Countries that tip for service?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

Inspired by pizza thread.

In what countries do people tip and for what services do people tip?

Sometime I will tip a cabbie to round up to the nearest $5, but thats about it. I think that is fairly typical for Australia.

I know that in the USA and Canada they tip for just about everything, but what about other countries?

Something I discovered in Canada was that only one waiter serves you at a restaurant. I think I confused them a little when I kept asking service from various waiters - it messes up ther tipping system.

I think this is a more IMHO question than GD, so here it is.

#2

Heh, I always thought that tipping was universal.

In HK we usually tip for most of the services provided. Usually I’ll round up the cab fare; I think we all tip in restaurants, but for me it varies depending on the quality of the service - but I always tip; at the barber’s; in hotels; and the delivery dude.

#3

Oh no. Around here tipping is such a foreign concept that if you left change on your restaurant table, you’d have the waitress run out on the street to give it back to you. You also generally don’t tip at all in mainland China, although that’s more a leftover from the communist era, I believe.

#4

From fellow students I met in college from England, it appears that people in the service industry over there are paid a living wage, and that tipping is more a special courtesy than it is a standard. My friend who waited tables over there said that she might make 5/10 pounds per shift in tips, but that she never counted on it or expected it to be a serious part of her earnings.

From my experience at a tourist bar here, the only non-American patrons that tip well on a regular basis are Germans. I can’t say that I’ve met people from every country, but our clientele is 90% tourists, and service people here generally cringe when they find out their customers aren’t American, because tipping is not part of most peoples’ cultures in other countries…and usually they only tip if they have been over here awhile, or are being escorted by an American who fills them in on what’s expected.

#5

From my experiance as a server in the US: New Yorkers tip the best. They’re often the rudest customers, too, but I’ve found they rarely leave less then 20%. Canadians usually leave around 10%, and Brits/Aussies rarely leave any. Which strikes me as odd, because whenever traveling, I make sure I know the local customs and stuff. You won’t find me flashing the Victory sign in England…

#6

I have only ever tipped waiters in restaurants, taxi drivers and occasionally pizza delivery drivers. They all get paid a living wage but not a generous one. 10 % is regarded as ample for a tip in Germany, and it’s acceptable to make it dependent on quality of service, one’s own means and what the next convenient round sum is (e.g. when I have dined really well, the service was good and the bill is for 36 EUR, I hand over 40 EUR and indicate that I don’t want change. When the food and the service was bad I get change to the last euro-cent.) As far as I know tipping is unknown in situations where no money other than the tip would change hands. Also you often don’t tip whom you know to be the restaurant’s proprietor.

#7

This Canadian usually tips at least 15% (always rounded up to the next whole dollar) and then adds some if the service was really good, or just to make it simpler on us and the waitstaff regarding change. The general rule of thumb, at least among my friends, is to add up the federal and provincial taxes - they total about 15% of the bill, and are always displayed on the bill.

I understand that not all places actually follow this rule, but I think (in Québec, at least), all taxes are collected together and split among the staff at the end of the night.

#8

In Japan it is an insult to tip – you’re implying that they have to be bribed to do their jobs.

#9

Green_bladder; I’m new to HK, and I rarely see people tip in restaurants, since every menu proclaims a 10% service charge. I haven’t been tipping - am I getting it wrong?

Always round up the taxi fare, though, unless the driver goes miles out of the way. I’ll have to start tipping at the barber’s.

#10

Hereabouts, we don’t tip the cabbies. Nor do they expect one.
Restaurant waiters get upto about 10% generally, but a lot depends on the kind of establishment…
Barbers get tipped in the expensive salons, otherwise not.
I usually tip delivery dude, but it’s not a done thing…

#11

The Australian federal minimum wage is $A11.35 and hour for a full time worker (38-hours/week). That’s about $US7.95. (Although your $A11 will go as almost far in Australia as $US11 will in America – there’s little pricing parity.)

Accordingly, tipping is rare here.

Australians who refuse to tip when they are in the US, however, are terribly ignorant, IMO.

#12

For Norway:

Servers at restaurants don’t count on tips as part of their income, but appreciate being tipped when it happens. Usually you leave the small change on the table if you’re paying cash, or round up if you pay by card. An extra ten or twenty kroner is also common. (That would be one and a half to three dollars, US.) When we have food delivered, which is rare, I’ll round up the bill add ten.

Taxi drivers don’t get tipped for normal rides, but some passengers round up here, too. I’d add an extra ten or twenty for extra service. A humorous candy commercial recently featured a light-hearted dispute between the cab driver and the passenger over six kroner - less than a buck!

Hairdressers, barbers, etc. don’t get tipped. I just realized I haven’t a clue about hotel housekeeping staff, bellhops, etc., because we usually don’t stay in hotels when we travel within Norway. When a self-catering cabin has a sign telling you to wash the floors before you go, you’ll excuse me for not tipping the housekeeper :stuck_out_tongue:

#13

South Africa:
Waitors/Waitresses are generally tipped. As are pizza/fast food delivery men. Bar men get tipped as well just not as much.

#14

Hey Keek, welcome to the boards (and to Hong Kong!).

Hm, I usually see quite a few tippers wherever I go, but perhaps it comes down to what kind of restaurant one goes to. There’s no wrong or right here, I’ve been taught to do it right from the start and that’s why I usually tip around 5% on top of the service charge. Right or wrong, I dunno, but it makes me feel better. :smiley:

I wouldn’t worry too much about it, though. You won’t (or shouldn’t) get any looks if you prefer not to tip.

#15

Correct. No tipping is expected for anything I can think of, including restaurants, taxis, hotels, delivieries and barbers. If you’re a tourist and you try to tip in Tokyo (or any other place that gets a lot of tourists), they’ll probably just wave it away rather than get insulted, assuming that you just aren’t aware of the local customs.

#16

Well, I’ve never tipped the entire time I’ve been here and friends I’ve spoken to say that its rare. Who knows, maybe I just have stingy friends.

#17

I am work as a server 3 evenings a week in New England in a busy chain restaurant. We DO cringe when we have customers from outside the US (and we are next to a big hotel) because tipping is such an American custom. We DO rely on tips. Our hourly wage is $2.63 + tips per hour. Minimum wage in MA for non-tipped positions is $6.75 per hour (so you see how much we really do count on tips). Generally, for good service, we expect (and get) 18% to 20% or more. However, southerners (southern US) do not have the same standards and consider 15% an excellent tip.

Also, in the restaurant I work in, we tip out others workers. We tip the bartenders 1% of sales, the food-runners 1% (each - with 2 on on Friday and Saturday nights), and 1% to the busboys. What that means is that if we get 20% on all our checks, we still only walk out the door with 16% (on the week-ends) after tipping out.

Just thought I would give the server’s perspective. Also, being “tip-dependent” as I am, I am a better tipper when I get good service. I tip servers, my hair stylist, the pizza/chinese/whatever delivery guy, room service, etc.

#18

Yeah - it is always important to at least read the guide books to find out what the local customs are. Some people just expect that they should behave like at home. Tipping is a minor thing compared to some stuff I have seen in south-east asia with westerners (eg Aussies) exposing various part of their body without thinking - anyway that’s another story.

My Canadian friend says that some establishments over there actually charge the waitress/waiter to work for the privilege of collecting tips.

Anyone else from Europe? Whats the deal in France and Spain?

#19

Tipping of any form doesn’t exist here.

#20

Sorry, should clarify. Manadatory tipping doesn’t exist.