Oscar2 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 tipping is now a Thai custom. Thais do it all the time. i often see Thais give a 100 Bath tip at my favorite massage place. they usually give something to the guy at the parking lot too - at restaurants, etc. i didn't use to but now i do. i've even seen Thais tip at the gas station when they put air in the tires, add oil, etc. i don't but the wife always does. the cost of living has skyrocketed here. some of these people are barely getting by and have children they are putting through school. i'll be honest and say that if the person providing the service is Burmese then the Thais may not tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiftyTwo Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I live in MaeJo, all Thai, not a white face in sight. They would be extremely surprised to be tipped for anything. Thais in tourist areas might do it, but that would be a feature of living in foreigner enclaves. It isn't normal in Thai areas. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar2 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I live in MaeJo, all Thai, not a white face in sight. They would be extremely surprised to be tipped for anything. Thais in tourist areas might do it, but that would be a feature of living in foreigner enclaves. It isn't normal in Thai areas. Mae Jo is a college area, mostly students. Students can't afford to tip and don't usually. ever spent any time in Bangkok? my Thai friends in Bangkok always tip. it's expected nowadays. things have changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesquite Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 But we foreigners are not Thai. The Japanese, Australians, and Chinese do not tip much if at all. Why should, say, an American tip? When I first moved here I tipped 20%, the same as I had tipped in the US. Word got out amongst the staff that they had a live one, and soon I was asked to buy shoes, cell phones, etc. Maybe things have changed in the last ten years, but as I wrote in my post above, just watch the Chinese and do what they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharktooth Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Personally I always tip no matter which country I am in, unless service is shocking. But then again, maybe that's just me. Can't say tipping has made any kind of dent in my financial situation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NancyL Posted January 19, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) It's interesting that these type of threads always seem to generate into a fight over tipping with some of the TV members defending their non-tipping ways and blaming the Americans for introducing the practice and corrupting the local population to where they expect tips now as a matter of course. That really wasn't the point of the OP was it? I wonder if some people feel a little guilty about their non-tipping practices and think they have to defend themselves as not really just being cheap. Kind of like someone who drinks 5-6 beers a day feels the need to tell people he's not an alcoholic and could stop drinking any time he wanted. Oh, yes, I'll weigh in on the side that claims well-educated urban Thai people now engage in tipping also. Certainly they leave the loose change and a 20 baht note or two behind after a restaurant meal in a nice place. See them do it frequently. If someone is living on such a tight budget that they can't afford to leave a little something extra for the wait staff in the kind of place where most customers do, then they should dine in other restaurants with menu options that work with their budget limitations. Edited January 19, 2014 by NancyL 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixxer Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 The latter. After a year or two of living here a fair few, but by no means all, become obsessive about the cost of everything irrespective of how much money they have. It's a manifestation of Culture Shock, with a hint of Paranoia that leaves them feeling that everyone is out to cheat them, so they over-react, and before you know it 5 baht is a significant amount of money. Their catchphrase is 'It's not the money, it's the principle'. Technically they are mentally ill so really you should pity them rather than mock them, but sometimes it's hard to resist, partly because they take themselves so seriously but mostly because they're so funny getting all worked up about nothing. I only post here because it's free . 5-5-5( baht) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beau thai Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Whether you see 'white faces' in Mae Jo probably depends where you live eat and shop. I see 'white faces' in restaurants in Mae Jo-and see people tip but obviously i dont know how much. Golf is different but many many Farang at MJ golf and not unusual for a caddy to get a 500 baht tip, although 300 is the norm. Extra paid to each caddy in the group if you get a birdie and a iot extra for a hole in one. Never had to pay that extra though unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharktooth Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 As a social experiment I just searched 'cheap' on the forum sidebar. My iPad nearly melted trying to load the post results... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post eyecatcher Posted January 19, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2014 My wife used to tip quite often in restaurants but eventually she conceded as my whinging every day annoyed her. Then I persuaded her to buy me a ceramic elephant "piggy" bank and said ok I will feed the elephant every day with my loose change that would have been left on the plate. Last month after 18months of feeding it 1bt,5bt,2bts we opened it and bought our first LED TV. Now I think she appreciates that some of my hard decisions can pay dividends. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman34014 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 As i said earlier, tipping is the business of whoever is doing the tipping but all these claims of tipping by Thai's seems odd to me as the majority don't, and will tell you not to as well. Some very well heeled Thai's live around our area and they never leave a Baht on the table. I do, but only the 20 Baht my wife allows me to and she thinks that's over the top ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 As i said earlier, tipping is the business of whoever is doing the tipping but all these claims of tipping by Thai's seems odd to me as the majority don't, and will tell you not to as well. They don't tip in noodle stalls, but they do when they go to the Duke's and there are a lot of Thais going there these days. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beau thai Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 My wife used to tip quite often in restaurants but eventually she conceded as my whinging every day annoyed her. Then I persuaded her to buy me a ceramic elephant "piggy" bank and said ok I will feed the elephant every day with my loose change that would have been left on the plate. Last month after 18months of feeding it 1bt,5bt,2bts we opened it and bought our first LED TV. Now I think she appreciates that some of my hard decisions can pay dividends. Say 8000 baht for your tv; 110 baht a week saved from your ungiven tips-wow!! So you dont tip at all ??? Is it your experience that people tip for a massage, if good? Whatever custom and practise is , I tend to agree that servers here earn very little and a small tip (10-20bht) helps them. But I wont tip a satang for poor or surly service. I used to tip more but my gf suggested it made me look a mug (or more of a mug...), 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigantojapan Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 money in my pocket and i just cant find no love oh yeah man a good wee ditty from the late 70s just sprung to mind when i was looking at this post. aye the good old days o CM when just about everyone o the foreign brigade was a backpacker with the same sensibilities as the locals,,,even though most were just passing through on the way to the mountains to put money in the pockets o the hill tribes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigantojapan Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 But we foreigners are not Thai. The Japanese, Australians, and Chinese do not tip much if at all. Why should, say, an American tip? When I first moved here I tipped 20%, the same as I had tipped in the US. Word got out amongst the staff that they had a live one, and soon I was asked to buy shoes, cell phones, etc. Maybe things have changed in the last ten years, but as I wrote in my post above, just watch the Chinese and do what they do. The Japanese do not tip as is there custom in japan .The Japanese will also have read up everything about Thailand before they moved here either as a tourist or as an expat living here and they would see that Thailand is also a no tipping country in general,but yes there is a window to tip if the service is good, As you cannot get anywhere near Japanese service in any country again in general a no tipping policy ensues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigantojapan Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 My wife used to tip quite often in restaurants but eventually she conceded as my whinging every day annoyed her. Then I persuaded her to buy me a ceramic elephant "piggy" bank and said ok I will feed the elephant every day with my loose change that would have been left on the plate. Last month after 18months of feeding it 1bt,5bt,2bts we opened it and bought our first LED TV. Now I think she appreciates that some of my hard decisions can pay dividends. Say 8000 baht for your tv; 110 baht a week saved from your ungiven tips-wow!! So you dont tip at all ??? Is it your experience that people tip for a massage, if good? Whatever custom and practise is , I tend to agree that servers here earn very little and a small tip (10-20bht) helps them. But I wont tip a satang for poor or surly service. I used to tip more but my gf suggested it made me look a mug (or more of a mug...), its about 30% tip in the massage shops and the general tip is 20 baht,,even though the majority of farang say and know how cheap a massage here is..I am talking about highly skilles competent massage therapists here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metisdead Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Off topic nonsensical trolling post removed as well as the replies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post jayceenik Posted January 19, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2014 When I go out for dinner with the TGF at the end I give her the money and let her pay the bill. She'll leave whatever tip she thinks proper. If it's deemed not enough by the staff then she gets the blame ... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar2 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 But we foreigners are not Thai. The Japanese, Australians, and Chinese do not tip much if at all. Why should, say, an American tip? When I first moved here I tipped 20%, the same as I had tipped in the US. Word got out amongst the staff that they had a live one, and soon I was asked to buy shoes, cell phones, etc. Maybe things have changed in the last ten years, but as I wrote in my post above, just watch the Chinese and do what they do. The Japanese do not tip as is there custom in japan .The Japanese will also have read up everything about Thailand before they moved here either as a tourist or as an expat living here and they would see that Thailand is also a no tipping country in general,but yes there is a window to tip if the service is good, As you cannot get anywhere near Japanese service in any country again in general a no tipping policy ensues again....generalizing. we just had 2 Japanese guests here. we took them everywhere during the week they were here. after massages (the same place i always go where I have never seen another white face but mine there in about 6 years), they always tipped about 60 Bath each, and always after meals with he exception of small noodle shops (which we don't tip either). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Why don't the noodle shops get a tip? Unless it's only staffed by the owner. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigantojapan Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 But we foreigners are not Thai. The Japanese, Australians, and Chinese do not tip much if at all. Why should, say, an American tip? When I first moved here I tipped 20%, the same as I had tipped in the US. Word got out amongst the staff that they had a live one, and soon I was asked to buy shoes, cell phones, etc. Maybe things have changed in the last ten years, but as I wrote in my post above, just watch the Chinese and do what they do. The Japanese do not tip as is there custom in japan .The Japanese will also have read up everything about Thailand before they moved here either as a tourist or as an expat living here and they would see that Thailand is also a no tipping country in general,but yes there is a window to tip if the service is good, As you cannot get anywhere near Japanese service in any country again in general a no tipping policy ensues again....generalizing. we just had 2 Japanese guests here. we took them everywhere during the week they were here. after massages (the same place i always go where I have never seen another white face but mine there in about 6 years), they always tipped about 60 Bath each, and always after meals with he exception of small noodle shops (which we don't tip either). I did say in my post in general along side no tipping ////Were you also tipping in the food places you went to....Who followed who?The Japanese will do what is expected of them(in general) and they can read the body feelings better than most nationalities(another generalization )Have the Japanese been in America can also influence their habit of tipping and there travels after.In general Japanese dont tip..if they do they might speak japanese and look Japanese but they are not Japanese in its true meaning,,,,not a genralization What was the age and sex of your guests also has a bearing on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 But we foreigners are not Thai. The Japanese, Australians, and Chinese do not tip much if at all. Why should, say, an American tip? When I first moved here I tipped 20%, the same as I had tipped in the US. Word got out amongst the staff that they had a live one, and soon I was asked to buy shoes, cell phones, etc. Maybe things have changed in the last ten years, but as I wrote in my post above, just watch the Chinese and do what they do. The Japanese do not tip as is there custom in japan .The Japanese will also have read up everything about Thailand before they moved here either as a tourist or as an expat living here and they would see that Thailand is also a no tipping country in general,but yes there is a window to tip if the service is good, As you cannot get anywhere near Japanese service in any country again in general a no tipping policy ensues again....generalizing. we just had 2 Japanese guests here. we took them everywhere during the week they were here. after massages (the same place i always go where I have never seen another white face but mine there in about 6 years), they always tipped about 60 Bath each, and always after meals with he exception of small noodle shops (which we don't tip either). I go to a local Japanese restaurant pretty often and most of the customers are Japanese. They do tip and somewhat generously - especially when they have been drinking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigantojapan Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 they are just happy to be eating Japanese food albeit a good interpretation,,,Are you sure they are not Korean,, pay more close attention next time and get back to us how big the tips are before and after a few sakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyL Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) There is a dressmaker in our building who has mostly Japanese clients and her prices are rather high. In fact, she's not really interested in doing work for us white ladies and quotes very long lead lead times to do a project. Also, at Kantary Hills hotel, they at one time they had three versions of their lunch menu -- the Thai, English and Japanese language menus. There were different menu selections on each, but some duplication of selections. The lowest prices were on the Thai language menu, the highest prices on the Japanese language menu. This was three years ago -- don't know about their current practices, but they've probably added a Chinese language menu now. Would be interesting to see their current menu selection, but they probably wouldn't make the same mistake of bringing all their lunch menus to a table of expat ladies from various countries -- ladies who are friends, some able to read languages that may not have been obvious just to look at the lady, and all having the time and interest in translating the menus as a group project. Edited January 19, 2014 by NancyL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
true blue Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 just curious but do people still tip when there is a service charge and a tax charge included in the bill.my tipping habit is i always give it personally to the lady who serves me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericnic Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 just curious but do people still tip when there is a service charge and a tax charge included in the bill.my tipping habit is i always give it personally to the lady who serves me. Depends. I do my best to not eat at places that add a service charge on the bill. I may be cynical but I figure most of that goes in the owner's pocket rather than to the staff. In addition, if the service charge does in fact go to the staff, it acts as a disincentive for good service since they get it no matter how poor the service. If I do get stuck in a place that adds the service charge to the bill, I will still tip my waitstaff directly if the service rises above the ordinary. David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyecatcher Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 My wife used to tip quite often in restaurants but eventually she conceded as my whinging every day annoyed her. Then I persuaded her to buy me a ceramic elephant "piggy" bank and said ok I will feed the elephant every day with my loose change that would have been left on the plate. Last month after 18months of feeding it 1bt,5bt,2bts we opened it and bought our first LED TV. Now I think she appreciates that some of my hard decisions can pay dividends. Say 8000 baht for your tv; 110 baht a week saved from your ungiven tips-wow!! So you dont tip at all ??? Is it your experience that people tip for a massage, if good? Whatever custom and practise is , I tend to agree that servers here earn very little and a small tip (10-20bht) helps them. But I wont tip a satang for poor or surly service. I used to tip more but my gf suggested it made me look a mug (or more of a mug...), Spot on yes we spent 8000 bt, 100bt a week in your own pocket adds up. Tipping in massage I think is much more prevalent and generous than in restaurants. Its common to drop 100bt per hour and I can see who will tip and who will not. As expected the Americans are the top tippers and then the Thais. Europeans rarely tip, english never tip, the chinese are looking for gratitude when they leave 20bt and that is more insulting than leaving nothing apparently. The chinese have gone one step further they now leave 10 yuan, so what an effort to change that for 50bt ? Certainly the girls getting the highest tips are the best ones and quite rightly the average ones don't get much. But I will not let my girls loiter for the tip, hanging about with a big smile as the customers is about to leave. It saves embarrassment and undue pressure on the customers if they don't want to tip. But if you were party to coversations behind the scenes about tipping believe me you wouldn't fall for any pretty smile. My advice stands,keep your tips, they are appreciated for the time it takes them to say "korp khun ka" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiftyTwo Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) english never tip, Depends on how happy I am at the end. And not if it's a guy. Edited January 19, 2014 by FiftyTwo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sharktooth Posted January 19, 2014 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2014 My wife used to tip quite often in restaurants but eventually she conceded as my whinging every day annoyed her. Then I persuaded her to buy me a ceramic elephant "piggy" bank and said ok I will feed the elephant every day with my loose change that would have been left on the plate. Last month after 18months of feeding it 1bt,5bt,2bts we opened it and bought our first LED TV. Now I think she appreciates that some of my hard decisions can pay dividends. Say 8000 baht for your tv; 110 baht a week saved from your ungiven tips-wow!! So you dont tip at all ??? Is it your experience that people tip for a massage, if good? Whatever custom and practise is , I tend to agree that servers here earn very little and a small tip (10-20bht) helps them. But I wont tip a satang for poor or surly service. I used to tip more but my gf suggested it made me look a mug (or more of a mug...), 100bt a week in your own pocket adds up. This comment sums up the entire basis of the original post. 100 baht a week? How tight or poor can anyone possibly be to count a 100 baht IN A WEEK.??? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyecatcher Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 But what did all those catering staff do with their 10bts....I bought a tv and two of us enjoy that now and for a long time to come. That's not tight that's what I call a great investment. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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