Big Tipping Tourist

[GuestHouse]

Of course on the other hand, there are people who just don't like putting their hand in their pocket for any reason. Tipping to them is indeed something to worry about.

That I should not tip to keep prices lower for such people is laughable.

I'll do what I want with my own money, if I want to use it to get better service up2me.

[meemiathai]

I am starting to have a clue on why I have experienced quite differently in thailand from a lot of posters here.

On average I tip one to two hundred baht a night out to a disco and am served very well. Always good seats and fast when I need something. Is that too much?

[Neeranam]

Of course on the other hand, there are people who just don't like putting their hand in their pocket for any reason. Tipping to them is indeed something to worry about.

That I should not tip to keep prices lower for such people is laughable.

I'll do what I want with my own money, if I want to use it to get better service up2me.

Of course it's up to you what you do with your money.

"it makes the rest of us look bad if someone tips too much" argument is crap - you are too concerned by what other people think/don't think about you and your actions, eg the tipper annoys you for being too generous and 'upsetting the balance' and then the Thai waiter/ress is upset with you becuase you didn't tip as much as the previous foreigner... get over it - life really is too good and too short to let this be of enough concern for you to get wound up / post about it on a forum.

Maybe, but it get's annoying when the golf caddies start swearing at you for giving a 70 baht tip for a round that costs 230 baht, just because some idiot farangs give 300+ baht. When they start harrassing you for money, and giving a lesser service because of your skin colour it's very wrong.

I'd say it's the people who give huge tips that are too concerned what other people think of them.

I always make a rule when I arrive in Thailand, I give the taxi driver 500 baht tip (it's worth it just to see the look on their face) when we arrive at my residence.

I make it a rule never to give more than 20 baht to a taxi driver. I love to see the driver's faces when we come from the airport and he finds out I'm not a naive mug.

Most Thai people are insulted when you give a huge tip, unless they are the scum that go to places like Pattaya with only one thing in mind - to sqeeze as much cash from Mr.Farang as possible.

[tingtong]

above avarage service above avarage tip is justified.

I strongly disagree. I wonder why some people think that a big tip should be automatically included? You are already paying for the "average service" when you pay the "list price"! In Thailand I rougly apply the following:

- poor service: no tip, or very small tip

- average service: small tip (max 5%)

- above average service: average tip (5-10%)

- really, really, great service: above average tip (10-15%)

Above applies to situation where "service charge" isn't included in the bill. When there is a service charge, I don't tip anything (unless the service has been, really, really great).

BTW, I like China's tipping policy, it's plain and simple: NO tipping anywhere!

% wise isnt always correct, IMO.

today had a haircut. cost 50 B, gave 10B tip. so, guy is happy, genuine. anyway, he always cut my hair when in thailand. all cost 2$.

at my country pay around 10$, tip 1$. cost together around 11$=340B.

the tip was still a 1/3, haircut the same. but if i only look %, 20% tip. WOW!

I rather look moneywise in this case, doesnt cost much. Call it my charity

[koheesti]

One thing has always puzzled me. Why on this forum there are many people who complain about double-pricing and there are also many people who voluntarily overpay (by giving a huge tips)?

Why people don't realize that the voluntary overpaying leads to double pricing?

I actually have done like this...I agree on a price with a motorbike taxi, when we get to the destination, sometimes I will compliment him and give him extra baht. It might be over what it should be, but if the road is flooded, or the place is hard to get to, I like to show my appreciation for what they did. Maybe it makes no sense but I want to convey that I won'tagree to crazy pricing but will give extra if the situation dictates it.

[meemiathai]

Of course on the other hand, there are people who just don't like putting their hand in their pocket for any reason. Tipping to them is indeed something to worry about.

That I should not tip to keep prices lower for such people is laughable.

I'll do what I want with my own money, if I want to use it to get better service up2me.

Of course it's up to you what you do with your money.

"it makes the rest of us look bad if someone tips too much" argument is crap - you are too concerned by what other people think/don't think about you and your actions, eg the tipper annoys you for being too generous and 'upsetting the balance' and then the Thai waiter/ress is upset with you becuase you didn't tip as much as the previous foreigner... get over it - life really is too good and too short to let this be of enough concern for you to get wound up / post about it on a forum.

Maybe, but it get's annoying when the golf caddies start swearing at you for giving a 70 baht tip for a round that costs 230 baht, just because some idiot farangs give 300+ baht. When they start harrassing you for money, and giving a lesser service because of your skin colour it's very wrong.

I'd say it's the people who give huge tips that are too concerned what other people think of them.

I always make a rule when I arrive in Thailand, I give the taxi driver 500 baht tip (it's worth it just to see the look on their face) when we arrive at my residence.

I make it a rule never to give more than 20 baht to a taxi driver. I love to see the driver's faces when we come from the airport and he finds out I'm not a naive mug.

Most Thai people are insulted when you give a huge tip, unless they are the scum that go to places like Pattaya with only one thing in mind - to sqeeze as much cash from Mr.Farang as possible.

Stop playing golf or go to another golf club, Neeranam, where they appreciate your 70baht tip. Go where you belong to.

Would you blame Bill Gates for tipping 500baht to a hotel boy?

[petedk]

One thing has always puzzled me. Why on this forum there are many people who complain about double-pricing and there are also many people who voluntarily overpay (by giving a huge tips)?

Why people don't realize that the voluntary overpaying leads to double pricing? Companies like to maximize their profits, if they see that foreigners voluntarily overpay, then the most logical solution for them is to start charging foreigners more.... For example: if the bill is 400B and the farang pays happily 500B, then why don't charge next farang 450B for the same stuff?

This is exactly what I was about to write.

I have a friend who over tips here in Thailand and has been doing so for 15 years or more. Now he complains about the prices in tourist areas.

[ignoramus]

It's a tricky subject, albeit perhaps but not necessarily, a trivial one.

He's dead now, but quite a few years back, Australia's richest man, one Kerry Packer, had a bit of a flutter in Las Vegas, and won a heap of dough. (He'd sometimes wager a mill). He, I believe, asked the female croupier if she had kids &/or a mortgage. She said yeah, $85,000 (USD). That's what he gave her as a tip. I don't doubt he was the biggest tipper LV ever saw.

He was crazy generous like this not only when he had gained something beforehand, but if someone's need touched his heartstrings. He always insisted on anonymity too, and would usually use intermediaries. (These stories only came out after his death).

Kankaroo, I think you are probably the most generous man in the whole history of Scotland. I too like to see the look on the startled, but happy, face.

If I like the face, or the attitude, I share, with a big smile. They know that I know exactly what I'm doing. They don't compare the next passenger/client to me. They expect little from mean people, wisely. From a person they like they likewise expect little, paradoxically.

A generous tip from an appreciative, generous person, is taken not only as cream in the coffee, but as a token of a rewarding human 'transaction'.

Mind you, sometimes, if I particularly dislike an attitude (that is, if I'm treated in a cavalier manner), I'll tip much more than they know they deserve, as a putdown. Perverse, but it works nicely. (More than is deserved, being zero, can be as little a baht or a cent, figuratively speaking, or a good deal more).

[meom]

You guys probably get it for free but let's imagine you paid 750 baht for a blowjob. Would 250 baht be a reasonable tip or is that to much to swallow?

[intumult]

After 4 hours in the same pub / club, and I get check bin and they bring the change, it is never the same person who has been serving you all night so I will leave 20 Baht in the folder.

I will seek out the lass who has given me good service all night, chatted a little if she has time, and generally been good and give her 100 Baht. For some that is too generous, but for me it is often less than the price of, say, a Heineken.

I have been in a few places where the service is slow or generally poor and refused to leave a tip.

I think it is up to the individual how much they do or do not leave.

Personally I feel you have to be a right tight ars*d git (tighter than a Yorkshireman) not to leave a reasonable tip for good service with a smile

[junkofdavid2]

Interesting question.

Edited November 23, 2007 by junkofdavid2

[Jeff1]

You guys probably get it for free but let's imagine you paid 750 baht for a blowjob. Would 250 baht be a reasonable tip or is that to much to swallow?

Thanks for the LOL of the day.

[papaya9]

I want to do the same thing but my TW won't let me. I say why not? Many of these people will never have "disposable" incomes. They work harder than anyone I've ever seen. Just imagine the wonderful feeling they have when you give them something they never get...and they certainly deserve it.

[roblin]

i tip very little, however i gave unicef $1500 once. its their profession to decide how to make money help people, i dont pretend that i am better than them at that....

[Jingthing]

I tip better at places where I am a regular. Does that make me a bad person?

[Boo]

when we lived in LOS & thai hubby earned THB he would alwsy tip but it would be 10baht for most things like bell hops & taxi drivers or leave 30baht for the cleaner in a hotel room, now he earns GBP he still tips but has increased it accordingly. So now the bell hop or taxi gets 30baht & the cleaner gets 100 at the end of our stay. He knows (as do I) how little these people earn & the hard work they have to do to get it so for him & me we have no issue with tipping but both feel there has to be a limit as we aren't rich either but in comparison to a hotel cleaner or taxi driver ARE more fortunate.

He will sometimes, when we are about to fly out of los for example, leave several hundred bahts worth of change in the hotel room before we check out as he knows what a nice surprise it wil be for the woman who has to clean up after us & god knwos how many other people for a few tho a month. Sometimes, if he doens't have that much change, he doesn't.

Just do what you think is best but I can in no way see a relation to tipping or overtipping & the double pricing practices of the national parks.

[mauiguy90]

...Just do what you think is best but I can in no way see a relation to tipping or overtipping & the double pricing practices of the national parks.

Yep, I agree wholeheartedly! Lots of guys use that as an excuse not to tip... To each his own...to tip or not tip, that is the question...

[onomataho]

~~~

Wealth is distributed disproportionately throughout the world. For many reasons...many of them not "fair" by the Western sense of fairness.

Tipping is one way for people, i.e., individuals, on the higher end of the income stick to "even the scales" a bit.

That said, if I choose to tip, not tip, or to be extra generous with my tip, it is my business, and my business alone. If you choose not to tip, that's your business.

There is no "right" answer to this conundrum.

IMHO, the OP ought to just smile and let his friend do what he pleases...he's happy, the person who receives the "windfall' is happy, and life goes on...

~~~

Edited November 24, 2007 by onomataho

[Rionoir]

Wow some of these replies on the no-tipping side are ridiculous IMO. Yes, I'm sure people are deeply offended to be getting a big tip. Riiiiiiiiiggghhhhttttttt.

When someone gets a big tip where I come from they are never offended... they tell all their friends about how lucky they were to have such a generous customer.

[keemao]

Tipping is entirely up to each person. Everyone thinks differently and whether they tip alot or not at all doesn't make them nice or a prick. Generally I tip a small amount as deserved. If it is asked for or demanded, they get nothing. Same no matter where I am

In Thailand when I go out it is always with the same group of people. We frequent the same establishments and are well known to owners/ staff. I am the only 'farang' in this group. We always receive exceptional service and are never expected to tip. however every now and then one of us will give some cash to the manager and she then gives this to all the staff as a bonus, not stating where it came from.

We'd rather be respected as good customers than laughed at as 'big tippers'

[tijnebijn]

why tip in a country where it is not normal to do so , maybe a little

but for sure not several hundreds . Cause it is daily wages for those

guys , ofcourse you make them happy , bit in is unnecessary .

I am pretty sure they look it here in a way that the farang wants a big

face when tipping them instead of feeling sorry for them they have such

low income . I do not think it is a good thing , foreigners who do stay here

longer know that that kind of money you have to work very hard for , so

definitely not tipping for a stupid tuktuk ride or something .

Instead of thinking you do a good thing , those drivers get arrogant and

when speaking reasonable Thai , they refuse the ride because they know

they will have to ask a normal price for their service, which is normal .'

Instead they overcharge and hoping the tourist give him a big tip as well , so he can drink Lao with his mates.

Well is this a good thing for you all know it more better than all ?

I agree that it is up to any individual , but I agree much more with the fact

that it is not a good thing to do , the working and sevice climate decreases more then it

increases , whatever one may say if you disagree you do not fully understand Thai people and

their way of seeing and handling situations .

No hersh feeling to me though , one may do because they feel happy with it , but the facts are different .

[meemiathai]

why tip in a country where it is not normal to do so , maybe a little

but for sure not several hundreds . Cause it is daily wages for those

guys , ofcourse you make them happy , bit in is unnecessary .

I am pretty sure they look it here in a way that the farang wants a big

face when tipping them instead of feeling sorry for them they have such

low income . I do not think it is a good thing , foreigners who do stay here

longer know that that kind of money you have to work very hard for , so

definitely not tipping for a stupid tuktuk ride or something .

Instead of thinking you do a good thing , those drivers get arrogant and

when speaking reasonable Thai , they refuse the ride because they know

they will have to ask a normal price for their service, which is normal .'

Instead they overcharge and hoping the tourist give him a big tip as well , so he can drink Lao with his mates.

Well is this a good thing for you all know it more better than all ?

I agree that it is up to any individual , but I agree much more with the fact

that it is not a good thing to do , the working and sevice climate decreases more then it

increases , whatever one may say if you disagree you do not fully understand Thai people and

their way of seeing and handling situations .

No hersh feeling to me though , one may do because they feel happy with it , but the facts are different .

This is called free market.

If there are enough rich farangs here tipping and that annoys others, maybe the poor farangs should think of moving to somewhere cheaper.

[Jingthing]

I would agree that overtipping disrupts the local culture in purer places, but in Pattaya the cat is out of the bag, and so many Thais behave in obnoxiously un-Thai ways (you give tip!!!) that the damage is already done. Too late.

[tijnebijn]

why tip in a country where it is not normal to do so , maybe a little

but for sure not several hundreds . Cause it is daily wages for those

guys , ofcourse you make them happy , bit in is unnecessary .

I am pretty sure they look it here in a way that the farang wants a big

face when tipping them instead of feeling sorry for them they have such

low income . I do not think it is a good thing , foreigners who do stay here

longer know that that kind of money you have to work very hard for , so

definitely not tipping for a stupid tuktuk ride or something .

Instead of thinking you do a good thing , those drivers get arrogant and

when speaking reasonable Thai , they refuse the ride because they know

they will have to ask a normal price for their service, which is normal .'

Instead they overcharge and hoping the tourist give him a big tip as well , so he can drink Lao with his mates.

Well is this a good thing for you all know it more better than all ?

I agree that it is up to any individual , but I agree much more with the fact

that it is not a good thing to do , the working and sevice climate decreases more then it

increases , whatever one may say if you disagree you do not fully understand Thai people and

their way of seeing and handling situations .

No hersh feeling to me though , one may do because they feel happy with it , but the facts are different .

This is called free market.

If there are enough rich farangs here tipping and that annoys others, maybe the poor farangs should think of moving to somewhere cheaper.

It is not about you are rich farang or not , or a poor farang , it is about what is correct

in the way people live here in this country .

Surely overspending and do the huray attitude make you only look like a fool over here .

For you commenting that thinking of moving somewhere else , you very clearly do not get

the point what I tried to say here .

I do personally not care about what one is tipping or not , it is just how the attitudes from

many Thais have changed because of these things , I think this is a loss , our thai friends

also agree on this , they do not like to go to Pattaya because of their attitudes .

We stay in chiangmai and things are so different then only a couple of years ago .

Not liking what I say you may , but it is a reality , time changes ofcourse but it is not for the

better overall . Like i said I personally have no interest in this , nor am I poor if you think so ,

I think you don't like to consider different opinions and options , says enough isn't it ?

[kankaroo]

Of course on the other hand, there are people who just don't like putting their hand in their pocket for any reason. Tipping to them is indeed something to worry about.

That I should not tip to keep prices lower for such people is laughable.

I'll do what I want with my own money, if I want to use it to get better service up2me.

Of course it's up to you what you do with your money.

"it makes the rest of us look bad if someone tips too much" argument is crap - you are too concerned by what other people think/don't think about you and your actions, eg the tipper annoys you for being too generous and 'upsetting the balance' and then the Thai waiter/ress is upset with you becuase you didn't tip as much as the previous foreigner... get over it - life really is too good and too short to let this be of enough concern for you to get wound up / post about it on a forum.

Maybe, but it get's annoying when the golf caddies start swearing at you for giving a 70 baht tip for a round that costs 230 baht, just because some idiot farangs give 300+ baht. When they start harrassing you for money, and giving a lesser service because of your skin colour it's very wrong.

I'd say it's the people who give huge tips that are too concerned what other people think of them.

I always make a rule when I arrive in Thailand, I give the taxi driver 500 baht tip (it's worth it just to see the look on their face) when we arrive at my residence.

I make it a rule never to give more than 20 baht to a taxi driver. I love to see the driver's faces when we come from the airport and he finds out I'm not a naive mug.

Most Thai people are insulted when you give a huge tip, unless they are the scum that go to places like Pattaya with only one thing in mind - to sqeeze as much cash from Mr.Farang as possible.

Thanks for calling me a naive mug as you so delicately put it. I usually visit Thailand and stay for about a year or more at a time. I am then out of the country for around the same amount of time. I am so happy to be back (and have money) that I will give the taxi driver a big tip & only if he is a nice bloke. I then splash the cash for a few days before coming back down to earth.

The last time I arrived the driver had me in stitches and at one point I had tears rolling down my face ! After 1.5 years in the UK that was my first introduction back to LOS and I never felt more welcome. Naive mug or not, I think I know who he would prefer to have got into his cab that day. With me he can take the rest of the day off, with you he is wasting more of his time than he probably does in traffic jams trying to fish out your 3 baht change

[Theyreallrubbish]

The bottom line is that we all wish that everyone else would tip just a little less than whatever we are happing tipping so we appear to be generous and receive big face.

[koheesti]

We'd rather be respected as good customers than laughed at as 'big tippers'

I wonder how often the waitress curses the cheap "respected good customers" who never tip after they leave?

The only reason to laugh at a big tipper is if the waitress thinks, "The food took too long, wasn't any good, I gave rotten service and they STILL gave me a tip! What a fool!"

[TheDon]

I tip pretty genously, especially with 1 hour beach massage, I mean 100 baht is just unfair, I pay for a massage in Sydney which converted to Baht would be about 2000 baht.

So i usually pay about 500 baht, I think thats a fair price.

[listenup]

Thailand sure draws some tight fisted...

[Jingthing]

I tip pretty genously, especially with 1 hour beach massage, I mean 100 baht is just unfair, I pay for a massage in Sydney which converted to Baht would be about 2000 baht.

So i usually pay about 500 baht, I think thats a fair price.

Thats why savvy Thais ask you what country you are from to see how much you might pay. Now I get to joke with them and say, America, money not strong. Thailand strong money!