Tippping in Thailand

[Guest RichLB]

I should have include this in the other thread on bargaining, but I didn't think of it. how do you guys handle tipping - to whom, when, and how much? For example, in a sitdown restaurant do Thais expect a tip, do they expect the US stangard of 15% (or is it now 20%?), or 20 baht plus change? I really don't know. And how about for a "technician" who comes to your residence to fix or install something? Is he tipped and if so what's the standard? Door to door food delivery? Motorcycle taxis? Beach chair vendors? For any of these, is there a standard? I know, it's always "up to you", but I'm still curious what the unstated expectation is.

[Bob]

Based on my upbringing in the states - where we understood in restaurants that the workers are paid next to nothing and the expected tips are what really help them make a semi-decent living - I can't seem to not tip here in Thailand.

 

Based on my experience, my Thai friends actually believe that I shouldn't tip at all in a strictly Thai restaurant (but I do anyway and just put up with their "ting tong" looks). I typically tip 20 baht or 10%. In medium or upscale restaurants, I see even my Thai friends (and other Thais) provide some tip.....but often it's only 20 baht regardless of how much the total bill may be.

 

I can't say what the expectation is in all cases. I don't typically tip the tuk tuk guys up here in Chiangmai as they overcharge in the first place. I don't use the motorsai taxis and I typically don't tip the baht bus drivers.

 

Oh, if I'm eating in a cafeteria-type setting, I don't ever tip there (not sure why, maybe because I'm going and getting my own food).

 

Not sure about the repairman or deliverymen as I don't use them very often (although recently I did give two Thai guys 20 baht each for delivering a desk I bought at a store).

 

I do tip hotel bellmen if they carry my bag either up to the room or outside to the taxi.

Usually 20-40 baht.

[Guest fountainhall]

Tipping in general has been the subject of several threads. You might like to use the search and look up one also entitled "Tipping in Thailand" started on 25 November 2008". I don't things have changed much in the last two years, but I am sure others will correct me if I am wrong.

[Bob]

Tipping in general has been the subject of several threads.

 

Almost all the threads I remember about tipping involved the tiresome question of how much to tip the boy one offs. While there may have been threads about what, if anything, you tip the repairman, the restaurant waiter, the bellhop, or the delivery guy, I don't remember those. But I've got a lousy memory. In any event, I find RichLB's question somewhat interesting.

[Guest fountainhall]

While there may have been threads about what, if anything, you tip the repairman, the restaurant waiter, the bellhop, or the delivery guy, I don't remember those. But I've got a lousy memory

The thread I listed has no mention of barboys. It's exclusively about information about the sort of tips sought by RichLB. Can't think how I remembered it, except that I did post a couple of comments at the time.

[Guest]

As I understand it, most of the countries in east Asia have no tradition of tipping.

In Japan a tip would almost be regarded as an insult.

 

For restaurant service in Thailand I tip between zero and 10%. Anything ordinary gets zero or maybe I might just not bother to collect the coins.

Where service is slow & food or coffee is poor, why should they get a tip?

 

I rarely tip hotel staff. The most recent exception was a tip paid following good service at breakfast. I paid the night before leaving -then there was no one around to serve breakfast on the day I departed.

 

Any hotel porter gets about 20 baht, although having sometimes carried my rather light rucksack several hundred metres to get to a hotel, I would rather not bother with a porter.

 

Taxis rarely get tipped, especially those who take wrong turns on the meter.

 

Ultimately the professions that earn tip seem to be decided arbitrarily -waiter yes, ice cream seller no, taxi driver yes & bus driver no, even though the taxi driver may well be self employed & earning more as a result.

No one tips the airline pilot or the design engineer because the plane didn't crash.

 

Short time get 1000~1200, although I would pay less if service was very poor. However, this is a tip in name only (for obvious reasons).

 

The OBLIGATION to tip is one of those things I wish would be confined to the US. Tipping for routine service seems pointless.

[Guest RichLB]

The OBLIGATION to tip is one of those things I wish would be confined to the US. Tipping for routine service seems pointless.

 

I sure agree with that. One of my pet peeves is the restaurants that offer attractive prices on their menus and if you haven't read the small print on the menu you get the surprise of discovering they have added a 10% gratuity (and often even the 7% VAT) to your bill. Not only do I not like the issue of tip or not tip to be out of my hands, I feel like a cheapskate if I return the folder to the waiter empty since it has already been included in my bill. I wish these places would just raise their prices and leave off those hidden extra charges.

[Guest fountainhall]

Not only do I not like the issue of tip or not tip to be out of my hands, I feel like a cheapskate if I return the folder to the waiter empty since it has already been included in my bill. I wish these places would just raise their prices and leave off those hidden extra charges.

Totally agree with your first point. However, it is increasingly common practice in many restaurants for the owner/manger to pocket the 10% "service" charge. The waiters get little or any of it. In one of Bangkok's top Italian restaurants, 8 1/2% goes to the manager and only 1 1/2% to the staff. I realise this is not always the case, and so I make a point of asking. Sometimes I get what I assume is an honest answer; more often this meets with evasion and a reluctance to discuss the issue. I then give the staff the benefit of any doubt, assume the management is greedy and leave a little more for the waiters.

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

I don't know if this helps but I always leave all my small change for the room maids when I check out of a hotel. Otherwise, I tip porters 20 Baht. I don't eat at restaurants so I never have to tip waiters.

[Gaybutton]

it is increasingly common practice in many restaurants for the owner/manger to pocket the 10% "service" charge. The waiters get little or any of it.

I know for a fact the the 10% service charge does go to the waiters at the Amor restaurant in Pattayaland - all of it. I don't know for any other restaurants.

 

Sometimes the scam can be avoided if you place the tip directly into the waiter's hands rather than in the bill folder. But you never know. All too often the waiters are still forced to turn over those tips too.

 

Some restaurants are honest, pool the tips, and distribute the tips evenly to the staff nightly. Others, it's decided by the management, whoever that might be. They might pocket what they want for themselves before distributing anything. They might give much more to a favored waiter than others receive.

 

I've decided it's an exercise in futility to try to outflank the tip cheaters. I don't know of any tricks that they don't already know about themselves. I don't try anymore. While I would like my tip to go where it is supposed to go, it's not something I really can control. So, in moderate to inexpensive restaurants I leave a 20 baht tip. In Thailand, those kinds of restaurants do not go by a percentage of the bill. 20 baht is what is expected and that's what I tip. In restaurants where a "service charge" is added to the bill, that's the tip. More "upper crust" expensive restaurants, the ones that leave the tip amount up to you, that's where a percentage of the bill is expected. In the small mom-and-pop noodle shop types of restaurants, where your entire bill is likely to be between 30 to 100 baht, tipping is not expected at all, although I do usually leave a little something if the service has been good.

 

That's been my experience, anyway.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Even on the beach the tips are not always evenly divided. One waiter who is no longer working on the beach told me that the waiter (not the owner) who divided the tips always took more for himself.

[PattayaMale]

I know for a fact the the 10% service charge does go to the waiters at the Amor restaurant in Pattayaland - all of it. I don't know for any other restaurants.

 

I stopped going to Amor after he raised his prices and put on an additional 17% charge that most places do not. (10% service +7% vat). The vast restaurants, bars, entertainment and retail establishments include it in the posted price (in Thailand), some do not. Here is my reasoning:

 

If you order a 400 baht steak and I order a 150 baht salad, you pay 40 baht for the service and I pay 15 baht. My salad would probably take more actual prep time and bring a salad or a steak to the table probably takes the same time. So you pay 25 baht more than I do for that one item.

 

You of course can continue the excise add on a 150 baht glass of wine while I have a 30 baht bottle of water. You pay another 15 baht to have it poured and brought to the table and I pay 3 baht more. You have now paid 65 baht more and I have paid 18 baht more.

 

Wonder if the service is very slow or the waiter forgets that you asked for a sauce? You sit there waiting to eat and try to get the waiter's attention. You pay a high price for poor service.

 

At the end of dinner, your 550 baht meal ends up costing 643.50 (93 baht or $3.00 more)

 

When I go to most other places my 550 baht meal cost 550 baht.

 

After dinner I go to Oscar's for a glass of wine. The menu says 150 baht. I pay 150 baht, not 175. Many posters would raise hell if a waiter brought back 25 baht change instead of 50 baht when given a 200 baht payment.

 

Why not mark the menu accordingly to include the 17%, since that is the real price?

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I have to agree with you, but in the US it is the same.

[PattayaMale]

I have to agree with you, but in the US it is the same.

 

Until I started traveling outside of the USA in the late 1960's I thought that everywhere the system was the same. In Europe, UK, and Australia I saw that they had a system where you paid what was on the menu. I thought that was fair.

 

Friends that visited me in the US mentioned the difference several times.

 

So when I came to Thailand I was happy to see the price listed was the price charged. Actually, Amore use to charge the menu price.

[Gaybutton]

All I was trying to do was point out that the service charge tips at Amor all really do go to the staff. I didn't mean to start a debate about the prices there or the manner by which they are displayed. He does clearly state, on each menu page, about the service charge and VAT. Amor is not the only restaurant to do things that way.

 

Just like anywhere else, sometimes I eat there and sometimes I don't. If I want lamb shanks, I go to the Amor. I think he has the best in town. Great desserts too.

[Guest RichLB]

. He does clearly state, on each menu page, about the service charge and VAT. Amor is not the only restaurant to do things that way.

 

 

you're right, but it is one of the very few. Since you eat there occasionally, why not ask the owner why he doesn't merely post the real prices on the menu to save his customers who don't read the fine print a needless surprise when the bill arrives. I would much prefer a simple statement "tip and vat inclusive" printed on the menu to taking out a calculator to find out what the price, plus 10% plus 7% amounts to so I know what the real price of a meal is? Could it be he does not want hapless customers to see how much they will be spending?

[Gaybutton]

Since you eat there occasionally, why not ask the owner why he doesn't merely post the real prices on the menu to save his customers who don't read the fine print a needless surprise when the bill arrives.

You ask a legitimate question. But it definitely is not in fine print. It's in big bold letters.

 

I often wonder how foreigners feel when they visit the USA. In most foreign countries, the price marked is exactly what you pay at the cash register. I don't think I've ever seen that at an American cash register. I wonder how many foreigners are unpleasantly surprised when they take an item marked $5 to a cash register in the USA only to hear the cashier say, "That'll be $6.50 please . . ."

[Guest lvdkeyes]

My visiting UK friends would often comment to me that they resented the way we pay for things is stores or restaurants. They likened it to "bait and switch", which is supposed to be illegal in the US.

[Guest fountainhall]

I often wonder how foreigners feel when they visit the USA. In most foreign countries, the price marked is exactly what you pay at the cash register. I don't think I've ever seen that at an American cash register

As a European, I actually resent it - even though I visit the USA frequently and know that local and state taxes are going to be added. It annoys me that I cannot compare like with like - i.e. should I buy something I want in New York or wait till I get to another state/city where it might be a little cheaper. How are tourists supposed to know what the tax rates are? If prices were inclusive, it would be a darn sight easier.

 

Also, whilst tourists are supposed to get some form of tax rebate, I have never been able to work out how that works in the USA. In Europe, as in Thailand, the stores will lead you through the process. In the USA, no-one in stores seems to want to bother. After spending more than $500 on a single item in Macy's in New York, I finally gave up on how to get the tax rebate (tho' I have to admit, this was about 10 years ago - it may be easier now).

 

Re service charges, I think it should be mandatary for restaurants/hotels etc. to state on the menus/at check-in etc. who actually benefits from these.

[Gaybutton]

In the USA, no-one in stores seems to want to bother.

 

Re service charges, I think it should be mandatary for restaurants/hotels etc. to state on the menus/at check-in etc. who actually benefits from these.

Are you kidding? In the USA they probably don't even know what you're talking about. Most store clerks I encounter can't even make change correctly. There was actually a story, supposedly true, about a foiled attempted armed robbery at a fast food store, late at night where there was only one teenage boy working the cash register. The robber demanded the money from the cash register. The boy said he can't open the cash register unless the guy orders something. The guy said fine, gimme a hamburger. The boy then asked if he wants fries with that. Then the boy started asking if he wants the burger 'super sized.' Does he want small, medium, or large fries. What does he want to drink? Small, medium, or large? The robber gave up and left. You know what? I believe it!

 

Regarding putting who benefits on the menus, would you really trust the place to live up to it?

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I personally had an experience with a teenager not knowing how to make change. I made a purchase for $2.85 and gave the clerk $5.00. He was able to open the register, but the register didn't work to tell him what change to give me. I asked,

"Don't you know how to make change?" He said, "No." I learned that before I even went to school. In frustration I told him, "Just give me a dime, a nickel and 2 dollars." He very nervously gave me what I told him, not knowing if it was right or not, I am sure.

[Gaybutton]

I personally had an experience with a teenager not knowing how to make change.

Me too. Back in my university days I asked a store cashier if he had change for a twenty-dollar bill. He said sure and gave me a ten and two fives. I thanked him and left.

 

Yes, I admit it was dishonest of me, but I was a lot younger then. He did just fine giving me change for the twenty. I had never given him anything.

 

"I can't win for nuthin'! A waiter gave me the wrong check. It was for the guy at the next table. I looked over at him and said, 'Hey, buddy. I've got your check.' He said, 'Thanks.'"

- Rodney Dangerfield

[Guest]

I am generally quite honest when paying for things.

 

However once I purchased a piece of plastic off a roll, 2 metres long & 2 metres wide. The cashier asked me what the length was & charged me for 2 square metres instead of 4. The staff at that store were so thick I did not bother arguing.

 

I notice Thai convenience store staff are normally extremely careful counting out change, probably due to the fact that the 982 baht change takes them about 3 days to earn.

However, my change was 20 baht short in one Bangkok 7-11 last year, so it is worth watching out.

 

It is amazing to see how often shop or hotel staff need a calculator to do something simple like 100-82=?.

[Gaybutton]

However once I purchased a piece of plastic off a roll, 2 metres long & 2 metres wide. The cashier asked me what the length was & charged me for 2 square metres instead of 4. The staff at that store were so thick I did not bother arguing.

When I was about 16 years old I went shopping with my mother (by the way, today is her 87th birthday and she's in excellent health. Happy birthday, Mom) at a Woolworth's, which was the equivalent of a Walmart in its day. Among all the items she bought, she also bought a lipstick.

 

About 10 minutes after we got home I heard her cursing. I asked what was wrong. "The lipstick is labeled wrong," she said. "It's the wrong color. The label says one thing, but you see? The color is wrong. I want to go back."

 

Back we went. My mother showed the lipstick to the same cashier where she had paid. The cashier said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Just give it to me and go take another one."

 

My mom rummaged through the lipsticks until she found what she wanted. She opened her purse, dropped in the lipstick, and closed the purse. When she looked up she saw an old lady giving her an icy stare. It was perfectly obvious the old lady thought my mother was shoplifting.

 

My mother walked up to the old lady and said, "Shhhhhh. Doesn't everybody?" Then she turned and walked away as I cracked up watching the old lady's jaw drop.

[Guest Astrrro]

If my change returns on a silver tray then that's a sign I'm expected to tip and will generally do so.

 

However when deciding where to dine next time whethewr or not I'm expected to tip certainly factors into the decision.

 

By the way, Gossip Cafe raised there prices yet again. About a year ago it was 89 baht for breakfast and I'd leave 100.

 

Then they raised their price to 109 and I went much less but when I did I'd still leave an 11 baht tip. There price is now 129. I could just leave no tip and only be spending 9 baht more but don't feel right about not tipping there so I'll give that joint and the Ukrainian hookers that hang out there a miss.