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Why is this in the travel forum (and it never amazes me how these topics get to 3 pages in a few hours)?
But since it is, and this is a TRAVEL FORUM - tipping is cultural and regional. Tipping is not really applicable to Europe and many Asian countries. They don't really tip, including at resteraunts. Instead they round up a bill, for instance.
On the other hand, you tip for everything in some middle eastern countries, where it essentially becomes a bribe ("bakseesh"). Sometimes it becomes a problem - western tourists may tip too much and then you have bellboys that make more money then teachers and doctors. Obviously, that has a negative effect on these developing countries.
How would you deal with bakseesh in the Middle East? How much is too much?
Anyone that complains about tipping has an issue with money.
It also has to do with lack of empathy. They fail to realize folks in those jobs depend on tips to survive because the pay is incredibly low.
You're only half right though. It perpetuates this problem that employers don't have to pay certain workers well because they know the tips *should* make up the difference. But why should that be the burden of the consumer in every case? Some servers for example make awful money following Christmas for this very reason, while they make out well in peak seasons. You can plan for that, but I would rather see people just being paid fair right off the bat.
Again, it's tricky because you can't really stand up to the problem without hurting the service workers first.
How would you deal with bakseesh in the Middle East? How much is too much?
Carry lots of small change, coins, don't give to everyone and everything that asks. And they will ask - in Egypt we would have military personal guarding historic sights that would stand around, point at an object, then expect a tip. Sorry - no. Be selective.
You give them an equivalent of a dollar tip - that could be a whole day's salary for them. If you have a guide with you, ask them what's appropriate.
Why is this in the travel forum (and it never amazes me how these topics get to 3 pages in a few hours)?
But since it is, and this is a TRAVEL FORUM - tipping is cultural and regional. Tipping is not really applicable to Europe and many Asian countries. They don't really tip, including at resteraunts. Instead they round up a bill, for instance.
On the other hand, you tip for everything in some middle eastern countries, where it essentially becomes a bribe ("bakseesh"). Sometimes it becomes a problem - western tourists may tip too much and then you have bellboys that make more money then teachers and doctors. Obviously, that has a negative effect on these developing countries.
If we simply did what other nations do, and paid our service employees a livable wage this wouldn't be an issue and tips would simply be a bonus rather than an expected gift as the sole source of your income. When I was a waiter, in college, I made $2.13 an hour. If I had a weekend night of poor tips from people who sat in my section way too long that could be the difference between making $40 and making $150. Luckily I'm great with a budget, but many of my coworkers were not. They struggled, because $2.13 an hour doesn't pay for anything and a bad night or string of bad nights, could mean a missed bill or no groceries, for some.
The issue isn't with service employees being greedy, but rather with a federal minimum wage that doesn't allow the basic necessities of life and then on top of that exceptions that allow you to pay over $5/hr less than minimum wage to tipped employees.
OK unrelated travel response - I know of absolutely no tipped service employees that want to change from tips to regular salary (although what I suspect what they define as a livable wage would either get them eventually layed-off, or replaced by a robot). The reason is that you can make a very good salary with tips and part time working, which is probably why you were one in college. They have a good thing going, and they know it. No tips, no way.
I've traveled all over the world, and I know people will deny it, but service in European and Asian resteraunts is subpar. The reason is that employees are not rewarded for good service. You know how one gets service at a Chinese resteraunt? One hold there hand in the air, like in class answering a question, and waits for a server to come by, desperately trying to flag them down. Servers coming up to your table to ask how your food is or getting you another drink? Unheard of.
To me tips are just as they were originally intended- only to reward service that is above and beyond what is expected. So if a waiter/waitress gives rather rude or "I don't care" type of service at a restaurant, they get no tip or very little (less than 10%). They only get the expected 15% if they actually provide very good service. I really think we are suckers to just assume we HAVE to tip everywhere we go regardless of the quality of service.
We might be suckers but it has become the standard. I think the amount we tip is as important as do we tip. There are some professions where tipping is the expected means of payment, others have decided to expect tips as well. Many of those I object to, but for the wait staff I expect to tip even for standatrd service.
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