traveler257 Posted August 28, 2007 #1 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Good evening. Does anyone know the appropiate amounts to tip at resturants, for private tours and for transportation to and from the airport? Thanks for your help in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eh2zed Posted August 28, 2007 #2 Share Posted August 28, 2007 it would be helpful to know what country you are flying in/out of. There are different customs. Generally, however, it is the same as in NA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 28, 2007 #3 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Some restaurants will add the tip (service fee, VAT) on the bill so check before you double tip a good article from Rick Steeves site http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/tipping.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare carlmm Posted August 28, 2007 #4 Share Posted August 28, 2007 This topic has been discussed several times. You might do a search for previous threads. Besides some country related differences the baseline from European view is: Tipping is not necessary in Europe. In restaurants you might round up to the next Euro or so. There is no need to tip for tours. You might leave a small amout as token of appreciation. Tipping for every move and every smile and that is regions of 15% or more is a very American concept that does not apply to Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted August 28, 2007 #5 Share Posted August 28, 2007 There are different customs. Generally, however, it is the same as in NA.There are indeed different customs. Generally, though, it is very different from those in North America. However, I have never yet met service personnel who aren't pleased to have wads of money unnnecessarily thrown at them by North Americans. After all, who doesn't like free extra money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cberge Posted August 28, 2007 #6 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Do a search on this board using tipping the the search function as there is a huge thread on this this with all kinds of replies...it always get a huge thread going...this subject!!!:o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted August 28, 2007 #7 Share Posted August 28, 2007 In the UK you would leave about 10% for good service, however, it is more usual to round up the bill (check) by a couple of pounds. You may find in London that a service charge will be added and this may also apply to other European cities. Taxi drivers in London expect a tip. It is not standard practice to automatically add a gratuity to any restaurant charges as we have experienced in the US. Europeans have a different take on tipping and the wait staff have a salary and do not expect the customer to make up their wages. However, it is always nice to show appreciation where it is deserved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveler257 Posted August 28, 2007 Author #8 Share Posted August 28, 2007 I will try searching for tipping under this board. I tried yesterday but could not find anything. I will just try putting in tipping. Thanks again. By the way, the countries we are visiting are Italy, France, Croatia and Spain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted August 28, 2007 #9 Share Posted August 28, 2007 A suggestion: In the full search screen, try the word "tipping" in keywords. Select to "Search Titles Only". In the forum selection box, highlight Europe, then check the box for "Search Child Forums" (which will search all three of the daughter forums - Med, British Isles and Baltics). Then search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kindlychap Posted August 28, 2007 #10 Share Posted August 28, 2007 In the UK you would leave about 10% for good service, however, it is more usual to round up the bill (check) by a couple of pounds. You may find in London that a service charge will be added and this may also apply to other European cities. Taxi drivers in London expect a tip. It is not standard practice to automatically add a gratuity to any restaurant charges as we have experienced in the US. Europeans have a different take on tipping and the wait staff have a salary and do not expect the customer to make up their wages. However, it is always nice to show appreciation where it is deserved. The UK and Europe are not different places - the UK is part of Europe. I'm not quite sure what you are saying in respect of restaurant charges - a service charge is normally from 10-15%. If one is added there is no need to tip further. Waiting staff have a salary in the United Kingdom, and the law states that tips paid on credit cards can be used towards that salary, but those in cash cannot. Certainly there is not the same neurotic need to tip anything that moves that afflicts Americans. Written from a UK perspective. And people have different ideas here anyway - some tip more than others. For example, some tip hairdressers, and I never do. Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted August 29, 2007 #11 Share Posted August 29, 2007 Taxi drivers in London expect a tip.But not much of a tip. London cabbies' tip expectations seem to be significantly lower than they were. A 40p tip (by rounding up) on a fare of about £12 is not causing any offence these days.I'm not quite sure what you are saying in respect of restaurant charges - a service charge is normally from 10-15%. If one is added there is no need to tip further.I agree with this. On re-reading sandancer's post, it wasn't clear what was being said. The only thing to add is this: Since the introduction of chip/PIN technology for credit card acceptance, more restaurants than before have gone over to automatically adding a service charge. This makes the credit card process much simpler for the customer. Where there is a service charge, there is no need to tip any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin Oma Posted August 29, 2007 #12 Share Posted August 29, 2007 Some restaurants will add the tip (service fee, VAT) on the bill so check before you double tipa good article from Rick Steeves site http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/tipping.htm Personally I think Rick Steves is notoriously cheap and prides himself on that. I'd try another resource - also one that breaks it out by country - because every country is not the same. http://www.fodors.com/features/nfdisplay1.cfm?name=stt/010124_stt_tg_europe_toc.cfm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Host Karen Posted August 29, 2007 #13 Share Posted August 29, 2007 The infamous tipping question! Here's a link to a thread that discusses tipping: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=577127 In it, you will find a post by me that includes links to two other threads. I realize that the search function does not always work as it should, making it difficult to find the information you seek. I hope these links help answer some of your questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted August 29, 2007 #14 Share Posted August 29, 2007 The UK and Europe are not different places - the UK is part of Europe. I'm not quite sure what you are saying in respect of restaurant charges - a service charge is normally from 10-15%. If one is added there is no need to tip further. Waiting staff have a salary in the United Kingdom, and the law states that tips paid on credit cards can be used towards that salary, but those in cash cannot. Certainly there is not the same neurotic need to tip anything that moves that afflicts Americans. Written from a UK perspective. And people have different ideas here anyway - some tip more than others. For example, some tip hairdressers, and I never do. Matthew OK Matthew, perhaps I did not make myself clear about not tipping if a service charge is added. The point I was trying to make was that you should check before leaving a tip and not just automatically do so. We usually leave our tip in cash when paying by card as I am sure the wait staff don't get the tip and you have just confimed it. I am also well aware that the UK is part of Europe - I am British - however, I was trying to speak from my own experience which is predominently for the UK. Perhaps I should have said "we Europeans have a different take on tipping" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted August 30, 2007 #15 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Personally I think Rick Steves is notoriously cheap and prides himself on that.There doesn't seem to be anything in that article which suggests a "cheap" attitude. It simply helps you not to overpay, which is a virtue. Tipping too much doesn't make you a better person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpiomum Posted August 30, 2007 #16 Share Posted August 30, 2007 from my perspective of living in europe (not the UK) i never tip. wages in europe in the service industries are generally good and in my experience there is never a need or expectation to tip. it doesnt make me cheap as the food is generally a lot dearer in this part of the world (to cover the wages!). i am sure if you are used to tipping and you want to continue to do so then it will be gladly received. but i have never felt uncomfortable for not doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare HeinBloed Posted August 30, 2007 #17 Share Posted August 30, 2007 It's unpolite not to tip - if you got a good service!!! In Germany you round up to a full or sometimes 0.50 EUR amount but min. 5-10% (depending to the quality of service). In France and most other countries you just leave some change on the table. Same in the taxi. Bell Boy: 1-2 EUR per bag - max. 5 EUR. Housekeeping: same. The only country I know where tipping is not appreciated is Japan. It could happen that the waitress will run on the street to let you know that you forgot your change... Regards, HeinBloed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whogo Posted August 31, 2007 #18 Share Posted August 31, 2007 It is refreshing to see all these posts against over tipping. The Royal Caribbean board is full of people who have to tip an extra $20 at the specialty restaurant where the gratuity is included in the price. The Rick Steves link http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/tipping.htm has a further link http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/eurotips.htm with info from people living in Europe. I particularly enjoyed the following quote: "I realize that Americans, or anyone, doing things according to their own custom without bothering to ask what's appropriate, are really quite offensive, or they think we are "mugs" (easily taken advantage of)." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.