User Comments - guolan

Posted on: No Tip?

Thanks, tingyun! I probably won't read it now, as I have about 5 books on my kindle now awaiting me, but it does sound like a powerful story. I did a bit of research...and I will keep my eye out for it should an official English version soon be published. (My Chinese is definitely not yet at a level where I can read novels pleasurably in Chinese!)

It's cool to be aware of this type of thing. Thanks for writing things out in both Chinese and English!

Posted on: No Tip?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the manager at the restaurant where I worked would have felt this way.

Once I was at a dentist's office and a man was being rude to the secretary. The dentist overheard, and went into the waiting room to tell the potential patient, I'm sorry, but my secretary tried her best to accommodate you...we don't need your business so badly that I will allow you to treat her this way.

Like you say, whether he truly cared for her or not, in the long run his actions would be beneficial to his business.

Could you tell me the name of the book you reference in English? And a translation of "岳不群的聪明远远超过余沧海"? I'm intrigued.

Posted on: No Tip?

Hmm, we could be thinking of different types of restaurants, as well. I'm thinking more of small-town diners. I can see how management in a more formal, larger restaurant might be unconcerned with the waiter's lot, and too busy to ask anything about it.

Posted on: No Tip?

I'm surprised by your analysis. I've never been a restaurant owner, and I've never been close friends with one, so I could be wrong, but I didn't think I was that far off. I did spend one summer working at a restaurant, but I never saw the manager deal with a situation like this. He was quite protective of his staff, though.

Anyone ever observed how such a situation was handled?

Posted on: No Tip?

If management noticed before you were out the door, they would most likely discretely ask you what the waiter did wrong, so that they could avoid displeasing other customers. They would assume the waiter had treated you rudely, and that you were angry. Management would want to fix whatever went wrong, so that they could get your business again in the future.

However, more likely, no one would notice until after you left. And, assuming the waiter did his job, he would assume you must have forgotten. I don't think he would assume you were a jerk; a jerk would leave a very low tip, not no tip at all.

But, if you mean in a face-to-face confrontation, as in, you tell the waiter you aren't going to leave a tip, and that you don't care if he did a good job, I don't know what would happen. I suspect most owners who were made aware of this would simply refuse you service in the future, since you refuse to pay for what you receive.

Posted on: The Mysterious Metric System (Part 1)

I've listened to this lesson twice now, the second time after noticing "毫克" on a bottle of face cleaner I bought. I couldn't remember the tone of "hao" or if it was "milli" or "centi"!

Very practical, useful lesson. Thanks!

Posted on: Teresa Teng & "Tian Mi Mi"

我就算是一个很喜欢这首歌的老外！今天才知道我这样说就算一个很“典型”的外国人！

这首歌真的很感动。（“感动”能当形容词吗？）

Posted on: 癌症

我很好奇，有没有同学能说我们这个想法是对的还是错的？

Posted on: 癌症

我也不是专家。不过我同一你这个想法，这种病不是因为现代的社会的原因，而是我们体检方法越来越正确、人的寿命越来越长，所以它的发病率更高。

Posted on: 中国古代酷刑

没地方没有。世界上的各个的地方你都可以听说这样的可怕的酷刑。我们人类本来就是有大问题的。

我朋友们都以为我是乐观的，看前面刚写的句子，我好像不算乐观的！