Tipping the scales
During my first week in Thailand I went to a restaurant near Khaosan Road and ate green curry. It cost thirty-nine baht. At this stage I was still fairly green myself and I had yet to suss out the tipping situation. I was under the impression that forty baht was a lot of money so I paid with two twenties and went on my way, leaving what I thought was a respectable tip: one baht.
Later it occurred to me that the waiter probably didn’t even realize it was a tip. Something similar happened in Bali. My girlfriend and I were clueless as to the value of rupiah (far too many zeros) and we ended up giving a thousand-rupiah tip to the bellboy, which I think works out about 10 baht.
In Thailand I usually tipped any shrapnel (coins) handed back or else 20 baht. The main places to tip are restaurants and bars. I wouldn’t usually tip after buying a bottle of beer, but might have for a bottle of whiskey. Vendors of street food don’t expect tips, but most restaurants do. I hate being given change in one of those folding wallets, but there’s no escaping them.
In Dili I’m faced with a tipping dilemma: do you or don’t you? The issue seems to be a point of contention in expat circles. Some people tip at every opportunity while others see this as setting up a level of expectation from foreigners. I’ve already seen that, like the Thais, the Timorese see foreigners as rich. I don’t know if there is any level of resentment.
So far I haven’t being tipping in Dili. I don’t think it’s expected and I don’t want it to be. It seems common only in the Western bars and restaurants out here and therefore tipping is reserved only for expats and foreigners, which I think is ludicrous.
The best tip I was ever given while working as a barman in Sheffield was seven pounds. It was given to me by an extremely drunk girl who’d recently been paid some kind of loan, possibly her student loan. I should have declined the tip, but I was saving for my travels and wanted the money. The girl then stalked me for about two weeks and even turned up at my house one night. The life and times of Matt Crook.
What do other people think about tipping?
September 28th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Hi Matt, sounds like you are settling in nicely. Its an interesting subject, like you in LOS I usually leave the change or 20 Baht. But I think we Brits have a different take on tipping to say our US cousins. I always remember my first trip to the US and the reactions of an NYC taxi driver when I gave him the exact fare!
September 28th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Tipping is an EVIL western plague that is spreading throughout the rest of the world.
In Thailand, I’ve heard “tip for me?” from a BANK TELLER after finishing a transaction and from a store salesperson after I bought a t-shirt!!
In Vietnam I was asked the same thing after receiving directions from a street vendor. “Tip for me?”
“Tip for what?”
Blank look.
I truly think they believe that western folk go around giving each other money freely.
September 28th, 2008 at 10:24 am
In poor countries like Thailand, a lot of the times, if you eat in a restaurant and pay with a lagre note (e.g. 1000 baht), you have to count the change, because a lot of the time they will not give you back the right change. I noticed that scam a couple of times while there. I am wondering sometimes, if the people that work in those restaurants don’t care about getting the customer to come back, they just think short term gains? In the long run they would probably get in tip from returning customers, what they steel from customers that only come to eat there once.. Poor countries, different rules I guess..
October 1st, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I’m half-Thai, American-raised.
At home, I am well-known as a gracious tipper. People often come to me with questions about, for example, the etiquette of tipping the laundry lady at Christmastime (always in cash, enclosed in a neutral holiday card).
But I never, ever tip in Thailand. I never want to run the risk of making a Thai person feel as though I have created a karmic debt for them to repay when they next see me.
That being said, if I *absolutely* knew I would never return to a place but *very much appreciated* the service level, I might consider tipping.
As for your new life in Dili, I’m stumped! There isn’t the same Buddhist undercurrent, or the Western element… Maybe just don’t tip for a while, and see what reaction you garner?
Just remember: You don’t owe any one person ANYTHING just because they perceive you as foreign and therefore rich. You are there in the country putting money into their economy and learning about the culture, and I’d say that’s worth far more than spare change or 10%+.
October 3rd, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Just wanna know, how do you get around in South East Asia. Do you have an insurance beforehand?