Tipping in Thai restaurants and bars

[superal]

Apologies if this topic has been discussed recently but I did a search on here and nothing relative came up . The question being , do you tip the waitress / waiter in a restaurant and if so how much , (Even if a service charge is levied ) Also in a bar , after a few drinks and say a bill for 400 baht , do you give a tip and if so how much ? In general it seems that Thai folk seldom tip but it is almost a forgone conclusion that a foreigner will tip ( the exception being ,  some other well known Asian tourists ) . Do you , or have you ever rang the bell for drinks on you ? That is mostly seen by the 2 week millionaires .

 Apart from the bars etc ,what about taxis , golf caddies , hair dressers or other services in general  ? When returning to a bar that I  have used recently and tipped , I seem to get served well with special attention . I have noticed some foreigners , who when presented with the change in the bill folder , grab the lot and off they go without even leaving the small coins . Most of the aforementioned are on low wages and rely on tips to boost their income . A service charge say 10 or 15 % is to pay for the staff who come to serve you , supposedly .

[Lemsta69]

yes, I tip. from 20 to 100 baht depending on how I feel at the time. even if there's already a 10% service charge included. 

 

why? because I can.

[OneMoreFarang]

Up to you - it really is.

 

I tip according to the quality of the service and depending on if I want to go to that place again.

Good service, I tip.

Bad service, I normally don't tip. With maybe the exception that I want to go there again, and I don't want to upset them by not giving them any tip.

Except from bars and restaurants I tip for special services like checking the tire pressure at the gasoline station or maybe a security guard to got me a taxi-meter.

 

About the amount: Often it's just 20B - Thai style.

In better places like a luxury hotel, I pay maybe 100B tip - if the service is good.

 

And for the girls in a bar: If I bought her a drink and I don't want to see her again I give her no tip. If I maybe want to see her again, I give her 100B. And if I want to make sure she remembers me and jumps when I arrive then more than that.

 

I don't think anybody ever showed any concern if I didn't tip.

[bkk6060]

Sure,  I have the funds why not. Maids in hotels everyday I leave 100 b. Restaurants 10 to 15%, golf caddy 500, etc.

[airbalance]

I think the first answer is quite clear. It is truly up to you. 20 Baht may not mean much to you, but alot to the person you are giving. 100 Baht is also a very substantial amount and if you are really happy and you want to give more, it's your choice, you will make their day for sure!

[moogradod]

My Thai wife and me tip as a general rule. Exept if the service was noticeably lower than what you would expect as a minimum or done without any enthusiasm and effort.

 

I observe that my wife tends to give more and more often then me. I more or less follow the rule to tip for something exeptional and the rest would be more of the "leave the change" thing and if there is no change, then nothing. In places where we show up more my wifes method definitely yields positive consequences - we might get a special parking  normally not used for that pupose, etc. At our hospital we do get treated like a VIP by the service personnel. Noticeably better than a "normal" customer.

 

I refrain from tipping when it is obvious that the person to be tipped has just waited for an occasion to get some extra and does very little to deserve it. So sometimes they come running when they see you approaching the car with shopping items only to help you lift 2 shopping bags into the trunk and expect to be princely compensated. You can judge this from their behaviour, body language etc.

 

In restaurants its all about attitude and quality of the food. As is obviously customary in the US I would not give 10-15% of the bill if the bill is a bit higher for there would be no healthy relation between the amount given and the bill. In these cases some 100s may be left nevertheless for an exeptional service.

 

Otherwise the range would be something between 20 and 100 - completely depends on the situation. So service personel at a gas station would get some 40-50 for cleaning the windows or filling up the pressure of the tyres.

 

I may add: Sometimes it seems better to give the tip directly to the person you want to tip and not leave it on the plate only to be confiscated by the shop owner. In some countries, tipping is regarded as an offence - like in Japan.

Edited February 4, 2023 by moogradod