Tipping

[plasticpig]

Thais don't tip, its not part of the culture. a few HI SO do.

[patsfangr]

Thais don't tip, its not part of the culture. a few HI SO do.

That is absolutely untrue. My wife's family are all in the "middle class" range, and they always tip. Their tipping policies are, of course, much closer to what 'justbob' has said, than to my screwed up American habits. But they do tip consistently, and so do most other Thais I've dined with.

[plasticpig]

Please can we put this in prospective.

Can you tell me the adult population of Thailand.

And now tell me the percentage of those that tip.

Thank you.

[patsfangr]

Please can we put this in prospective.

Can you tell me the adult population of Thailand.

And now tell me the percentage of those that tip.

Thank you.

Your unequivocal statement was "Thais don't tip, its not part of the culture. a few HI SO do." I see nothing in there about percentages. I said that the statement you made is untrue. It is.

Thank you.

[Jingthing]

no need to give 10% from check

200-700 baht check - 20 baht tips

700-2000 - 40 baht

5000+ - 100 baht

it's thai culture . info from russian expats forum.

If this info filters down to Americans, the waiters are gonna be sorry! 40 baht tip on a 2000 bin, so generous!

BTW, I do think these figures do reflect Thai tipping culture. Why are farangs so afraid to follow the culture of the country they are in (me included for those bigger amount bills)? My theory, guilt and too many years of conditioning.

Edited December 2, 2007 by Jingthing

[plasticpig]

Please can we put this in prospective.

Can you tell me the adult population of Thailand.

And now tell me the percentage of those that tip.

Thank you.

Your unequivocal statement was "Thais don't tip, its not part of the culture. a few HI SO do." I see nothing in there about percentages. I said that the statement you made is untrue. It is.

Thank you.

I though you would find that a hard question to answer.

You must be the, Hi So then.

[patsfangr]

no need to give 10% from check

200-700 baht check - 20 baht tips

700-2000 - 40 baht

5000+ - 100 baht

it's thai culture . info from russian expats forum.

If this info filters down to Americans, the waiters are gonna be sorry! 40 baht tip on a 2000 bin, so generous!

BTW, I do think these figures do reflect Thai tipping culture. Why are farangs so afraid to follow the culture of the country they are in (me included for those bigger amount bills)? My theory, guilt and too many years of conditioning.

I am with you 100% on every point you made here, JT. Most Thais that I know rarely, if ever leave more than a 40 baht tip for a bill of less than 2000 baht. My wife is an exception, only because she lived in the USA for 34 years. She's not as "conditioned" as I am; but still carries a lot of the screwed up American tipping standard with her. :-)

As you said, I just have a hard time tipping somebody $1 for a dinner in a nice place, with a tab of $40 or more.

[CHdiver]

I agree with the no tipping or just up to 20 - 40 Baht. But many people are used to give a tip. But of course just to the person they directly deal with, workers in the background usually never get a Tip. But it makes you a VIP if you give a very big tip and the waitress comes next time and likes your ass.

I tip just little, but still get a good service. But I am nice to the people around me. I don't have to buy them. But I know we can't turn habits around and many are just not sensitive enough. Danger is, with big tips you will motivate the Businessowners to hick up the prices more. If his employee earns more with a tip for a meal then he with providing food/place he wants his share too.

[barryofthailand]

I agree with the no tipping or just up to 20 - 40 Baht. But many people are used to give a tip. But of course just to the person they directly deal with, workers in the background usually never get a Tip. But it makes you a VIP if you give a very big tip and the waitress comes next time and likes your ass.

I tip just little, but still get a good service. But I am nice to the people around me. I don't have to buy them. But I know we can't turn habits around and many are just not sensitive enough. Danger is, with big tips you will motivate the Businessowners to hick up the prices more. If his employee earns more with a tip for a meal then he with providing food/place he wants his share too.

If you frequent the same place over and over, and get good service from one or two employees, their is nothing wrong with tipping 20-40 baht. That is considered a normal tip for a bin of around 800 baht. For one or two drinks, 5-10 Baht. Use common sense. On the other hand if you don't tip at all and you are a frequent customer, then don't expect service. Thais that have money, do tip.

Barry

[plasticpig]

name='barryofthailand' date='2007-12-02 17:10:14' post='1683072']

Thais that have money, do tip.

And how many would that be?

Thanks

[Jingthing]

I do tip better than the Thai norm and lower than the tourist norm. The service is mostly poor. I do not believe it would be a bit better if I tipped better. In the US, you do tip high, but the service standard is so much higher. Why tip at a US level when it isn't the culture here plus you mostly don't get great service anyway?

Edited December 2, 2007 by Jingthing

[plasticpig]

I got back from the states last week and service was the best as usual.

love the place and the people.

[wilko]

If one more US waiter tells me his fuc_king name...."Hi, I'm Gary I'll be looking after you"........

[barryofthailand]

name='barryofthailand' date='2007-12-02 17:10:14' post='1683072']

Thais that have money, do tip.

And how many would that be?

Thanks

That would be quite a few, but maybe none that you are aware of.

Barry

[barryofthailand]

I do tip better than the Thai norm and lower than the tourist norm. The service is mostly poor. I do not believe it would be a bit better if I tipped better. In the US, you do tip high, but the service standard is so much higher. Why tip at a US level when it isn't the culture here plus you mostly don't get great service anyway?

Try having dinner at Tropical berts and you'll find the service and the food is good.

Barry

[Weho]

I'll give you a tip: buy low, and sell high...

My tipping policy:

Bad service: 0 tip

Reasonable/expected service: 10%

Better than expected service: 20%

BTW, (i love using those infonet abbreviations), if the service is poor/bad, and they have ALREADY tacked on the 10% service charge, I DO NOT HESITATE to go to the manger, and have them REMOVE that charge from the bill.

I suspect most of you little lambs out there, all the little angels out there would be SHOCKED that someone would do that, but I do it proudly... most recently at FUJI, at Big C on Sukumvit.

I would also like to take this opportunity to post my tipping policy for motorcycle taxis:

I always confirm the exact fare in advance, and I know EXACTLY what the fare should be. If they quote the fair fare, what Thais pay, they get a 20 baht tip. Anything else, they get NO TIP. I would say about 1/3 of the time, they get the 20 baht tip.... and 2/3 of the time, I get to walk away, and say in disgust, under my breath, "if you asked the correct price from the start, you would have been 20 baht richer..." Then I walk away, shaking my head from side to side.

[ZZZ]

I always confirm the exact fare in advance, and I know EXACTLY what the fare should be. If they quote the fair fare, what Thais pay, they get a 20 baht tip. Anything else, they get NO TIP. I would say about 1/3 of the time, they get the 20 baht tip.... and 2/3 of the time, I get to walk away, and say in disgust, under my breath, "if you asked the correct price from the start, you would have been 20 baht richer..." Then I walk away, shaking my head from side to side.

If you agree on a price, that should be what you pay in the end. To agree on a price and then pay an additional 20Baht, witch could be a 100% tip on a short ride, is just silly. This will only confuse the driver and make them try to charge a higher fee for foreigners.

[Weho]

I always confirm the exact fare in advance, and I know EXACTLY what the fare should be. If they quote the fair fare, what Thais pay, they get a 20 baht tip. Anything else, they get NO TIP. I would say about 1/3 of the time, they get the 20 baht tip.... and 2/3 of the time, I get to walk away, and say in disgust, under my breath, "if you asked the correct price from the start, you would have been 20 baht richer..." Then I walk away, shaking my head from side to side.

If you agree on a price, that should be what you pay in the end. To agree on a price and then pay an additional 20Baht, witch could be a 100% tip on a short ride, is just silly. This will only confuse the driver and make them try to charge a higher fee for foreigners.

OK, you got me.. you are correct. But it's real clear that the 20 baht is a TIP, above and beyond what was agreed/expected... it's like a reward from a farang, for being honest, cause we've been trained to think they are NOT honest... so the ones that are honest, the few, should be rewarded... However, I am now aware that in the Thai culture, they don't see it the way a farang might see it. I agree, it might be confusing to a Thai, and send a weird mixed message. The alternative is to agree on a price, say 50 baht one way, then I say, "I'll give you 70..." An even weirder message. The alternative is NOT to reward the honest ones, and the farang just doesn't see it the same way.

Sometimes I'm on a baht bus, and the guy may go along, looking for more passengers, and he doesn't get any... eventhough the farang price may be only 10 baht, I feel guilty, and I'll give him an extra 10 baht. They never refuse it. I never know if they understand the reason WHY i gave them the extra money... I guess I expect them to think to themself, "oh, I guess this farang feels real sorry for me, the farang must think my life is so pitiful, that the farang gave me another 10 baht out of pity... and the farang thinks they will insure themself a nice cushy spot in heaven, for having all this pity for me..."

Meanwhile, the baht bus driver may have a MUCH better life than the farang.