Why Do So Many Good Tv Topics Devolve Into Talk Of Tipping?

[OldChinaHam]

Why do so many good posts on TV start out well then often devolve into bickering about tipping?

There is something about "tipping" that fascinates and rivets the attention of the TV contributors.

Tipping has not historically been a big part of the Thailand culture that I am aware, just as tipping is definitely not part of the Japanese or Chinese culture, for example.

So why are the people who comment on ThaiVisa so hot to talk about tipping when tipping should actually be a minor part of the Thai culture, just as it is rarely discussed in places like Taiwan, China and Japan?

Is this preoccupation with the size of the tip just another example of the baggage that foreigners bring to Asia and to Thailand?.

It seems as if the moderators really have their work cut out for themselves when trying to eradicate illicit tip-talking on TV.

[Travel2003]

Is this a thread about tipping?

[I Like Thai]

Is this a thread about tipping?

Let's try and change it into a Thread that isn't about tipping. That will confuse them

[Travel2003]

I have not had lunch today.

[ThaidDown]

Since the Snooker World championships are on at the moment maybe this could be a thread about 'Tipping a Cue'

Edited April 24, 2013 by ThaidDown

[Travel2003]

A hat tip is an act of tipping or (especially in British English) doffing one's hat as a cultural expression of recognition, respect, gratitude, greeting, or simple salutation and acknowledgement between two persons

[OldChinaHam]

I was not really asking about Hat Tipping or even Cow Tipping, per se.

I was more asking about the local farang preoccupation with the discussion of tips, which seems to break in to otherwise decent and promising discussions.

[richard_smith237]

I prefer to wait until page 4 and then see how far off topic the thread has been carried by those who can't read properly or prefer to throw insults around....

[Travel2003]

I was not really asking about Hat Tipping or even Cow Tipping, per se.

I was more asking about the local farang preoccupation with the discussion of tips, which seems to break in to otherwise decent and promising discussions.

We know.

We were just teasing you pal.

It is very ironic that you make a thread about the "illicit tip-talking on TV", as you called it.

After all, as you said yourself, it will end in people talking about tipping.

[OldChinaHam]

Please do not be concerned, I very much enjoy teasing.

And a bit of irony is even better, don't you think?

[Travel2003]

Please do not be concerned, I very much enjoy teasing.

And a bit of irony is even better, don't you think?

100% agree.

[Somtamnication]

I left a 25 satang tip today due to poor service.

[Gsxrnz]

I left a 25 satang tip today due to poor service.

Three more equally generous customers and the waitress can go weigh herself at the local 7/11

[OldChinaHam]

25 satang tip it may have been, sir.

But you are still off-topic, nonetheless.

Please concentrate.

[aussiebebe]

The OP answered their own questions; this is an internet forum for foreigners who visit Thailand or live or work here. Tipping is part of their culture so they make reference to it as it pertains to their experiences here. That so many threads include references to tipping reflects how important it is to the board members social customs.
When you consider that tipping customs vary so widely between different countries, it's actually quite an interesting topic of discussion. For example, when discussing cost of living in Thailand and comparing, say, the cost of restaurants to those in Europe or the US, it's useful to know that 15% tips are always added to US restaurant bills. When discussing bribery or corruption in Thailand, it's interesting how these practices are sometimes disguised as tipping; like extra money might let someone cut to the front of the queue where as in other countries they'll just openly charge more for a 'fast-track' service and it's not considered bribery.

[canman]

My tip:

Don't eat yellow snow

[Dr Wanchai]

It's called fly tipping when you dump waste illegally instead of in an authorised rubbish dump.

[OldChinaHam]

And it is very interesting that in WanChai, or for that matter in MongKok, one of the most population dense places on earth, there is very little Fly Tipping

Still, if the truth be told, this is also slightly off-topic.

[Ulysses G.]

The OP is correct that tipping did not used to be part of the Thai culture in ancient history, but it is now in upscale places and has been for quite a while. If I do not want to tip, I stick with dirt cheap noodle stalls and such.

[SeaVisionBurma]

Another expat banter thread.

Moving to Pub.

[Travel2003]

The OP answered their own questions; this is an internet forum for foreigners who visit Thailand or live or work here. Tipping is part of their culture so they make reference to it as it pertains to their experiences here. That so many threads include references to tipping reflects how important it is to the board members social customs.

When you consider that tipping customs vary so widely between different countries, it's actually quite an interesting topic of discussion. For example, when discussing cost of living in Thailand and comparing, say, the cost of restaurants to those in Europe or the US, it's useful to know that 15% tips are always added to US restaurant bills. When discussing bribery or corruption in Thailand, it's interesting how these practices are sometimes disguised as tipping; like extra money might let someone cut to the front of the queue where as in other countries they'll just openly charge more for a 'fast-track' service and it's not considered bribery.

Good post.

I always thought that giving a certain % in tip was ridicules.

If I want to have a bottle of 10 dollar wine, or a 1000 dollar bottle.

Why the hell should the waiter be tipped more for the very same job (remove cork and pour).

[GrantSmith]

Illicit tipping...

Isn't that the same as a bar fine?

Edited April 24, 2013 by GrantSmith

[SamsonSW]

The OP answered their own questions; this is an internet forum for foreigners who visit Thailand or live or work here. Tipping is part of their culture so they make reference to it as it pertains to their experiences here. That so many threads include references to tipping reflects how important it is to the board members social customs.

When you consider that tipping customs vary so widely between different countries, it's actually quite an interesting topic of discussion. For example, when discussing cost of living in Thailand and comparing, say, the cost of restaurants to those in Europe or the US, it's useful to know that 15% tips are always added to US restaurant bills. When discussing bribery or corruption in Thailand, it's interesting how these practices are sometimes disguised as tipping; like extra money might let someone cut to the front of the queue where as in other countries they'll just openly charge more for a 'fast-track' service and it's not considered bribery.

Actually it's very rare for the tip to automatically be added to the bill in the US.

In my experience this is only done at places frequented by foreigners, where the staff would starve if the customers were left to their own devices.

Answering the OP's question - it's because there are such radical differences between countries where people have to tip as part of the culture, and those where it's optional, with citizens of the optional countries often taking a "so why should I" attitude and the American's patiently trying to explain how it works where they come from

[SamsonSW]

I always thought that giving a certain % in tip was ridicules. If I want to have a bottle of 10 dollar wine, or a 1000 dollar bottle. Why the hell should the waiter be tipped more for the very same job (remove cork and pour).

Well if you are in the US the answer to your question is the same as "why should I have to wear my shirt into a wat just because I'm in Thailand?

When you look at the prices of a bar or restaurant, you need to take into account that a 15% tip is required, not optional unless you really receive terrible service, in which case 10% will get the message across. 20% these days is normal for decent-to-good service, especially in high cost-of-living places.

If the restaurant is too expensive for you when taking the tip factor into account, then you should set your sights lower. If you don't like the whole practice on some kind of abstract "principle" then you should refrain from visiting countries where it is mandatory.

Refusing to tip is just like refusing to drive on the correct side of the road, or sticking your feet up a table in Thailand, and aside from the ethics, can in some places be dangerous to your health.

[Songhua]

And it is very interesting that in WanChai, or for that matter in MongKok, one of the most population dense places on earth, there is very little Fly Tipping

Still, if the truth be told, this is also slightly off-topic.

Number 7 by a nose in the fourth at Happy Valley. (that's a tip)

[Travel2003]

Yeah, that is the same.

I always thought that giving a certain % in tip was ridicules. If I want to have a bottle of 10 dollar wine, or a 1000 dollar bottle. Why the hell should the waiter be tipped more for the very same job (remove cork and pour).

Well if you are in the US the answer to your question is the same as "why should I have to wear my shirt into a wat just because I'm in Thailand?

When you look at the prices of a bar or restaurant, you need to take into account that a 15% tip is required, not optional unless you really receive terrible service, in which case 10% will get the message across. 20% these days is normal for decent-to-good service, especially in high cost-of-living places.

If the restaurant is too expensive for you when taking the tip factor into account, then you should set your sights lower. If you don't like the whole practice on some kind of abstract "principle" then you should refrain from visiting countries where it is mandatory.

Refusing to tip is just like refusing to drive on the correct side of the road, or sticking your feet up a table in Thailand, and aside from the ethics, can in some places be dangerous to your health.

Well if you are in the US the answer to your question is the same as "why should I have to wear my shirt into a wat just because I'm in Thailand?

Yeah, that is the same...........not!

What the bottom number includes, I can do nothing about, and must accept.

I am talking about giving a certain % in tip.

Btw, I am always tipping, as long as the service is medium and upwards.

And NEVER just a coin.

[canman]

I always thought that giving a certain % in tip was ridicules. If I want to have a bottle of 10 dollar wine, or a 1000 dollar bottle. Why the hell should the waiter be tipped more for the very same job (remove cork and pour).

Well if you are in the US the answer to your question is the same as "why should I have to wear my shirt into a wat just because I'm in Thailand?

When you look at the prices of a bar or restaurant, you need to take into account that a 15% tip is required, not optional unless you really receive terrible service, in which case 10% will get the message across. 20% these days is normal for decent-to-good service, especially in high cost-of-living places.

If the restaurant is too expensive for you when taking the tip factor into account, then you should set your sights lower. If you don't like the whole practice on some kind of abstract "principle" then you should refrain from visiting countries where it is mandatory.

Refusing to tip is just like refusing to drive on the correct side of the road, or sticking your feet up a table in Thailand, and aside from the ethics, can in some places be dangerous to your health.

If a tip is mandatory then it is no longer a tip; it is a charge. Comparing a tip to driving on the wrong side of the road is silly. Were you a food server in the states by any chance??