Tipping, what's the deal with

Do you tell your barbers, "Here's a little something towards the brain surgery?"

 

Here's how the economy is where I live.

My wife and I ate out after some shopping, today. Simple South-Indian "Tiffin." The bill came to 322Rs, we tipped 20Rs. That tip was per person, not a percentage. In the posher places, where the bill might have have been 3,000, many people will leave a percentage.

In USAian, the bill was $4.50, and the tip about 28c.

(Actually, it is a curious thing, but the internet has caused me to think of international pricing in USD, despite never having been there!)

 

When I was in Kolkata this past winter I did the prepaid cab fare at the airport through the local police dept to get to my hotel. (This is the way to do it, it's cheap and you don't have to worry about getting scammed.) I think the cab fare was <300rs to go about a mile and a half. I routinely tipped the cab drivers 500rs (about $7USD) because the fare was ridiculously cheap and it's fun to watch the drivers almost piss themselves. Try spending $10 cab fare in the big US cities and see how many city blocks it gets you.

Hotel bar staff got 100rs per drink, and the hospitality staff would get 100-200 for various help with small tasks. I maybe spent $30-40 in tips over a few days, but everyone was always helpful and knew my name. It was totally worth it. Of course the USD/INR exchange rate made it easy.

 

@crazychile, when I first came to India as a naive visitor, I gave enormous tips. I don't think there is anything wrong with that: generosity is good --- but it seems a pity that foreign visitors sometimes tip to the point of doubling a guy's salary, without knowing that that is what they are doing.

I do get a bit irritated with the American NRIs who come back here saying "I tip 30% at home, that's what I'll do here." But hey, it is their money.

I love SIngapore for the no-tipping culture. It avoids the whole should-I/shouldn't-I too-much/too-little series of worries and embarrassments.

I've had some dirty looks in restaurants here for tipping like a local, rather than like a foreigner. I don't care!

 

@Thad E Ginathom , yeah I've been to India several times so I knew what i was tipping was overkill in some cases. But it's a relatively small amount of money for me so why not. Share the love and make someones day. I did the same thing when I visited Thailand a decade ago.

It's a different story when the exchange rates are not in my favor. Like when I visited the UK in '06...I mean, I still gave decent tips, but when you're already paying 3x for fish and chips over what it was in the US due to the exchange rate, it hurts a little more to go above and beyond.

 

No need to tip in China ever. If you come here resist the urge.

 

Tipping? Best to get a friend and rush the cow while it's dozing.

Oh, not that kind of tipping. Oops.

 

I don't tip at places where I stand in line to order food, pick the food up myself, and where I am expected to bus my mess.

Here's how I usually tip:

Favorite watering hole: 25-40%
Full service restaurant: 20-25%
Cab/Uber: 15-20%
Bellhop/Skycap: $3-$5 per bag
Valet parking: I tip the valet whatever it cost for me to park - usually $6 to $10
Hotel maids: usually $10/day, and a little extra on the last day of a good stay
Caddy: I only had a fore-caddy once in my life, and I tipped him the cost of the round of golf (worked out to be about $20/hr).

 

I never heard this usage before. From the context, it means to clean away?

There are Indian instances where some (of the more generous) people will tip for almost nothing, like, for instance, Rs10 to the guy controlling the parking space outside the shop.

There are also cases where it amounts to the kind of bribery where, if you do not give, you do not get the service, or you get it late or bad. One that I strongly object to, but have little choice, is the Rs50 to the guy who delivers the cooking gas cylinder. If he carried up several flights of stairs, sure: but for just walking in the gate? I'm sure it puts them into a high-pay bracket, especially as it is never going to be taxed. Come to think of it, that kind of bribery is called extortion!

I used to tip the guy who delivered the cans of drinking water (we have a machine now). My [Indian] wife said, "Nobody tips the guy who brings the drinking water." But... he's carrying almost as much weight (and it was upstairs then) so why not?

 

When I worked at a posh resort in Greece for a summer job we sometimes had customers tipping 20-100E every night. The clever waiters were always on the hunt for the whales to keep the big tips. The head chef made a good point, people don't just tip on service but on the food quality as well and they never saw any $$$.

 

In Medieval times for instance barbers sometimes were also doctors and surgeons. If anyone can observe if you are in good health it is a barber as he hops around your torso.

Before healthcare insurance became a thing, tipping a practitioner for a good service was an extra thank you and a way to always insure good relations. It makes sense.

 

Yes. In the U.S., restaurants often have "busboys", whose sole job is to clean the tables after the customers leave, and set it back up for the next customer.

 

Yep in the US you'll often see a busboy aka waiter with a big plastic tub throwing dishes into it to clear a table at restaurants. That's something you'd never see in Europe and always gave me a chuckle.

 

This thread is turning into "tipping customs from around the world", which is rather interesting and educational.

When I visited my friend in Cape Town, I saw her tip these guys (who were always black) the equivalent of $0.50-1.00 when she parked her car at the supermarket (they weren't employees). The understanding is that they keep an eye on your car and its contents while you're inside. Not sure what happens if you don't tip them.

In Taiwan, it's (or at least was) customary to give your doctor a "red envelope" (cash gift) when you have a major operation (not sure if it's before or after the operation).

 

I asked my wife, and people do both. Before to ensure a good outcome, after to reward a good outcome. I don't think refunds are given for bad outcomes.

 

This is a sore point for me. Maybe I'm just getting old but back in the day, this was not a thing. Now I can't go anywhere without seeing a tip jar and a receipt that asks me to leave a tip. Hey! If I walk up to a counter and buy something, then leave...you don't deserve a tip!! I reserve tips for when I'm sitting at a table or bar and I'm being not only served but cared for during my stay.

You make me a sandwich and then make me fill up my own soda and put on my own condiments, well shit you should tip me!

 

Hey I'm in my early 30s and I feel the same way. I've seen tip jars at drive thru windows for God's sake.

 

Tipping in America is bizarre. Coming from Europe and living for a while on the East coast, I find restaurants, hotels and the like to be pretty low quality and mostly outrageously expensive. (As a random example, last summer went on a biking trip upstate NY. The cheapest hotel was a Holiday in motel that cost 200$ and was pretty crappy, room with a view to the garage, the whole place was inside an industrial park; food for 2 people at side of the road places was mostly very bad and costing in excess of 50$. Overall bad price/quality/experience ratio compared to biking almost anywhere in Europe).

Given the overall bad quality of services and food etc, the culturally enforced tipping habit feels like robbery. I get it that waiters are not payed well, but give how expensive this are, they could be payed better, and their wages not outsourced to the customers.

 

These prices you listed ain't funny vs quality you speak of. Living in EU has its benefits, very little surprises in here from my experience, but bad joints at extortionate prices happened in here as well.

 

Who clears the tables in Europe? Is that the wait staff?