. At a US sit-down restaurant, the expected tip is about: - A) nothing - B) 5% - C) 18–20% - D) 50%
4. US tipping is essentially obligatory for table service because: - A) it's a fun tradition - B) servers are paid a sub-minimum "tipped wage" and rely on tips as income - C) the law sets a fixed tip - D) food is free
5. In Australia and much of Europe, tipping is: - A) obligatory at 25% - B) largely not expected (workers paid full wage; round up at most) - C) illegal - D) the same as the US
6. Which is normally NEGOTIABLE in the West? - A) supermarket groceries - B) a used car - C) a restaurant menu price - D) a chain-store T-shirt
7. Asking a colleague "How much do you make?" is: - A) friendly and normal - B) rude/intrusive in most of the West - C) required at work - D) a compliment
8. "Service charge included" on a bill means: - A) you must tip extra 20% - B) a tip is already added — don't double-tip - C) the food was free - D) service was bad
9. "What do you do?" means: - A) "what do you earn?" - B) "what's your job?" - C) "what are you doing right now?" - D) "how much do you have?"
10. A newcomer's lack of local credit history mainly affects: - A) nothing - B) renting, loans, and borrowing (worth building credit early) - C) the weather - D) tipping
11. (new) Counter/coffee-shop tipping (the spinning tablet) is: - A) obligatory at 25% - B) genuinely optional — a small tip or none is fine - C) illegal - D) the same as table service
12. (new) The same act of not tipping is fine in Sydney but insulting in New York because: - A) New Yorkers are greedy - B) the wage systems beneath the act differ (full wage vs. tipped sub-minimum wage) - C) it's the law - D) there's no real difference
True / False
13. Trying to haggle at a fixed-price supermarket is normal and expected in the West. (True / False)
14. In the US, leaving no tip at a sit-down restaurant genuinely insults the server. (True / False)
15. Westerners never discuss money at all. (True / False)
16. US tipping is controversial even among many Americans. (True / False)
17. (new) A strong bargaining skill from your home culture can be a real asset for buying cars and negotiating salary in the West. (True / False)
Short answer
18. Explain the Western "money paradox" (open about what, private about what?).
19. You're in the US and an item is tagged $20. Roughly what should you expect to pay, and why?
20. Name one genuine problem with US tipping culture (the Honesty Box).
21. (new) Name two things that ARE negotiable in the West and two that are NOT.
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Answer Key
- B. 2. B. 3. C. 4. B. 5. B. 6. B. 7. B. 8. B. 9. B. 10. B. 11. B (optional). 12. B (different wage systems).
- False. 14. True. 15. False — prices/deals are openly discussed; individual salaries are private. 16. True. 17. True.
- Model: Open about prices, deals, debt, and the cost of things; private about an individual's salary, income, or net worth (asking those is rude).
- Model: A bit more than $20 — roughly $21–22 — because US sticker prices exclude sales tax, which is added at the register and varies by location.
- Model (any): It lets employers underpay workers; it's opaque/stressful; "tip creep"; it can enable bias in who gets tipped well.
- Model: Negotiable — used cars, salary, rent, flea markets, big one-off services. Not negotiable — supermarket groceries, chain-store retail, restaurant menu prices.