Originally Posted by
RichardInSF
These threads always invite controversy. I have always found that written guides, either online or in travel books, invariably overstate how many people you should tip and how much you should tip them.
For example, the hotel info guide at the Park Hyatt Melbourne, Australia, where I was about a week ago, suggested 10% as an appropriate tip for basically everything when, to the best of my knowledge, Australians hardly ever tip at all.
The best of your knowledge is close to the mark
RichardInSF. Typically we'll sometimes tip in restaurants (only if the service and quality of food warrants), but usually a round-up or around 10% whichever is lower. Cabs may also get a tip sometimes (also round-up/10%). Tips for anything else are as rare as hens' teeth.
Given that AFAIK tips make up a healthy part of, for example, a US waiter's wages, then I reckon that's a sly way of inflating the bill at the customer's expense rather than the restaurateur paying a decent wage.
Anyway, c'est la vie, it all works different ways in different places, and when travelling I usually adopt a 'when in Rome' attitude.