A Controversial Topic (aka Tipping)

[Sugarglider]

I went to china in 1992 and there was no tipping back then - so a change there then! My DH spent a year working in the Solomon Islands and it is not a tipping nation. We were told "we do not want to be a nation of beggars" !
(not that I am implying anything about other countries - it was just something i was not expecting to hear in honiara!)

I've become very relaxed about tipping and throw money about with gay abandon. mostly.
At disney they calculate the amount for you, so I just round up the figure and pay probably 19% or 20% in restaurants.
This year for the first time i decided to tip the valet $2 - I have no idea if that is good or not. (have tipped nothing in the past)
I tip $1 per bag to porters.
I didn't tip housekeeping anything - I was in DVC for 10 nights and only had 2 visits and just forgot. By the time I got to AKL I was not tipping that all - but there are no problems - it's not like they trash the room or anything.
I don't tip door men or check in peeps - I admit - never crossed my mind and I've not seen anyone else do it.
I only rode ME once and i didn't see anyone tip - and I didn't.
I've missed tipping lots of time and no-one has ever said anything to me.

I went on a private kayaking tour and was expecting to tip 20% - and the chap said "I'm the business owner - the fee is all mine anyway". But I be surprised if you score Bob Iger carrying your bags for you!

I ask the hotel check in/out to break notes down into one dollar bills for me - which they all did happily.

So I seem to be the same as everyone else! Just got to remember to include an extra 20% in my budget

 

[Aussie Wendy]

All of this is reminding me I had better refresh my notes on tipping in Europe which I haven't done yet....the trip to Japan last year was SO easy-no tipping to worry about!! and conversely we got some of the best service ever that made me keep wishing we could tip.

 

[gregpso]

Tipping scares me! I never know what to do. I do usually just say I'm new to it and ask for advice. So far our waiters etc have been great about it and I don't think we've been taken advantage of.

Nothing scary about it once you have been a few times. (I have been 5 times)

Eating sit down add 18 per cent Nothing for fast food taxis about the same 15 per cent Housekeeping about 2 to 3 bucks per day bags to your hotel room I give $8 for 2 bags.

Luggage storage after checking out of room $5 per bag

Remember taxi drivers live almost exclusively on tips. they get very little from the cab company.

Tours about 10 per cent to the guide. usually around $5 to $10 per tour. ie bus driver to kennedy space centre ($10 per person) Plenty of Amercians did not tip the driver and he was not happy.

I give the ME driver $5 for the 2 of us.

vegas annoys me. Arrived Planet Hollywood told the bag bloke I would tip when bags delivered to room "But I will not see you again Sir." (all he did was write the ticket for the luggage to be delivered( nice earner and would not let go of the ticket until I put $5 in his hand.) Then another $8 when bags delivered to room !! by some one else.

PS at least the vegas shows have ticketing now (reserved seat) years ago I had to put $10 into the hand of the usher to get a good seat (all tickets were general admission) Some were tipping $50 (in 1985 money) to get a good seat at Wayne NEWTON !!

Anyway its part of deal with travelling to the USA I always factor about $300 of tipping for a 3 weeks holiday. Prices are lower there also so even with tipping its usually good value esp with the Aussie dollar so good against the greenback !! You get excellent service so I do not mind but do not want to see it become the norm in Aus as our workers are paid better.

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Which brings me to my next point. I wish tourists from tipping countries wouldn't tip in countries that don't tip (e.g. NZ). It breeds a culture of expectation.

- Totally agree

No need to tip in France, waiters etc get paid a proper wage and it is even seen as insulting to professionals. If you want to round up you can to the next € even if it was an excellent meal with the best service you've had in your life no more than 5%

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I went to china in 1992 and there was no tipping back then - so a change there then!

Yes, and not a nice one.

When we arrived for our Yangtse River Cruise we were running low on small notes. So we asked our tour guide to tell the baggage handlers that we would handle the bags ourselves. When we got out of the van they ran over to grab our bags anyway. We shook our heads and made gestures to say we were okay. The guide jumped in and suggested we just let them take our two suitcases. Worried about offending anyone, we handed them over.
We tipped them what we had and boarded. It was a little bit less than what we would have liked, but not what I would have considered awful. The only other option was to pass over a big note (way more than what was necessary).
A few minutes later, while we were at the boat's desk checking in, a baggage handler came charging onto the boat yelling at us in Chinese. It was scary and confusing. The guide followed a few seconds later and explained that we'd under-tipped him. "You need to give them more money now", he said. What? Are you serious? We didn't even want their help in the first place. I reached into my purse, grabbed a big note, and told them both to go away now. I was frightened, angry and embarrassed.

 

[BecBennett]

Yeah that would really suck. It's worse when you don't speak the language.

 

[Sugarglider]

Oh wanderlust - that's a scary story!

 

[areweindisneyyet]

Is it just me? I come home from each trip thinking YES I have got this tipping thing and then when I go back I think WHAT?

Great thread idea

 

[battymum]

Yes, that was me.

As much reading as I did before the trip.

Guilty admission - we never tipped housekeeping staff, purely because we just forgot all about it.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Is it just me? I come home from each trip thinking YES I have got this tipping thing and then when I go back I think WHAT?

Great thread idea

Definitely not just you. This will be my 4th trip to the States and I'm still confused.