Tipping In Phuket

[AussieKenny]

I see no need to tip a girl who simply hands you a beer, often still chatting with friends and not even looking at you.

Kenny

[petercallen]

Yes we do think differently.

Tell me whats your opinion of how large a Box jellyfish grows to now.

Readily admit.. I was totally wrong on that.. Thought they grew larger than they do. Have no problem with admitting it when incorrect.

Is that really all you have ??

From memory you though they grow smaller than what they do. The answer to the second question is NO

[SamKong]

in the states most service staff dreads hearing that their customers are from canada--most of them don't tip. you can identify them quite easily, if not by their accent, when they order a ceasars rather than a bloody mary. and as long as i'm generalizing, i certainly wouldn't want to wait tables in the aussie bar on bangla road.

not all states pay waitstaff below the minimum wage. there are at least two on the books that pay the national minimum.

finaly (towards the odd, surgeon comment), i did tip the doctor that delivered my daughter.

[ratio]

I see no need to tip a girl who simply hands you a beer, often still chatting with friends and not even looking at you.

Kenny

I agree , also i like to tip more if the staff male or female treat you like your part of the family .They show pride in what there doing and great service ,

We found a few that where working to help themselves through upper schooling.

[kav]

Anyone tip the tuk tuk drivers ?

[petercallen]

Anyone tip the tuk tuk drivers ?

Does anyone who lives here still use tuk tuks.

in the first three weeks i was here i was overcharge one time.

The next day i purchased a motorcycle and have not used them since then since i would rather walk

[Peterocket]

Yeah sometimes, if i need to get back from patong and my legs have stopped working.

400 baht for 4 people for a 25 minute drive isnt the end of the world for me. The alternative driving drunk and possibly killing a family on a bike isnt worth the risk or the 400 baht.

[petercallen]

Yeah sometimes, if i need to get back from patong and my legs have stopped working.

400 baht for 4 people for a 25 minute drive isnt the end of the world for me. The alternative driving drunk and possibly killing a family on a bike isnt worth the risk or the 400 baht.

In your situation fair enough, i rarely drive at night here because of the 4 way traffic and i never drive drunk.

If i was out and had a few to many the wife would drive, she very rarely drinks alcohol and if she does its only one drink

[viciouskitty74]

Oh good. I love this thread. At least now I know I over -tipped.

Singapore dont have the tipping culture. So we generally dont tip anyone. Except maybe the bellhop, when they move your luggage to your rooms. But then, I dont live in hotels anymore.

But after a while in USA and Canada, I kinda got into a paranoia for tipping. So I generally tip anyone, and ermmm......I tend to go overboard.....usually a baht note instead of coins in Thailand. Errm.....I think at least 200 baht per tip.

Edited October 6, 2010 by viciouskitty74

[Ulysses G.]

Personally, I find tipping distastfull, and derogatory towards the recipient. Why don't those bosses in the Service Industries just pay a salary comensurate with the service being provided ? For example, do we ever think we have need to tip the surgeon who has just operated on us ?

The surgeon earns a lot more than a restaurant owner in Thailand or a waitress.

[Thules]

Yes, UG. My surgeon example wasn't very good. OK. maybe substitute a nurse.

[Anasta]

Thais do tip more than falangs, in restaurants/bars, though in falang owned bars maybe not as often.

That surprises me.. When I see Thais paying very often they only leave coins even on a 500 baht - 1000 baht meal..

I cant think of a time when I have seen Thais tip with 100 baht notes.

Which part of Thailand have you been living in Mr? I could be a jerk and say many "look as if they were rich" white people in AU or NZ take buses to work while we thais drive a pimp as european car to school. (and Sorry, our parents are way too loaded that we do not have to bother the government for the student loans and worse that some of you even had to move to another country to avoid paying them back!) No offense! But tipping is a part of thai culture. Many thais tipped more than they were actually billed! I don't know the true intention behind your post but its very obvious that you are being completely ignorant about THAIS! Or THAILAND FOR THAT MATTER!

I'm laughing everytime I see white people in Phuket walking around, bitching about poor people in Thailand. I have been living between AU, NZ and Thailand in the last 20 years (I'm 22yo) and sorry majority of white people I have seen are just plain trashed. Many would be even so lucky to dine out! So let alone tipping anyone!

PS: To say something that you don't actually know about is not OK! GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT and stop trying to make yourself look like an ignorant. PHU-LEASE!

[LivinLOS]

I stand by it.. I eat in majority Thai customers places all the time, and in general I see them tipping coins, or maybe a 20, no where near a 10 percent kind of thing.

Thats confirmed by the restaurant owner above also.

And the amount of Thai students driving 'european cars' to school, based on daddys money.. Thats in line with yoru average Thai is it ?? Which part of Thailand would that be (I suspect you mean they have to leave Thailand to get a proper education in a western country ) even Prem doesnt have too many of those students.

As you have spent all but 2 years outside Thailand, many tourists have spent more time just on holidays here than you.

Edited October 17, 2010 by LivinLOS

[Felt 35]

You are undermining the wages of working staff when you tip.

As soon as an employer can see that significant money are coming through tips they will try to justify a wage drop to less than a minimum wage for employees who earn tips.

Tips come up short compared to paid wages.

Employees inevitably lose out on social security contributions as well as a range of other benefits because this income is not properly reported by the employer.

So all the big spenders here need to think twice about being pressured into tipping to workers who historically not earn tips.

You are relieving employers of responsibility and causing long term erosion of wages. Yes a few in every industry make good money with tips, but as a whole… Tipping destroys wages and frees employers of responsibility.

Do not make the local Phuket restaurants to another industry dependent upon the kindness of strangers rather than the responsibilities of employers.

[steelepulse]

>>As soon as an employer can see that significant money are coming through tips they will try to justify a wage drop to less than a minimum wage for employees who earn tips.

Isn't there a minimum wage that has to be paid by the employer? I sure thought there was.

[zoso]

>>As soon as an employer can see that significant money are coming through tips they will try to justify a wage drop to less than a minimum wage for employees who earn tips.

Isn't there a minimum wage that has to be paid by the employer? I sure thought there was.

The government tried or had passed a law for minimun daily wage to be 250baht.

[F1fanatic]

Thais don't tip v much and farangs leaving large tips is the reason why many locals work in restaurants.

I don't have a problem with this, but leaving a large tip does not earn you respect, they just think you're stupid farang.

Everyone to their own, but I prefer to leave change or near 10% if the service is particularly good (not something that happens often if you're a female farang ). But if the FOOD is good - I make a point of telling them how much I enjoyed the food.

Works for me, but I only eat at small places generally so they are v appreciative when I rave about the food (I hope!).

[stevenl]

>>As soon as an employer can see that significant money are coming through tips they will try to justify a wage drop to less than a minimum wage for employees who earn tips.

Isn't there a minimum wage that has to be paid by the employer? I sure thought there was.

Sure there is, for Co. Ltd's etc. But if 5% of restaurant workers (not including the hotel restaurants) is officially employed I'd be surprised. Restaurants are nearly all family businesses, just like massage parlours etc.

[Ulysses G.]

You are undermining the wages of working staff when you tip.

As soon as an employer can see that significant money are coming through tips they will try to justify a wage drop to less than a minimum wage for employees who earn tips.

Thai employers tend to do this even before tips. Tips help those who are working for very little money.

[69690jay]

minimum wage is just over 200B a day.

Social Security is not mandatory in Thailand but it is available, 500B a month based on 6000B salary of which the employer generally pays half and the employee pays the other half, entitlement is the employee gets Medicare and if the employee loses their job they get half of what was paid into the S.S back.

I have had this explained to me, not from what i have read as all the information i have is in Thai.

Tipping, in a soup stall , som-tam stand etcetera don't expect to see your average Thai leaving a tip, certainly not a big one. Though i do see a few Baht given to the server from time to time. My wife (Thai) always leaves a tip every where soup stand or nice restaurant for good service/food, She most often handles the cash.

But, for arguments sake, at "Kan Eang 2" in Chalong where we often go to enjoy a great Thai meal, I asked the staff who tips more: Thais are more consistent with a fair tip and the occasional westerner will leave a big tip, over the top; 30% or more. "Kan Eang 2" is a first rate Thai dining experience.

In my restaurant for example today we severed 26 meals from 8am to 5pm 22 meals were western style food and 4 Thai style, 90% of the customers are westerners, my server walked away with 220B in tips. Yesterday we severed 23 meals and she got 380 in tips. She gets 6500 a month salary, most days she makes more from tips. She likes her job.

Normally the tips are shared between the cook and server but two months ago i let my cook go and have not found a suitable replacement, so I do the cooking, no I don't take a share of the tips.

If anyone knows a cook who likes to work hard, has experience with western food and Thai, I have a opening Good salary with Social Security and tips.

Tip if you can, as much as you can afford to based on quality of service and quality of food, thats my two bits on Tipping in Phuket and any where in the world for that matter.

[britmaveric]

Up to you - normally bit a change I have left over unless it's at my local then I tip excessively. I like to take care of the staff there!

[LivinLOS]

As you own a restaurant.. Do you 'often' see Thais leaving tips equal to or greater than the actual meal cost ??

[69690jay]

Huh?

As you own a restaurant.. Do you 'often' see Thais leaving tips equal to or greater than the actual meal cost ??

[viciouskitty74]

anyway, I never did quite get the hang of tipping.

And I always goes away from any countries with way too many coins.

Imagine that I lugged around USD30 worth of coins from USA and lug them back to USA on a return trip.

How I know they are USD30 plus? I went to a coin machine, tipped them coins in, and after deducting USD5 for its service fee...it spat out USD30 plus paper cash money....

From then onwards, I always make sure, that I use coins to pay for whatever meals I take, at the airport departure halls. Money changers dont accept coins for exchanging into local currencies.....grrrrr......