Tipping - but not on the Cruise

[Pudgesmom]

14 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

In the US, tipping is expected in restaurants. Service workers are not overpaid as they are in Australia and NZ, so they strive to provide the best service to achieve good tips. They should be rewarded for their hard work.

I sort of see this in reverse. Service workers in these countries are paid a living wage, along with healthcare and other benefits, and thus are not dependent on potential tips to make a livable income. 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Pudgesmom

[1982CruzStart]

When planning for a cruise i go online and check what the tipping etiquette is in each country. There are many good sites that give great information for each specific country.  They also usually tell you whether US, Euros etc are accepted or whether it is a problem for the recipient if a currency other than their own is given to them.  We have a great currency exchange company in the city that we fly out of and are able to pick up the various currencies there. As we are from Canada we have to get USD so it is just as easy and often cheaper for us to buy each countries currencies than to buy enough USD for tipping. 

[Timeflies]

22 hours ago, Pcardad said:

 

I am at 130+ countries and the only country I can remember that didn't want US dollars was a bar in Madagascar...they said the bank charged them too much to swap them out.

Thanks Pcardad, that's really good to know

[TomTN]

On 2/11/2022 at 8:50 AM, Pcardad said:

It should - they just trying to scam you into giving more.

The restaurant owner is taking that money and paying several employees with it.  Just another way to lower his labor cost.

[TomTN]

18 hours ago, cruiseluv said:

Really? Sounds like a scam. I would not patronize restaurants that do this

We avoid restaurants that add an automatic 18% tip.   The average wait person in TN makes $2.15/hour. They depend on your tips.

Here is the breakdown by state:

https://www.minimum-wage.org/tipped

[Dolebludger]

In many parts of my state (Colorado) ite minimum wage for servers is $15/hr. Not by legislation, but by supply and demand. Many towns and cities are having a severe labor shortage. When the restaurants shut down in the recent crisis, many former employees relocated or entered other fields of work. How do I know all this? I read the “Help wanted, $15/hour”  signs in the restaurant windows.

[SWFLAOK]

On 2/11/2022 at 3:22 PM, Pcardad said:

 

I am at 130+ countries and the only country I can remember that didn't want US dollars was a bar in Madagascar...they said the bank charged them too much to swap them out.

On a Paul Gauguin cruise, we stopped outside the harbor in Aitutaki, Cook Islands. Our tender took us into the harbor and dropped us off at the dock. Waves were going over the top of our tender, but we made it safely. Our excursion bus took us to a dock on the Aitutaki lagoon, and we were taken on a boat that hit all of the highlights of that area. We had a good time, but it was a long day, and when we returned to the dock, our bus was not there. There was a bar at a local resort near the dock. Thinking about the tender trip back to the ship, we decided that we needed to have a beer while waiting for the bus. The local beer was only 3 dollars, if we had New Zealand currency. Unfortunately, we had only CFP and USD. They would accept the USD, but they needed to go to the bank in town to exchange it. The cost for 2 beers was 20 USD. We weren't the only ones who went for it. We didn't tip the bartender.

[Dolebludger]

I had a rather opposite experience on Morea. There was a driver who offered to drive us around to the jewelry stores there, but he took us to many more places. So I gave him a USD $20, which he was reluctant to accept, but I insisted. So he said he had something for me, and gave me a pretty nice black pearl! We were in Aituiki 15 years ago. Didn’t buy anything, but I seem to recall that some places did take AmEx.

[SusieQft]

On 2/11/2022 at 6:26 PM, cruiseluv said:

On 2/11/2022 at 6:29 AM, FengShui@Sea said:

Our experience in downtown Miami last month was that most restaurants add 18% 'service charge' and then hand you the credit card machine with a screen asking if you want to add a tip.  Apparently the service charge doesn't all go to the server.  

Really? Sounds like a scam. I would not patronize restaurants that do this

I tend to agree, that this practice is deceptive at best.  However, I have the impression that the new credit card interfaces, such as Square for example, automatically put up the suggested tip screen whether or not it is a situation in which a tip is normally given.  It comes across to me as a modern electronic hustle. 

 

At first it made me very apprehensive about not tipping even if I did not feel it was a situation that needed a tip.  More than once if I caved and put in a tip, the clerk would show surprise (and delight, but clearly they agreed with me that it was not normally a transaction that involved tipping).  Sometimes I would avoid paying by credit card or maybe avoid that establishment altogether, because I do like like being hustled.  I am growing more inured to it, though, since it has become ubiquitous and hard to avoid.  Just click on "no tip" if you do not feel a tip (or double tip) is warranted.