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Does anyone tip outside of the US?
I get that in America, servers are paid low wages, but does anyone actually tip (servers or otherwise) outside the country?
I get that in America, servers are paid low wages, but does anyone actually tip (servers or otherwise) outside the country?
We tip servers in Canada. Also taxi drivers, hairdressers, sometimes massage therapists, and so on.
wait... we're expected to tip RMTs?! I had no idea... and I will pretend I have no idea going forward.
Honestly, I'm starting to cut back on tipping; reserving it for exceptional service -- even for wait staff. Tipping is out of control, and its not like I'm rolling in so much extra cash that I can't find any other way to spend it.
My arguments are cliche (its not on the consumer to supplement the income of service providers, its their job, etc etc) -- but I think they hold up.
And yes, I've watched Reservoir Dogs about a hundred times... its just too much.
/rant
I've been mulling over a system for how I will tip when I finally decide to completely stop the assumed-tipping. Most times when I go to a restaurant the service is typically good, but I can count the times a server has given exceptional service. There is one girl that I believe should be the bar for service. Preemptive refills, 100% of the order was correct and retrieved from the pass as soon as it was posted, minimal chit chat.
Every aspect of the service that night was flawless. Ask for a side of mayo? She drops it off without making a show of it or disrupting the conversation. Had two refills of water? A pitcher shows up. Even when she dropped off the cheque, she had the card reader with her, but not holding it out as if she was waiting for us -- she was prepared in every respect.
This sort of service is deserving of something above and beyond her standard pay. Anything less and I just can't justify this. If anything BOH should get tipped equally... but we know that will never happen.
I guess that was two rants. I really had no idea we were supposed to tip RMTs. I don't tip my dentist..
No, I said sometimes for massage therapists. Some people do, some don't, some RMTs accepts tips and some won't, no problem. I think the ones at crappy chain places rely on tips more than the rest. If you don't want to tip, no sweat.
It's funny -- I just never considered that.
As a result of this thread I've been talking to a buddy about tipping culture and why we draw the lines where we do. There's no logic to it.
New Zealand here - we don't really tip at all. Some restaurants have a space to add a tip on the receipt but it's not expected or too common.
And those that do have the tip space are most often places that get a lot of tourists.
We optionally tip servers and taxis in Turkey (IDK much about fine dining, having money is still in my todo list). I mean it's not obligatory, but people do, and it's not offensive to do. I never tip taxis, though, they are a herd of dickheads here. For me, I generally leave tips via leaving the change.
Small little bribes in hospitals and public offices will make the impossible possible. I wish I could be that shameless... Surprisingly, there is a common word to describe both phenomena: bahşiş.
Yes. It's a pretty common practice in east Europe. Waiters get tips, Taxi drivers, Barbers and so on.
Central Europe, can confirm. It's usually just a little, not as much as in America.
For example if I eat in restaurant and I pay 180 [currency], I usually give 200 - if I had no issues, like unpleasant environment, long wait time, or bad food. 1usd = 22 [currency]
15-20% is pretty standard for a tip, at least here in Canada, so that's not far off.
In Switzerland, depending on who you're with and where you go, anything between rounding up to the nearest 2 or 5 CHF, to tipping 10%, is normal.
South Africa 10% is normal, or more if the service is exceptional.
No tip is also normal.
In Australia I have occasionally seen tip jars on the counters of bars but its not at all expected that you use them.
In 3-4 months of bartending in Australia I got 4 tips I think. 2 on Christmas, one on NYE and one by some guy I chatted with
It's not uncommon in the UK for some things but it's acceptable not to as well. In cafes I wouldn't, but in restaurants I'll sometimes leave a tip but not always, and in higher end places service is included anyway, so no need; taxis are usually more of a "keep the change" situation. In a pub I'm more likely to say "and one for yourself" when ordering drinks rather than leaving cash somewhere.
I can't think of other situations where I'd tip, but I'm sure other people do things differently to me.
Absolutely not. I think the whole practice is absurd. At most, I'll leave the change, unless service was phenomenal and I intend on going back to that restaurant a few more times
Denmark here, no. Tipping is out of the ordinary, and something that's done only if the service was truly extraordinary. And in those cases, you likely just round up to the nearest 100 or 50 kroner which means that tips are only ever single digit percentages. I imagine it's the same in the rest of Scandinavia, and maybe even Northern Europe as a whole.
The last time I tipped someone was at the salon that I get haircuts. I'd been going there for a year and indeed rounded up, which resulted in 200 kroner - a haircut priced 170 kroner and a tip at 30 kroner. Before that though, I can't remember the last tip I gave. Maybe a pizza delivery guy, but that was probably because I wanted to get rid of my pocket change.
I honestly feel if you tip everyone it devalues the concept of it. For people to get accused of being greedy for NOT tipping is most of the time bullshit, guilt tripping shouldn't be a thing.
Totally agree! A few years back I went to the US and we obviously ate out a lot as you do on holidays. The first restaurant we went to, I explained the American tipping culture to my parents and they didn't believe me that you're supposed to tip 15-20%, so they tipped the waitress like 5%. The waitress scoffed and mumbled a "have a good night" in a clearly annoyed tone as she took the payment and left our table before we left the restaurant.
I still think about that moment because it's such a cultural clash in that of course my parents wouldn't believe that you're meant to tip 15-20%! It's absolutely insane!
In Brazil, there is a flat 10% tip/gratuity at restaurants, and you can have it waived if you did not have a good experience.
I think there's only a few very extreme exceptions, I think Japan considers tipping rude (condescending?), for example. The US has extremely high tip percentages, though, in Europe, it's usually more in the 5% range (I mostly think of it as rounding up), rather than the US concept of basically adding a quarter of what you paid.
Russian here. I usually tip a fixed amount of around ₽50 to ₽100 depending on the total price, which is about 5%. I don't tip when I didn't like the place or the service, and I can tip twice that if I really liked everything.
In India we don't tip anyone (majority).