Thailand Question: Do you tip your Waiter when Service Charge is Included?

[TotallyOz]

I am at a nice hotel in Bangkok. It is a serviced apartment. It is not a cheap place but I do love it and have stayed here many times in the past.

 

When I eat in the restaurants located in the hotel, they add VAT and a Service Charge. Once I see that, I have a hard time leaving a tip as I think it is included in the bill.

 

I often eat lunch by the pool. The waiters are great and the food is great. But, we don't take wallets or anything with us when we are there and charge to our room. The bill also has VAT and a Service Charge of 10%.

 

Given the above, is it rude not to tip? Is a tip expected? Should I just suck it up and tip anyway?

[Up2u]

Given as you described; No, no, no.

[vinapu]

While Up2you is on correct side of equation I would not be so sure that service charges are actually sipping into waiters pockets.

 

Depending on size of bill and waiter's smile I'd probably still tip 20-40 baht from time to time but don't feel pressured to do that.

 

Since ChristianPFC is busy settling in the new place  I will  help him and answer your question  for him : no way, never.

[Guest RichLB]

If the tip is included with the bill and I am pleased by the service and attention of the wait staff, I prefer to hand the waiter the tip outside the folder, which means it is not shared with other service staff and it is for him/her only.

[kokopelli]

It all may depend upon your nationality. If an Australian or Japanese, where tipping is not the norm, I expect they would not give an extra tip to the waiter. But if American where 20% is the norm than 10% service charge plus 10% tip to waiter would make sense.

I doubt the service charge ever ends up in the waiters hands or pants. I have been in one restaurant where I put tip directly into the pocket of the waiter and some nasty female bitch owner's wife grabbed the money from him. This extra tip was in addition to a gratuity I had left in the folder.

[Guest luvthai]

I always hand the waiter a tip even if I am unhappy with the food.  The waiters make so little and sometimes it makes the difference as to whether they eat that night.

[Guest Hereforme2]

For a good lesson on tipping do as the Thais do!

[firecat69]

Hard for Americans not to tip because it is ingrained in our society. Also we realize the people who work in restaurants depend on tips to make a living because they are paid little.

 

In Europe I rarely leave anything other then loose change because I am aware service people are paid a living wage and in many cases the service sucks anyways. (kidding sort of)

 

In Thailand I am sure the waiters are paid minimum wage and whether they get the service charge probably varies a lot. Certainly it would not be hard for you to have your BF's ask some of the service personnel if they receive the service charge.

 

At the pool certainly they are aware most of the time people are signing and have no money and probably nothing is expected.

 

In the restaurants on site I would probably sign and leave a 100 baht which means little to you as a % of the bill that you usually have(hehe)and means a lot to a hard working Thai.

 

I would never sign a check and add a tip to the check. No telling where e that would go??

[vinapu]

I' not an American but in Third World countries I always tip regardless of local custom.

 

In Thailand I have flat rate tip system :  bill up 300 - tip 20, 301-600, tip 40, 601-999, tip 60, 1000 and above -100, always have change on me and give tip directly to the waiter, if more then 1 person served, leave tip under the plate.

 

In bars I tip 20 per serving / if with the boy and order drinks for both of us still tip 20 only. if invite boy later to sit with me it will be 20 for my drink and later 20 for boy's/.

 

Like luvthai I don't reduce tip because did not like food, after all who is to blame for that, cook or me , not  a waiter.

[ChristianPFC]

I would never, ever tip when there is a service charge. (But this is partial because I am against tipping and would prefer a society without tipping.)

[Alexx]

Ah, the good old service charge and tip discussion is back in town. 

 

Has anyone of you ever come across a 5% service charge in Thailand? A sports bar on Sukhumvit I visit every now and then is charging that funny percentage, but to the best of my knowledge, I haven't seen it anywhere else (what I mean is, it's usually either 10% or 0%, and then there might be VAT at 7%).

 

That makes it a bit challenging to tip there. I guess I'm more inconsistent a tipper there than anywhere else for that reason. The girls seem to like me though, so I might still be overdoing it.

[vinapu]

I would never, ever tip when there is a service charge. (But this is partial because I am against tipping and would prefer a society without tipping.)

I'm happy I was right responding for you earlier, great posts on you blog recently by the way, reading them with pleasure  

[vinapu]

 

That makes it a bit challenging to tip there. I guess I'm more inconsistent a tipper there than anywhere else for that reason. The girls seem to like me though, so I might still be overdoing it.

Tip is tip, you money , your decision. I'd not worry about overtipping and spoiling market for others, it's better if company likes you than looks for excuse to part ways ASAP after the deed.

[Up2u]

Ah, the good old service charge and tip discussion is back in town. 

 

Has anyone of you ever come across a 5% service charge in Thailand? A sports bar on Sukhumvit I visit every now and then is charging that funny percentage, but to the best of my knowledge, I haven't seen it anywhere else (what I mean is, it's usually either 10% or 0%, and then there might be VAT at 7%).

 

That makes it a bit challenging to tip there. I guess I'm more inconsistent a tipper there than anywhere else for that reason. The girls seem to like me though, so I might still be overdoing it.

I have seen 5% service charge for a few restaurants here in Pattaya although 10% or no charge is the norm. The new upmarket place is called Davinci's opposite the Rompo market near soi 5 immigration office. 10% is pretty standard in Bangkok.

[Guest tsubiboy29]

i tipped 500.00 baht to someone who helped me taking my bag (carry on bag not even luggage) to the room when i first arrived at the hotel. I thought it was a butler service and he would be the butler who was going to look after me during my stay for the next 4 days in bangkok.  however i have never seen him again and it has been 2 days now. i thought i tipped him a bit too much. lol. not blaming anyone, it was my money and my decision. 

[vinapu]

he will love you till end of his days, 20-30 would be enough but you helped with world wealth distribution

[Guest tsubiboy29]

i must be a good tipper then. i have been tipping the person who cleans my rooms for 100.00 per day. however that is only 3.5 aud, cheaper than a cup of coffee back in australia. and if thats gonna make somebody happy (won't say its going to change his life) i am fine with it .

[Guest]

I much prefer a non-tipping culture.   Works OK in Japan.  The food is often expensive, but the service is outstanding and you are expected to not tip.

 

Elsewhere, some restaurants sneak the service charge in a long way down the menu, so that the customer may reasonably be totally unaware of it when deciding to eat there.    In such places, the service would have to reach or exceed perfection for me to even considering offering any extra tip.

 

If the service charge is very prominent on the menus, including the one outside the door, even then the service charge should cover service, so it would need outstanding service for a tip.

 

Going off at a tangent, the best service I ever had was in an Indian restaurant near the Saigon Opera house.   They had one waiter per table and the Indian guy in charge was prowling around to ensure none of them were slacking. 

Cannot remember if they had a service charge, but I certainly tipped there.

[vinapu]

i must be a good tipper then. i have been tipping the person who cleans my rooms for 100.00 per day. however that is only 3.5 aud, cheaper than a cup of coffee back in australia. and if thats gonna make somebody happy (won't say its going to change his life) i am fine with it .

you are  good tipper and have a good heart. While 100 baht a day is sensible for cleaner  as lots of hard work is involved, 500 just to carry a bag to and from elevator is clearly excessive.

 

You are right , 100 baht will make cleaner happy after all I was told that 100 is what bottom gets in  soi Twilight sex shows so amount its no life changing but will feed family for the evening I guess.

 

I leave 50 baht   for cleaner every morning excluding day of departure, surprisingly often money is left untouched so this habit must be unknown in cheaper hotels  / I'm one who considers BBB Inn luxurious so you get an idea / but try to hunt cleaner later and force money down their pockets. In BBB often this results in bonus of stolen kiss , now you know why I like the place.

[Travellerdave]

I always tip the room cleaner with 100 baht per day, although occasionally I will forget. If they are about I give it personally otherwise I leave the note on the bed. This pays off when I ask for extra towels above the normal two, when I have a boy during the day and another one overnight, or when I have thoughts about offing two boys overnight.

[Up2u]

I much prefer a non-tipping culture.   Works OK in Japan.  The food is often expensive, but the service is outstanding and you are expected to not tip.

 

Elsewhere, some restaurants sneak the service charge in a long way down the menu, so that the customer may reasonably be totally unaware of it when deciding to eat there.    In such places, the service would have to reach or exceed perfection for me to even considering offering any extra tip.

 

If the service charge is very prominent on the menus, including the one outside the door, even then the service charge should cover service, so it would need outstanding service for a tip.

 

Going off at a tangent, the best service I ever had was in an Indian restaurant near the Saigon Opera house.   They had one waiter per table and the Indian guy in charge was prowling around to ensure none of them were slacking. 

Cannot remember if they had a service charge, but I certainly tipped there.

I eat at Zen and Fuji and they include a 10% service charge. Restaurant workers in Japan receive a decent salary and benefits, much like the nanny states of Europe. In America restaurant employers in some states can legally reduce compensation to below minimum wage with no benefits. These workers are often on government subsidies. The situation is much the same here in Thailand with the workers paid like shit. It makes me feel good to help people and I have no problem with tipping.

[ChristianPFC]

The most common service charge is 10%.

 

Only once did I encounter 7.5 %, that was in self-service (!!!) food court in Union Mall or Central Ladprao.

 

Unless there is a good reason to eat there, I avoid places that add service charge and/or VAT to the prices displayed in the menu.

[vinapu]

Christian, you would be driven nuts in both USA and Canada where most prices in restaurants and stores are given before tax is calculated so really you never know how much you pay for say,  pack of condoms  with price tag 12.99 as tax will be added at cash register.

 

In most of the world you pay what you see but not there.

[Travellerdave]

In England tipping is not so common as in North America, but is usual in restaurants and with taxis and very often, but not always in hotels.

In bars and pubs I tip occasionally when the bar staff have given good service, but very often the customer does not give money directly. Instead at the bar whilst ordering a "round" I say "and one for yourself". This takes the form of the price of a drink being added to the bill at the discretion of the barman. He does not usually actually drink it but instead pockets the cash. Within limits he can determine his own tip, although any abuse, such as selecting an exotic, expensive spirit would quickly be news in the pub and further tips would dry up.

[Up2u]

Christian, you would be driven nuts in both USA and Canada where most prices in restaurants and stores are given before tax is calculated so really you never know how much you pay for say,  pack of condoms  with price tag 12.99 as tax will be added at cash register.

 

In most of the world you pay what you see but not there.

And that is because there is no national sales tax or VAT; there are sales taxes at the state, county or local level. Some states such as Texas have no sales tax. Sales taxes are usually not applied to the food basics such as milk, butter, bread. There is no tax on labor, so if you get your car repaired only the parts are taxed not the labor. Americans take these sales tax rates very seriously as they must be voted upon and most citizens know exactly what the rate for where they live. The rate can not be hidden in the "total" price and an advertised price is for the cost of the item, no taxes included. It would be near impossible for retailers to advertise the "total" cost of an item since taxes could vary from locale to locale.