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Foreign Tipping Guide by Country & Region

Foreign Tipping Guide by Country & Region

Old Dec 17, 2007, 7:52 am
  #61  
 
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Romania

I disagree with Romania.
W/W is 10%
Cab is round up (to the nearest RON). E.g. 5.32 -> 6.00, 8.99 -> 9.00
Others (porter, etc.) usually 5 RON is perfect.
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Old Dec 17, 2007, 5:54 pm
  #62  
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I have to say frankly tipping outside USA sucks. Its offensive and totally not needed. I just cant figure out why mainly Americans are so obsessed with getting every other country in the world to adopt this awful practise. OK I am off to my fall out shelter now. !!!!!!!
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Old Jan 8, 2008, 9:47 pm
  #63  
 
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Originally Posted by bhmlurker
In Taiwan, the only place that tipping is required is valet parking. Other than that, service charge is added virtually everywhere you go.
Well...the kind of restaurants I generally visit in Taiwan don't include service charge: but you are still not expected to tip. And as I may have mentioned before, taxi drivers do not expect tips either--though I've taken to refusing my change back or leaving a small tip iff there's no smoke flavor in the cab (and mentioning that I appreciate it).
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Old Jan 10, 2008, 1:15 pm
  #64  
 
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Thailand

I might add the following notes to seanthepilot's post about Thailand.

Hotel, I leave 20-30 baht in coins on the bed for the maids, they appreciate it very much.

Meals at a food stall on the street. Never seen a tip.

Bars that bring back change on the tray ... you should know that many times, if you leave the tip on the tray, all of it (or even some of it) might not end up going to staff! Some owners keep anything left on the tray, and if it is shared, it is sometimes "raided" before it is distributed. seanthepilot's advice is excellent. Leave only 10 baht on the tray, then on your way out, give the tip to the server directly, in her hand.

I do not generally use a credit card in Thailand, but it would be my guess that a tip added to a credit card charge does not always go to the staff either.

Thai people, in general, never tip taxi drivers, only (sometimes) rounding up to the next 5 baht amount.
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Old Jan 18, 2008, 5:12 am
  #65  
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Originally Posted by bhmlurker
In Taiwan, the only place that tipping is required is valet parking. Other than that, service charge is added virtually everywhere you go.
After living there, I'd say that the only place a SC is added is at a higher-end restaurant. I never left an additional tip at any place I patronized, whether a service charge was added or not. It's just how it's done in Taiwan.

The only tip I can remember leaving was 200NT at Chinese New Year for the baristas at the Guting Starbucks in Taipei who put up with me every day. After that, I got waited on at a table...
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Old Jan 24, 2008, 1:48 am
  #66  
 
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Originally Posted by y10k
China
W/W: 3% in major cities
P: $1 to $2
TD: None



What's with this 3%? As a Chinese, I would say no tipping is required. However, if you go to high-class hotels or places that mostly cater to foreigners, 10% tips might be preferred.
ya agree.never heard about the 3% thing.i'm chinese 2 im not firing the message maker, i'd like to say something i know.i work for a US travel agency and i'm a tour guide,i myself is a tips taker,if u think i do this thread from a wrong position u don't have to read the following content,please skip this thread.

if u r in a tour group,almost all the travel agencies would provide their clients a recommended tips standard for the guides and drivers,u just follow that if there's no problem with the srevice.different standard for different agency but alomost the same.

usually no tips for retaurants service unless u r in 4 or 5 star rated hotels,20yuen or $3 Minimum will be good, tips for hotel luggage service always be expected.standard will be 30yuen or $4 Minimum for both in and out,payed by room.they live on that.

in nightclubs,bars or something like that,tips standard depends on different cities,normally the bigger size the higher tips.u better check with your guide or local friends.

beside,when u just walk arround the streets nearby your hotel no tips for TD,waiters or waitresses in the street side retaurants including KFC,pizzahut,Micd,starbucks etc.in modern chinese sociaty ppl haven't complately started acceptting taking tips beside servicesuppliers mostly for westerners.i agree with this "Special care must be taken to ensure that your well-meaning gesture is not taken as insulting. If you are unsure, it is best not to tip. If possible, observe the locals and follow their lead."

basically if u do a package tour no matter u r in big groups or u travel alone u need tipping in china,at least in big cities.u need to hire a good imformative cunstructive and helpful guide that's very impotant.it's a shame that the truth is we have some terrible guides.ya i know sometines that's not in your hand.u better let your agency know abot that make'em believe u mean it.

if u backpacking,hiking or cycling in china,not 100% but most of the time tips free.

thanx for reading.

Last edited by legend-k; Jan 24, 2008 at 1:56 am
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Old Feb 8, 2008, 1:38 am
  #67  
 
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Costa Rica
W/W: None
P: $1 per bag
TD: 10%
This is wrong. Taxi drivers do not need tips. When we were there none asked for it and didn't seem upset that we didn't give one. I gave a $2 tip to the shuttle driver who took us from our hotel to the airport on our last day there and he was very excited by it. OTOH, he did take the fastest route possible even going by some local roads to avoid the traffic he knew was happening, so we were happy.

For waiters, there's a 10% service charge included. We often rounded up a bit when paying (cash almost everywhere) but its not required. OTOH, when your lunch costs $2/person, we had no problems leaving a dollar extra.
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Old Mar 2, 2008, 4:00 am
  #68  
 
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Originally Posted by taipeipeter
And as I may have mentioned before, taxi drivers do not expect tips either--though I've taken to refusing my change back or leaving a small tip iff there's no smoke flavor in the cab (and mentioning that I appreciate it).
Agreed, no tipping in taxis. My Taiwanese friends never tip them, smoke or not - so I don't tip them either.

Why export the tipping habit?
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Old Mar 21, 2008, 12:51 pm
  #69  
 
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Originally Posted by TomUK
I like to add my tipping experience in Germany, UK (England, Scotland etc.), Thailand:

Restaurants:

In Germany and UK I usually leave 10% tip rounded up to the next full Euro or Pound. TomUK
When I lived in Germany (1980s--preEU) taxes and service charge were always included in the menu price (and it usually said so on the menu). The custom was to round the bill up to the next DM and that was that. On the rare occasion that the server provided some outstanding service, one might add a little more. However, that would be the exception. German restaurants often had only one server for the entire place and service was typically slow (but your table was yours for as long as you wanted to stay).

I doubt that things have changed that much since then (except for paying in Euros instead of DMs). I was back for a visit a couple of years ago, and the menu still said that taxes and service were included in the price. Therefore I would in no way feel obligated to leave a 10% tip.
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Old Mar 31, 2008, 4:50 am
  #70  
 
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Know that in US we need to tip for most of the service provider, but does this include if we go to groceries. Just confused when is the right time to tip when to not, since I'm running on a tight budget..just wanna save every cent i can
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Old Mar 31, 2008, 5:59 am
  #71  
 
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Originally Posted by urmyno_one
Know that in US we need to tip for most of the service provider, but does this include if we go to groceries. Just confused when is the right time to tip when to not, since I'm running on a tight budget..just wanna save every cent i can
Although I think it is clear that you are not expected to tip when you collect the groceries at the supermarket check-out, you do make a good point.

Many foreigners. like me, are never 100% sure of when it is appropriate to tip in the US beyond the usual (waiters, cab drivers, porters) and go through agony in fear we may be abused by some guy who expected a tip but didn't get one!
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Old Mar 31, 2008, 10:06 am
  #72  
 
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Originally Posted by turtlemichael
Although I think it is clear that you are not expected to tip when you collect the groceries at the supermarket check-out, you do make a good point.

Many foreigners. like me, are never 100% sure of when it is appropriate to tip in the US beyond the usual (waiters, cab drivers, porters) and go through agony in fear we may be abused by some guy who expected a tip but didn't get one!

Then I guess I need to learn from observation & error/mistake
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Old Apr 2, 2008, 11:43 am
  #73  
 
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This is a great guide. Thanks. I am bookmarking this one for sure.
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Old Apr 24, 2008, 1:58 pm
  #74  
 
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Germany

One peculiarity in Germany is that unlike in France and the US, where the tip is left on the table, this is not done. The "rounding up" that has been described is done verbally. The waiter will generally either tell you the price or give you a written copy of the tab. You then hand them the money and tell the the final sum. They will then return change for that sum. E. g. the bill is EUR 27.60, you hand them a 50, say "30", they give you back 20.

Now put that in the chart.
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Old Apr 25, 2008, 10:08 am
  #75  
 
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Indonesia

10% for W/W is a bit high for Indonesia. What I mostly see in CGK is to round to the nearest 10k rupiah (roughly to the nearest $1). I think the Magellan's guide et al are simply using 10% as a floor for countries in which there is not a specifically enumerated "service charge".

In DPS, one rarely sees tips anywhere except maybe in US-based hotel chains. The mid-level hotels and most restaurants are heavily populated by Aussies, who, God Bless 'em, do not have much of a reputation for tipping .
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