Tipping on National Express

[LHT28]

I've heard them referred to both ways (as well as Twonies and Twones) by my Canadian friends.

 

It would be very inappropriate for him to ask a Canadian guest to exchange money. I can't imagine tipping a bellman in Canada with US dollars and can't understand why some Canadians feel it's appropriate to tip in the States with Canadian currency.

Not to get too far of topic here

we have LOONIES $1 &Toonies $2 coins

 

At the exchange rate he could make some extra these days

maybe his bank would exchange them or do they charge a fee?

 

He might see Canadian people at the mall or restaurants it would not be good to approach people at his work ;)

 

I agree tip in the Currency of the Country

I think that is quite rude of my fellow Countrymen

 

Lyn

[ducklite]

Not to get too far of topic here

we have LOONIES $1 &Toonies $2 coins

 

I know what they are. I also know what my Canadian friends have referred to them as. (I have Canadian Social Insurance card, I have spent a lot of time there. I am not a typical American that can't even name the Provinces of our closest neighbor.)

 

At the exchange rate he could make some extra these days

maybe his bank would exchange them or do they charge a fee?

 

They charge a fee that would make it not worth the gas to go exchange them.

[LHT28]

I know what they are. I also know what my Canadian friends have referred to them as. (I have Canadian Social Insurance card, I have spent a lot of time there. I am not a typical American that can't even name the Provinces of our closest neighbor.)

 

 

 

 

Well pardon me then :eek:

[paddingtonbear]

I've heard them referred to both ways (as well as Twonies and Twones) by my Canadian friends.

 

It would be very inappropriate for him to ask a Canadian guest to exchange money. I can't imagine tipping a bellman in Canada with US dollars and can't understand why some Canadians feel it's appropriate to tip in the States with Canadian currency.

 

 

Lots of people on these boards suggest tipping US dollars in Britain and Europe.

 

In Oz the banks will not exchange coins only notes.

I imagine it's the same in the U.S., Canada and around the world.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[ducklite]

Lots of people on these boards suggest tipping US dollars in Britain and Europe.

 

In Oz the banks will not exchange coins only notes.

I imagine it's the same in the U.S., Canada and around the world.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

I would never dream of doing something so stupid. I don't leave home without enough local currency to get me through the first few days at my destination--including tips for those I should tip in their local currency.

 

The only places I will go and expect to spend US dollars are some of the Caribbean islands where they are result accepted. Even in Niagara Falls, Canada I use Canadian money, though most vendors have two tills and will readily accept US currency and give change back in US currency.

 

He could probably exchange the coins at ForEx at the airport, but the tolls getting there would be more than the worth of the coins, let alone the exchange fee.

Edited April 16, 2015 by ducklite

[paddingtonbear]

Glad to hear it ducklite. If it makes me mad (a normally laid back Aussie) I can only imagine how other more volatile souls might react.

 

Most planes have a donation scheme going where you can donate any currency of coins (or notes!) in flight to a children's charity. Lovely way to get rid of left over foreign currency.

Edited April 16, 2015 by paddingtonbear

[ducklite]

Glad to hear it ducklite. If it makes me mad (a normally laid back Aussie) I can only imagine how other more volatile souls might react.

 

Most planes have a donation scheme going where you can donate any currency of coins (or notes!) in flight to a children's charity. Lovely way to get rid of left over foreign currency.

 

At the airport in Tahiti (PPT) they have a bin where you can donate your XPF's to assist children in need in French Polynesia. They got some bills as well, as it wasn't going to be worth trying to exchange them and we knew we wouldn't be back there anytime in the foreseeable future--if ever.

[Bob++]

Nothing to do with tipping but I think this funny:

 

I used to have a labourer working in the warehouse whose family came from Dublin and although he wasn't well paid, he made frequent weekend trips back 'home'. I asked him how he did it and he told me that he would hitchhike - often finding a friendly lorry driver who would take him right across the ferry without having to pay.

 

In those pre Euro days, Ireland had the Punt which was worth about 80p. I asked him how he got on with exchanging money and he said. "My mother does me a great deal - she gives me a straight swap - Punts for Pounds.

 

I never did tell him that his own mother was ripping him off.

[ducklite]

Nothing to do with tipping but I think this funny:

 

 

 

I used to have a labourer working in the warehouse whose family came from Dublin and although he wasn't well paid, he made frequent weekend trips back 'home'. I asked him how he did it and he told me that he would hitchhike - often finding a friendly lorry driver who would take him right across the ferry without having to pay.

 

 

 

In those pre Euro days, Ireland had the Punt which was worth about 80p. I asked him how he got on with exchanging money and he said. "My mother does me a great deal - she gives me a straight swap - Punts for Pounds.

 

 

 

I never did tell him that his own mother was ripping him off.

 

 

I feel for people like this. Good hearted soils who get taken advantage of because they just don't know better--and don't have a high enough intelligence level that they ever will. Glad the lorry drivers gave him lifts.

 

On another side note, I love the word "Lorry" as it helped me remember a term I needed to know and had a hard time recalling for a class I took last year. :)

[John Bull]

 

On another side note, I love the word "Lorry" as it helped me remember a term I needed to know and had a hard time recalling for a class I took last year. :)

 

 

Say quickly - "red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry........... "

 

If this phrase were used in sobriety tests, a lot of innocent folk would go to prison :D

 

JB :)

[ducklite]

Say quickly - "red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry........... "

 

If this phrase were used in sobriety tests, a lot of innocent folk would go to prison :D

 

JB :)

 

How right you are!

[kruisey]

You are American your tipping/rewarding attitude/beliefs should be confined to the USA. When you are travelling overseas if would be more respectful if you observed the local customs rather than imposing the customs of your country on other countries.

 

Its none of your business to talk to folks like this.

If someone goes above and beyond in helping me then I tip them.

This is APPROPRIATE for me wherever I am on this planet even in Australia

[Giantfan13]

Bob you are right. The difference is I try and tip according to the local customs rather than forcing my culture on other countries around the world. Many Americans can't restrict their tipping policy to the US and respect the cultural differences of other countries.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

I find your comments offensive.

 

I am an American and if I get service above and beyond what I was expected, I compensate the person, or people, for it. Why are YOU forcing your frugal customs on everyone else. I have been to London many times, while in the service and after, and while tipping isn't required all the time, it is well appreciated by those that get it. Sorry Dude, but no one has ever thrown the tip back at me telling me I am offending them. Maybe in Australia they do that, but in most other places a tip that is earned, is well received.

 

and, I don't throw money at anyone or everyone just for the sake of leaving a tip. I get bad service, even in the states, I leave a penny and hopefully they get the point. A tip is earned, not just expected.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Pet Nit Noy]

... I try and tip according to the local customs rather than forcing my culture on other countries around the world. Many Americans can't restrict their tipping policy to the US and respect the cultural differences of other countries.

 

This is a forum about UK destinations, so to some extent you have the soap box. But what's the harm in US tourists tipping according to US standards? Serving lunch to both a US tourist and a local is going to produce two quite different tips. So what? The waiters aren't going to track the locals into the street and, shaking their fist, demand a bigger tip like the American tourists who sat at the next table. People really can adjust expectations based on a different set of facts. Again, what's the harm in this two-tier tipping system? The service providers who benefit take home a bonus and, over time, are able to treat themselves/their family to something extra.

 

Now, let's contrast that with the situation of European visitors who come to the US but follow the tipping practices of their home countries. In that case, the taxi drivers, wait persons, and tour guides do not earn enough money to cover the formulas that the US Internal Revenue System (IRS) sets for them. Yes, you read that correctly. The IRS studies massive amounts of data for jobs where the compensation involves tipping. Such jobs are prone to fudging the data (AKA under-reporting income from tips). Therefore, the IRS, sets non-negotiable minimum tax requirements. These minimums must be paid even if the employee didn't really earn that amount. Even if the waiter has served Europeans who have tipped based on their country's culture.

 

Bottom line: I consider waiters getting squeezed between the IRS' expectations and the reality of under-tipping Europeans a far greater problem than Americans who over tip.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[Globaliser]

But what's the harm in US tourists tipping according to US standards? Serving lunch to both a US tourist and a local is going to produce two quite different tips. So what? The waiters aren't going to track the locals into the street and, shaking their fist, demand a bigger tip like the American tourists who sat at the next table.

Not literally. But tip expectations then tend to go up over time. And locals who tip as normal become second class citizens in their own home towns unless they join the American tipping war. That's why they resent it. I've already seen this happening both in Australia and in the UK.

[LHT28]

Not literally. But tip expectations then tend to go up over time. And locals who tip as normal become second class citizens in their own home towns unless they join the American tipping war. That's why they resent it. I've already seen this happening both in Australia and in the UK.

 

I agree

As cheap Canadians we usually go with the local flow

We round up & maybe add a pound or two depending on the circumstances

[Giantfan13]

Again, maybe some feel that Americans are just throwing money at Europeans for doing their job. When I was there, that just wasn't the case. In fact I will comment on something Globaliser told me when I basically asked that same question, how much to tip. I was told to 'round off to the nearest pound' and I did just that. If I did feel that the person, be it a taxi driver, a waiter, or an honest bus driver, did something that was over and above what I expected, I added another pound onto it.

Is that considered, throwing money at people'?. Maybe some Americans do that, but not this one.

 

 

Let me add one thing. while we were in London, we did a day tour bus outing to several places outside of London on Evan Evans Tours. We spent the entire day on and off this bus, with a driver and a guide. Is tipping these people an option?. I understand it is their job, and they are compensated, but thru most of the world, tipping a tour guide when you have a great time and they provided good service seems like a decent thing to do. We did give the guide a few pounds as we felt she deserved it.

 

 

Cheers

 

Len

Edited April 21, 2015 by Giantfan13

[Pet Nit Noy]

Not literally. But tip expectations then tend to go up over time. And locals who tip as normal become second class citizens in their own home towns unless they join the American tipping war. That's why they resent it. I've already seen this happening both in Australia and in the UK.

 

I'm really not defending tourists from any country visiting and ignoring the local mores. But I remain bewildered by the use of extreme phrases such as "become second class citizens" to describe those who "tip as normal."

 

What do you even mean by that?

[John Bull]

I'll avoid taking sides on the issue, but.................

 

I used to drive coaches.

On tours & day-excursions my tips, like those of my colleagues, averaged about £1 per passenger per day. About £50 per day total. I looked on significantly higher or lower tips as an indicator to how well I'd performed.

But on cruise transfers we always did extremely well with American passengers, for instance on transfers to Heathrow's terminal 3. If the first couple of passengers off the bus tipped, the others followed suit. We cussed when we were allocated transfers to T1 or T2, which used to be for domestic & European flights, because just like on National Express tipping isn't normal for a simple transfer.

Cunard had the right idea. They told passengers that tips were included in the fare, & their shipside rep had a roll of bills for the drivers. Some still tipped extra. ;)

 

Tips are certainly welcomed in the UK - but yes there's an increasing expectation in tourist services & destinations, fostered by our American cousins & resented by locals using the same services.

 

JB :)

[ducklite]

Again, maybe some feel that Americans are just throwing money at Europeans for doing their job. When I was there, that just wasn't the case. In fact I will comment on something Globaliser told me when I basically asked that same question, how much to tip. I was told to 'round off to the nearest pound' and I did just that. If I did feel that the person, be it a taxi driver, a waiter, or an honest bus driver, did something that was over and above what I expected, I added another pound onto it.

 

Is that considered, throwing money at people'?. Maybe some Americans do that, but not this one.

 

 

 

 

 

Let me add one thing. while we were in London, we did a day tour bus outing to several places outside of London on Evan Evans Tours. We spent the entire day on and off this bus, with a driver and a guide. Is tipping these people an option?. I understand it is their job, and they are compensated, but thru most of the world, tipping a tour guide when you have a great time and they provided good service seems like a decent thing to do. We did give the guide a few pounds as we felt she deserved it.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Len

 

 

Everything I have read and understood was that in a restaurant if a gratuity or service charge wasn't included, 10% is generally expected for very good to excellent service. This is what we did, going downward if service was not at least very good, and once only leaving what we rounded up to the closest pound because we didn't want to wait for the change. The server had acted as if she were quite bothered by the fact that we existed. For the record, we were a party of four-- two Brits and two Yanks and the bill was £139, 80 with three bottles of wine and food all around. My husband and I got there first and thought maybe she just didn't like Yanks, but when our Brit friends joined us a few minutes later she was almost hostile to them. She definitely deserved nothing extra.

 

On the other hand we were treated to a lovely meal at a quite nice restaurants by other Brit friends with half a dozen bottles of wine and Champagne, seven meals, and a tab that must have been in the six hundred pound range, and the gentleman who paid (Brit) left a 15% tip as the service was excellent--far over and above considering we had two young children with us and she timed their meals perfectly but in a different schedule than the adults.

Edited April 21, 2015 by ducklite

[Globaliser]

In fact I will comment on something Globaliser told me when I basically asked that same question, how much to tip. I was told to 'round off to the nearest pound' and I did just that. If I did feel that the person, be it a taxi driver, a waiter, or an honest bus driver, did something that was over and above what I expected, I added another pound onto it.

Is that considered, throwing money at people'?. Maybe some Americans do that, but not this one.

And personally, I have absolutely no problem with that. It's tipping in accordance with the local customs, ie "doing in Rome ...".

 

What I don't think is right is the suggestion that it's unremarkable for people to visit the UK and to continue to tip US-style. There are problems with that.

[Globaliser]

I'm really not defending tourists from any country visiting and ignoring the local mores. But I remain bewildered by the use of extreme phrases such as "become second class citizens" to describe those who "tip as normal."

 

What do you even mean by that?

What happens is that those who are perceived to be over-tippers get all the attention, so that the locals get ignored and get poor service even if they're going to tip in accordance with local custom. That's why locals can feel like they've become second class citizens.

 

US tourists are far from being the only people who over-tip, of course. You can go to some restaurants and see bankers and hedge fund managers leaving very large tips too, and equally hoovering up all the attention. They attract just as much opprobrium from locals and media.

[LondonTowner]

Globaliser

 

Your tipping habits in the UK seem to be about right. my sister lived in NYC for a couple of years and I used to think that the amount she told me to leave as a tip horrendous. Yes, 'when in Rome' and all that.

 

Except in Rome (where I have been hundreds of times) they leave very little in tips.