Taxi Tipping

[skm]

We are sailing out of SC, so how much do we give the taxi driver for a tip? Is there a method...like 10%, 15%, 20% of total fare? Thanks, SKM

[electricron]

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A640018

International Tipping Etiquette

 

To tip, or not to tip? Mmmm... it's not that straightforward. Even when we've established that we ought to give a tip for something - that this is, indeed, a 'tipping situation' - the question is, how much? And to whom, exactly? And to make matters that little bit more complicated, the rules for tipping vary greatly from country to country. What's perfectly normal behaviour in a Tokyo restaurant might be thought rude in a Texan diner. Below you will find some great advice provided by the h2g2 Community that should help us all through this cultural minefield.

 

United States

Restaurants in the USA usually call for a 15-20% tip, however, if your server is a complete jerk, you aren't expected to give them a dime of your pocket-money. Of course, you may have the misfortune of going to a restaurant that automatically includes a 15% tip in the check, but for all those US males out there who pull out their little calculators every time they receive the bill, having the tip already indicated for them can save a lot of embarrassment.

In pubs, you are expected to put a dollar or two into the pot at the bar. However, since you usually pay only at the end (rather than for each drink as you go), this does not get too excessive!

In most states of the US the tax is around 7-8%, so you just tip twice the tax - a little more or less depending on the service you got. Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy. However, some people just don't understand what the big deal is with figuring out what 15% of the total is... You just take ten percent of the total, divide that by two, and then find the sum of both figures!

 

Mexico

In Mexico tipping is expected for almost any service - if not just a common courtesy to help compensate people who are paid little for their work except for tips. Taxis, restaurants, food delivery folks all should be tipped. Generosity is appreciated, stinginess or no tip for bad service is understood or grudgingly accepted; it might be that your waiter believes in Karma - just make sure that if you go back again, return a favour.

In Monterey, you can find a parking meter and pump some coins in but it could be a meter with a short time limit. If this is the case, you can ask the patrolling meter cop to watch the meter with an appropriate 'tip' to keep him motivated, just in case it runs past the maximum time and you promptly get a ticket.

If you take a cab in Mexico City, they have to use the taximeter by law. If the meter is 'broken' you can get out and catch the next cab which will be waiting right behind. Otherwise, if you are adventurous, know where you are going and your Spanish is good enough, then you can negotiate a price. If you do, make sure you settle the price with tip included or calculate your negotiating price minus a tip. Otherwise it is common courtesy to tip the metered amount. If you are travelling all over Mexico City, you should know where you are going as the taxi driver may not, and may not have a map. It is not like catching a cab in London where they all have the 'knowledge'.

If you do find an organised cabbie who gets you where you want efficiently you should consider that. If he is not so organised, and you have to pull out your city road map - consider that he probably has a hard time making money driving you around for hours except on the extra income from tips, and the cab fare is very reasonable to begin with - maybe the road map (Guia Roji for example) would make a very nice tip.

 

Tipping Awareness

An Understandable Faux Pas.

It can happen to best of us, as this Researcher's personal experience illustrates:

Once in an Indian restaurant in Massachusetts we were pleased with the meal and the service and wanted to tip. We paid for the meal and wanted to give a 'normal' tip to the waiter. But he replied, 'This is not wanted'. So we left the restaurant without leaving a tip.

The next time in the same restaurant with the same waiter, we just assumed he didn't take tips for some reason. But when leaving the restaurant, he called after us, asking why we didn't give him any tip. We apologised and referred to our last encounter, but he said he was hoping to be tipped, which we finally did.

What might have gone wrong here?

In many eastern countries it is common to say one thing and mean another. Declining a tip is just part of the ritual of actually giving one. It's the same as saying 'please enter my unworthy hovel' when entering the Taj Mahal. It's an elaborate dance, so it helps to know the rules.

 

Waiters and Waitresses

In many places around the world, the waiting staff get paid far below minimum wage because they make up the rest of their salary in tips.

Not tipping the waiter is simply rude. A good rule of thumb for a waiter who does a good job is simply to divide five into your check and give 20 percent (far too many people give ten percent because of the ease of maths, yet 20 percent is just as easy - therefore far too many people are just plain cheap!)

 

Things which should not impact your tipping:

Not getting your steak cooked properly

The restaurant being out of your favourite dish

The cleanliness of the rest rooms

Difficulty in finding a parking space

Having a conflict with another diner (loud children, people smoking in a non-smoking section)

Having a bad day

Having difficulty with your date

Anything else beyond the human control of your waiter or waitress

 

These people rely on your handouts to make a living. They should never be punished monetarily for something they can't control. However, if they spill soup in your lap or forget to bring you a dish or a drink - dock their tip but never, ever let it fall below ten percent.