Tipping?

[AnkertilBrewer]

Hey folks, and it's a double shot of boring newb questions. Actually I lived here a long time ago and forgot some particulars, having lived in a couple other countries since then, and in the last one you never tipped. So, what's the deal here? How much for tips? Just don't want to be an arse to the locals, and I've already not tipped at all a couple times (make that a few). I'd rather err on the side of generosity than assholery.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Oh god.. For some reason, 'tipping' is a highly contentious topic.. 2-3 pages in no time, inevitably ending up in a discussion on which nationality allegedly over-tips.

I'll kick things off: No need to tip for anything, anywhere. Especially not more than whatever loose coins (sub-20 Baht) end up being returned.

Go.

Edited July 11, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[chiang mai]

Tip up to 20% of the bill when you think you've recieved really good service or when you think it's appropriate - make your own decisions on tips where a service charge is levied, mostly I would pass.

[Ulysses G.]

If I am eating alone in a medium priced restaurant aimed at foreigners, I usually tip around 20-30 baht. If I am eating in an expensive restaurant, something like 10-15% of the bill. If a noodle stall or very cheap Thai restaurant, I do not tip at all - as is the custom - and I do not tip in restaurants with a service charge - although I feel bad if I suspect the owner is pocketing the service charge.

Edited July 11, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[David48]

.

Tipping is an American concept imported into Thailand.

That said ... I do 'round the bill up'.

Sometimes a small gratitude if the service was extemporary ... which is rare.

... 20% of the bill is outrageous!

.

Edited July 11, 2012 by David48

[WinnieTheKhwai]

If I am eating alone in a medium priced restaurant aimed at foreigners, I usually tip around 20-30 baht. If I am eating in an expensive restaurant, something like 10-15% of the bill. If a noodle stall or very cheap Thai restaurant, I do not tip at all - as is the custom - and I do not tip in restaurants with a service charge - although I feel bad if I suspect the owner is pocketing the service charge.

If he's pocketing the service charge then he's probably pocketing the tips too. Unless you stuff it down her bra.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Tipping is an American concept imported into Thailand.

Well, that took a lot longer than I expected. 19 whole minutes. We're losing it.

[smokie36]

20 Baht max. I was taught well.

[onthedarkside]

20 baht, if I was really impressed with food/service 30 baht. No matter the price of the bill.

[kjhbigv]

"... 20% of the bill is outrageous!"

I agree......a normal restaurant I would tip 20-30 baht where the meal for two was say 600 baht.

Food stalls....nothing.

Restaurant that charges a 'service charge', the one's that decide for me that I have had good service.....zero!

'Posh' restaurant....maybe 10%.

Car park attendant at restaurant maybe 10 baht. If on motorbike....zero.

Bars......all depends on how drunk I am!

[edwinclapham]

The origin of the practice may be traced back to 18th Century English pubs when tipping was considered an essential incentive for better service. I tip in the UK where service charge is not added and the service is good. The same applies in Thailand, but thats one of the many things I love about Australia, a non tipping country.

[Semper]

If I am eating alone in a medium priced restaurant aimed at foreigners, I usually tip around 20-30 baht

Why?

[David48]

Tipping is an American concept imported into Thailand.

Well, that took a lot longer than I expected. 19 whole minutes. We're losing it.

Actually I was lined up after your comment ... but others posted before I did ... closer to 10 mins ...

[David48]

But why. No disrespect intended but, my friend told me the story of 'while he was waiting close to an entertainment precinct the person ordered 6 chicken sticks = 60 Baht'.

Apparently the American purchased and gave the guy 100 baht and a 'keep the change'.

That's a 40% tip ... and we wonder sometimes why some Thai think we are a soft target for our 'generosity'.

Some people ...

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I just tipped a whopping 20%.

10 baht on a 50 baht latte.. Though I did use their WiFi for 50 minutes, so I guess that's still okay.

[Ulysses G.]

If I am eating alone in a medium priced restaurant aimed at foreigners, I usually tip around 20-30 baht

Why?

Because they do not make much and I have seen what they have to put up with from some foreigners, A small tip helps to make up for the rude ones.

[ripstanley]

The last country the OP's may have lived is Australia

The origin of the practice may be traced back to 18th Century English pubs when tipping was considered an essential incentive for better service. I tip in the UK where service charge is not added and the service is good. The same applies in Thailand, but thats one of the many things I love about Australia, a non tipping country.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/563001-tipping-in-phuket/page__hl__%20tipping%20%20service%20%20charge This is the last thread re tipping

[uptoyoumyfriend]

i tip my hat on the way in and out....

[rijb]

Thailand is not listed on this 'Tipping Etiquette Around the World' chart. But, be aware that many Thai business owners keep some or all of the tips left by their well-meaning customers.

[smokie36]

20 baht, if I was really impressed with food/service 30 baht. No matter the price of the bill.

OK I admit...I do that occasionally. But shhh don't tell anyone.

[Semper]

If I am eating alone in a medium priced restaurant aimed at foreigners, I usually tip around 20-30 baht

Why?

Because they do not make much and I have seen what they have to put up with from some foreigners, A small tip helps to make up for the rude ones.

Yes, the service sector can be difficult sometimes, but, I still don't believe in 'buying' acceptance.

[ripstanley]

Thailand is not listed on this 'Tipping Etiquette Around the World' chart. But, be aware that many Thai business owners keep some or all of the tips left by their well-meaning customers.

Not all. When I was visiting Phuket very reguarly. The bar where I drank would split the tips amoung the staff. When the day shift ended the girls would count the money and split it amoungst the girls who were working that shift. The only exception was if a girl was more then 20 minutes late then she was not in the split. The bar was owned by a Thai national.

[PoodMaiDai]

I tip 20 baht most of the time if I'm alone. If we're in a group and it should be a little more. Max 40 baht.

[hellodolly]

I always pocket the change for my nephew. Then leave a 20 baht tip.

My Thai wife has worked in the service industries and gets upset with me if I don't leave a tip.

Most people in the service industry do not really make a lot of money and 20 baht to me is nothing where as to a low wage Thai it is a lot.

I seldom eat at food carts but when I do if the change is less than 10 baht I will leave it.

For myself it is not really about what I can get away with it is more what I feel is the rite thing to do.

When I was working and we would be on the road I worked for a boss who was fussy about his food and so so with the service. Many times he would complain about some thing to us. It was never any thing to get really bent out of shape about. But he had owned a restaurant and knew what a tip meant to the servers and would always leave a tip. Here in Thailand many times the servers have to put up with abuse from the foreigners. Most are pretty good but there is a still a lot of people that would not put up with being treated the way they treat servers.

[Theo007]

I eat at fairly inexpensive restaurants that serve foreign food, I tend to use the same ones all the time and always leave a tip of twenty baht. Since the service is usually very good ,and considering the very low wages the staff receive, I do not think that a twenty baht tip is excessive,

[Mestizo]

Tipping when dinning out and drinking always gets discussed. I'm curious to see what other peoples tipping rules are when it comes to things like:

1.) Haircuts

2. ) Massages

3.) Bangkok taxis

The one time I refuse to leave a tip, is when certain drinking establishments, using the "leave the coins" rule of thumb, will purposely change out 20-40 baht into 5 baht coins and return it to you. Normally I despise carrying coins around with me, but when a bar does this, I make a point to pick up each and every coin.

-Mestizo

[SoloFlyer]

less than a dollar ... on a meal that would cost you many times more back "home" (where ... most belong ...) ;... where back home the tip would be the cost of the meal here... ; and yet ye escape here to avoid taxes, inflation, and live it up on the cheap ... and 10% is too much to ask??

[OriginalPoster]

If observe that there are Europeans or especially Frenchman gossiping about us ordering too expensive of entrees I’ll conspicuously over-tip and make sure that they see it. Otherwise I usually tip 20 baht on a bill up to 1000 baht; maybe 40 baht on a 2000 baht tab.

[Tywais]

Tipping is an American concept imported into Thailand.

And who imported it to America? Actually a lot of theories on it dating back perhaps before the Roman or Greek era. Guess this is where it gets 'contentious'.

Tipping spread from England to colonial America, but after the revolution it was frowned upon (temporarily) as a hangover from the British class system. One only tipped one's social inferiors, which, lest we forget, did not exist in the brave new world. Unfortunately, the working class eventually got around to swallowing its pride, and tipping returned with all the fervor it possesses today. Even the Communist countries have not entirely succeeded in eliminating the practice. These days, of course, taxi drivers and waitpersons depend on tips for a substantial part of their income. If you didn't tip, presumably they'd expect to be paid more, and your restaurant bills and taxi fares would consequently be higher. The fifteen percent standard is mostly a question of what the market will bear. In New York, the figure these days is twenty percent; European restaurants generally add a ten percent gratuity to the bill.

Source:

An interesting read below:

But how did tipping get started in the first place? Why don't employers just pay their employees a regular wage and increase their prices to make up the difference? In some places, they do, but many of us -- especially in the United States -- are so accustomed to leaving a tip for good service and uncertain about protocol, that we end up leaving our servers money anyway.

­­There are also several theories about where the word "tip" comes from. One holds that in the 17th century, the word was used as a verb to mean "hand it over" or "to give." This follows suit with the stories of feudal lords throwing gold coins as "tips" to the peasants in the street to ensure their own safe passage [source:Metroactive].

­Tip is also thought to be an acronym for "to insure promptness," with its origins in 16th-century English coffeehouses. This idea is challenged, however, because some say acronyms weren't widely used until the 1920s. In addition, the more correct version would be "to ensure promptness."

Furthermore, Random House's Word of the Day column disputes the tip-acronym-hypothesis, stating, "Tip was originally thieves' slang -- then called 'cant' -- and meant 'to give; pass along'" [source: ­Random House].

More

[theDukes]

This topic has been done to death. I can tell you what people tip, what many consider to be customary and even what tipped employees expect. I can tell you who tips, why they tip and who pockets the last satang.

People tip for various reasons and people don't tip for various reasons.

Tipping is a way of showing respect and appreciation for a service rendered. It's a way of saying thank you for carrying my bag or booking me a trip or remembering my drink or my dinner and for giving me a smile when I sit down. It's a way of saying thank you for being professional and taking care of my needs.

Let's look at it this way in my business. It just so happens that some people (no one on Thaivisa) expect the most service. They demand the most service. They want 1-2-3 people standing over them taking care of their every whim. The change arrives from the bill and they take back all the paper notes and leave a few Baht coins. In their mind the waitress is below them and as such it is their right to service and her right to duty. After all she is already being paid to do her duty. The waitress doesn't care.

In comes the foreigner that dabbles on Thaivisa. The waitress smiles. She remembers to bring a pitcher of iced tea and not just a glass or a glass of ice with their beer. She gets the food out, refills the water and cleans up the plates. The bill comes and the Thaivisa surfer tips 20-30 Baht. The waitress smiles again.

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