Tipping in Thailand and SE Asia in general

[NoshowJones]

40 minutes ago, gmac said:

That's the ++ and I avoid restaurants that practice it like the plague, 10% service 7% tax.  Unfortunately it seems fairly general in Bangkok these days.  If they want to charge 17% more just be honest about it and show the inclusive price on the menu.

Restaurants and hotel booking agents like Agoda should just put the price you pay an the menu or booking form, and none of this sneaky small print nonsense.

[scorecard]

18 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

What if no service charge in a Thai restaurant?

Tip expected? 

What %?

 

Bahh humbug - thought I was escaping the tipping culture.

 

Tipping is common in Thailand and there is a broad expectation that foreigners will tip a little higher.

 

The main exception is basic noodle shops where tips are not given, Thai or foreigner customers.

 

Yes some places automatically add 10% service charge to the bill and most foreigners will expect that the serving staff will get the 10% at the end of the month or whenever. But very often not true, plenty of restaurant owners take the 10% for themselves or take half for themselves etc.

 

My Thai son always deducts the 10% if it appears on a bill and given a suitable tips (often about 10%) direct to the waiter / waitress but when no other staff can see it.

 

If it's already printed on the CC slip he's had restaurant owners / manager come to the table and say:

 

- it has to be on the cc bill by Thai law - totally not true.

 

- i cannot remove it from the bill so i'm sorry you will have to pay it - totally not true.

 

One time my son was entertaining some friends at a big restaurant in the Siam Paragon building, both the service and the food quality were way less than expected in this specific restaurant, the cc bill came with 10% service already calculated and printed on the bill, son quickly took the cc bill to the cashiers desk and wrote in big letters 'cancelled' in Thai and in English and took one of the copies for himself, paid in cash (no tip) and insisted on a receipt.

 

In reality he copied what he had seen one of his Thai buddies do a few months earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[smutcakes]

4 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Tipping is common in Thailand and there is a broad expectation that foreigners will tip a little higher.

 

The main exception is basic noodle shops where tips are not given, Thai or foreigner customers.

 

Yes some places automatically add 10% service charge to the bill and most foreigners will expect that the serving staff will get the 10% at the end of the month or whenever. But very often not true, plenty of restaurant owners take the 10% for themselves or take half for themselves etc.

 

My Thai son always deducts the 10% if it appears on a bill and given a suitable tips (often about 10%) direct to the waiter / waitress but when no other staff can see it.

 

If it's already printed on the CC slip he's had restaurant owners / manager come to the table and say:

 

- it has to be on the cc bill by Thai law - totally not true.

 

- i cannot remove it from the bill so i'm sorry you will have to pay it - totally not true.

 

One time my son was entertaining some friends at a big restaurant in the Siam Paragon building, both the service and the food quality were way less than expected in this specific restaurant, the cc bill came with 10% service already calculated and printed on the bill, son quickly took the cc bill to the cashiers desk and wrote in big letters 'cancelled' in Thai and in English and took one of the copies for himself, paid in cash (no tip) and insisted on a receipt.

 

In reality he copied what he had seen one of his Thai buddies do a few months earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your son sounds a great laugh....

[FritsSikkink]

20 hours ago, Vacuum said:

There is no tip expected in Thailand. Stupid tourists brought the idea to the Thais. It's not expected!

Is there is a service charge no tip but otherwise:

Nonsense, cheap charlies don't tip and are looking for an excuse to get away with it.

[elgenon]

My Thai friends always tip. 

[Different]

In Thailand tipping is not mandatory up to you, where in US tipping is mandatory and shame will hunt you to your death if you don't tip them.

[BMW Overlander]

18 hours ago, VBF said:

It's not a case of being cheap or otherwise and it's certainly not a common courtesy  - that would be treating the staff politely. Tips are for when you get especially good service or when you feel like offering them - as you say "if you're happy".

if the service is lackadaisical or worse, no tip and no return - simple.

 

I've said this before on TV  "Tips are for me to offer, not for them to expect"

 

Looks you got offended, not surprised.

It is a common courtesy but probably not in your sticks.

[The manic]

1 minute ago, BMW Overlander said:

 

Looks you got offended, not surprised.

It is a common courtesy but probably not in your sticks.

Tips help support people on low income. If you are a recurring customer,  always tip.

[VBF]

48 minutes ago, BMW Overlander said:

 

Looks you got offended, not surprised.

It is a common courtesy but probably not in your sticks.

It is NOT a courtesy, it is an optional friendly act of largess.

 

No i'm not certainly offended - I'm amused at the number of people who think they have to do something that is optional - and then berate the Thais for worrying about "face"!

 

As I mentioned, I choose to tip when and if I think it appropriate: that is when the service is especially good. In that situation I have been known to tip quite well because i want to show my appreciation for service above and beyond the minimum expected.

 

As an example, I went to a very ordinary little bar in Pattaya with 2 friends and our server was extraordinarily pleasant, friendly and helpful, even nipping to 7/11 for my mate's cigs and to a food cart for me.  When we left after spending a few hours in the bar, said server got a 600 Baht tip in her hand, not on the tray! By the time I went back to the bar, she'd moved on, according to another server, to a better job - good for her!

 

As an afterthought, if we all did that, the staff might "up their game" knowing that tips would result from their actions and attitudes rather than just be expected for doing their job.

 

And.....if people think I'm a cheap charlie...."talk to the hand, 'cos the face ain't listening" ??

[crazyk]

Tipping in Thailand is an insult to the host/ess,if you don’t leave a tip in a bar or Togo bar they’ll slag you off as they rely on tips to live as their pay is meager,even if you only have 1 drink & leave B10 they look at you as a cheap Charlie,I usually drink in the same bars & get served by the same girl & put the tip in her hand,that way the person thats done the work gets the credid

[poohy]

16 hours ago, khunPer said:

Official minimum wage in 2018 is over 300 baht per day for 8-hours work, ranging between 305 baht to about 320 baht, depending of province.

?

However  in the real world

Around here Prachuap only 711 Macro and Homepro and Tesco pay that anyone else 200/ish 

[melvinmelvin]

2 hours ago, Different said:

In Thailand tipping is not mandatory up to you, where in US tipping is mandatory and shame will hunt you to your death if you don't tip them.

 

shows that US is more backwards than LoS

 

[Fruit Trader]

Last Saturday family and two friends (12 people) to local fish restaurant we supply the whiskey and split bill three ways. For three hours various staff wait on the table and keep drinks topped up. 1000 Baht tip at the table 100 baht to the car park attendant.

[melvinmelvin]

19 minutes ago, Fruit Trader said:

Last Saturday family and two friends (12 people) to local fish restaurant we supply the whiskey and split bill three ways. For three hours various staff wait on the table and keep drinks topped up. 1000 Baht tip at the table 100 baht to the car park attendant.

 

that is one of the aspects about Thai restaurants I really dislike,

young girls hanging around the table and messing up drinks and beers and playing around with icecubes, water and soda

I normally ensure that bottles etc are placed on the table so that the silly girls can't reach them

 

I do not appreciate amateurs playing around with my drinks

 

 

[Fruit Trader]

15 minutes ago, melvinmelvin said:

 

that is one of the aspects about Thai restaurants I really dislike,

young girls hanging around the table and messing up drinks and beers and playing around with icecubes, water and soda

I normally ensure that bottles etc are placed on the table so that the silly girls can't reach them

 

I do not appreciate amateurs playing around with my drinks

 

 

Wow, amateur young girls hanging round the table messing with drinks and playing with ice cubes. Please let me know, we have big truck and can travel.

[JTXR]

Minimum wage in Thailand is now 325 baht per day.  Of course, some places don't pay that much, and many Thais make more, but that's a reasonable average to consider when thinking about what ordinary service workers make.

If a restaurant includes a service charge, I don't leave a tip, obviously.  If it doesn't, I generally leave 10%  or so.  Yes, it's not expected, but hell, in the kind of places I usually eat at, it amounts to 20-30 baht.  I can afford it, and I know it's appreciated, so why not?

[attrayant]

 
Tipping Yes some places automatically add 10% service charge to the bill and most foreigners will expect that the serving staff will get the 10% at the end of the month or whenever. But very often not true, plenty of restaurant owners take the 10% for themselves or take half for themselves

Even KFC does this. Their delivery boys get only 19 baht out of each 40B delivery charge.

[5633572526]

On 7/23/2018 at 2:42 PM, Vacuum said:

There is no tip expected in Thailand. Stupid tourists brought the idea to the Thais. It's not expected!

Sorry but in the westernized tourist areas tips are indeed expected and often asked for. Many businesses add service fees (read “tips”) to the bill. I have no problem tipping for good service but if it is included in the bill then that’s all they get. Also on my most recent trip to Saigon I was asked several times for tips at various restaurants and bars so as Vietnam becomes more westernized you can expect service fees to be a normal thing there soon as well.

[1FinickyOne]

On 7/24/2018 at 2:37 AM, JimmyJ said:

Unfortunately, the service charge seems to often not be mentioned until it is applied to the bill.

 

I ordered a bottle of water at my Bangkok hotel' s outside bar after asking the waitress the price.

She opened it, then asked for an amount 20% higher than she'd stated a moment earlier.

"Service charge".

The bill confirmed that.

 

I looked at a few online restaurant reviews and one knocked a restaurant here (in Bangkok) for adding on to the bill a 10% service charge not stated on the menu.

 

 

This is something that never happens in the countryside... I would guess tourist areas only...

[attrayant]

On 7/23/2018 at 2:42 PM, Vacuum said:

Stupid tourists brought the idea to the Thais.

 

Why didn't the Thais reject such a stupid idea?

[Vacuum]

20 minutes ago, attrayant said:

 

Why didn't the Thais reject such a stupid idea?

Why would they reject free money?

[attrayant]

Oh, so maybe it's not such a stupid idea after all?

[alexlm]

On 7/23/2018 at 12:58 PM, 1dayumay said:

Wrong! The minimum wage is 300++ per day/8h work.

 

do you really think the whole nation work in 7-11?

I have never tipped any 7/11 staff... have you?? And you are out of the topic.