flyoy

This should be a sticky!

[Moderator note: We agree, and that's why we made it one of the forum's few sticky threads several years ago. Ocn Vw 1K.]

JohnMathew1

Thanks for sharing useful information. Keep updating...

greenery-travel

Indonesia: W/W is not necessary at all. 90%+ of locals do not tip in restaurants there. Most restaurants where tourists eat already have a "service charge". Please help keep Indonesia free from the overtipping culture of certain western countries! (Bribes, unfortunately, are far far more common, but that is a whole other story.)

Maluku_Flyer

+ big number ^

Maluku_Flyer

Sticky is really nice, but the info in post #1 hasn't been updated in more than 2 years. And the input from tourists still seems to trump what the locals say.

joshwex90

So what that post #1 hasn't been updated in quite some time? It's a wiki now which has been updated quite a bit, so no need to update the OP.

And for the most part, the local information seems to prevail. Maybe locals can "sign" it (like by Israel, how it specifically says that any cabdriver asking for a tip is cuz he knows you're a tourist, which will stop a tourist who thinks the situation is otherwise from editing that).

Maluku_Flyer

Oops, thanks. I really hadn't noticed that is was now a wiki. So I guess I can edit the parts that I don't agree with.

BadgerBoi

Well, feel free to correct any inaccuracies might be a better way of thinking about it

onobond

With friends both among restaurateurs and waters/waitresses (of whom 2 hold positions in their union) in Sweden, I'd like to suggest some corrections:

1. Service charge is not added to restaurant bills in Sweden. It was added many years ago, when it was customary to tip 10%, and w/w were taxated as per 8%. The Hotel & Restaurant workers Union negotiated that to 13,5%, to enable other staff, ie cooks & washers etc, to share.

As this sum was not considered pay from the employer, it was not grounds for sick-leave pay or pensions. The Union made strong effort to negociate that this "fee" on the bill was included in the price, thus included in the base for sick leave pay & pensions.

After that, legislation in Sweden has made it a rule that every price offered to anyone in the public is final, ie no add-ons of VAT, service charge etc is made.

Hence no "rule" of adding 10% or any other level of tips exists. At one's own discretion, adding anything extra to the bill is appreciated, but not mandatory. W/w are not paid minimum wages to rely on tips, but comparable salary to other branches of the service industry.

2. Porters to carry bags is a species almost extinct in Sweden. A small number of the best hotels in the three most populated might have them, but in general you are supposed to take care of the luggage yourself. Where porters are found, they also are salaried according to the service industry. A tip is not mandatory, but welcome.

3. Although organized in a different Union, Taxi drivers got the same agreement as w/w as per tips. For long, Taxis in Sweden have accepted cc payment. After the introduction of chip cc's, where the payment is momentanous, very few pax use cash for taxi payment. This is also beneficial for the trade, as it significantly reduces the risk of cabby robbery. Paying with cash, rounding up the sum is not unusual, but more for the convenience of the driver, not to find coin change. Paying with cc, extremely unusual. Of course if you travel wit a lot of heavy bags and get more help than expected, you might want to show gratitude.

My suggestion:

Sweden
W/W: 0
P: 0
TD: 0

GRALISTAIR

I have been on FT almost 6 years. Only just spotted this thread. Wonderful resource. Thank you all

ORDnHKG

The STICKY for Hong Kong is WRONG.

There is no such thing of 10% tip if no service charge.

The local's tradition is to leave the coins as tips ($0.10, $0.20, $0.50, $1, $2, $5, $10), but you NEVER leave the paper currency ($10, $20, $50, $100, etc)

Even for coins, most people won't leave the $10 coin as that is a bit much for tips.

For cabs, it is round up.

While tips are not mandatory or insulting like in Japan, expect very little to no tip at all, there are no fix percentage of tips required in general.

jackal

It's not a sticky, it's a wiki. If it's wrong, change it.

LarkSFO

The new Starbucks App will allow you to add a tip!

Hallelujah!

relangford

Maybe it somewhere in these 31 pages, but what about free food? If I eat a free snack at, say, an airline lounge, do I tip anywhere, even the U.S.? I understand a tip in the jar for the bartender (or, today, "mixologist"). When I lived in easterrn Europe, tipping was very unusual, but accepted; when I lived in China, waiters were insulted if you left a tip; and, now in Korea, tipping is being to get into vogue. My Korean relatives often tip in advance to ensure good service at restaurants - maybe 10%. So, in Korea, it's coming!

jackal

I've never tipped for free food, and most especially not if it's self-service. I can't think of a single time where you'd tip for self-service (you're supposed to tip ~10%-ish at buffets (low for the U.S. but accepted at buffets), but that's for the "waitstaff" who are really more "bussers" than "waitstaff"). I don't usually tip bartenders at airline clubs for things that should be free (and, frankly, should be self-service), like soft drinks, although I usually do tip a buck for the complimentary house beer or wine (there's sort of a soft rule of etiquette that you tip for alcohol)...although since all the domestic U.S. clubs moved to undrinkable swill, I haven't had anything to drink in the clubs in awhile, so I'm saving money by not having to tip, either.

I have yet to come across free food that wasn't self-service served in a country that has a tradition of tipping (the clubs in the U.S. certainly don't serve anything for free), so I'm not sure what I'd do in that situation.

I say the above as a usually very generous tipper (although I respect local customs and scale back as appropriate overseas).