To tip or not to tip: that is the question
Wikipedia tells me that tipping in Asia is frowned upon although there are regional variations. It seems to me that Hua Hin is one of those regions because I am told by Thai friends that it is as easy to remember a poor tipper as it is a large one. And easier to remember both than someone who does not tip at all.
It does seem to be specific to certain trades and specific to farangs. The Tuk Tuk driver, the girl in the massage parlour or waiting staff to name three. I don’t think these groups expect to be tipped because they aim to please without one.
Once it has been determined that a tip is due then comes the thorny problem of how much. Twenty baht, ten percent? I don’t have an answer but I do know that a woman spending two hours giving a massage deserves more than twenty baht. Was the man who gave that tip insulting the woman? Was it his way of telling her she was rubbish?
Wikipedia also tells me that tipping in the UK is rare and not encouraged. That’s not the way I see it. Okay, thirty years ago, there would be the annual round of tips to such folk as the dustbin men, the postman, the milkman and the newspaper delivery boy. A fiver each to the first three and a pound to the boy.
I stopped all that several years ago, long before I came to Thailand. I do know that nowadays the newspaper lad or lass presents a christmas card with the expectation of receiving a just reward. His wage is poor so the tip is justified and presumably the Inland Revenue accept that he does not meet the taxable threshold.
However, I still feel a smidgeon of guilt if I don’t tip restaurant staff or cabbies. Why? Service is not brilliant in the restaurants I can afford to visit and most have a service charge added anyway. Isn’t it a strange way to run a business, relying on tips to know when a customer is happy with the meal and the treatement received? Shouldn’t poor service be reported to the owner or the management so that it can be improved?
Service from the cabbies is even worse and they have serious expectations. Their job is to take you from point A to point B. That’s what they get paid for, so why am I expected to give more? There are no added benefits. They arrive outside the house and beep the horn; they don’t hold open the car door; they don’t help with bags of shopping, if they can get away with not opening the boot; and they drop off without even stopping the engine. They have become insolent and sloppy.
But Thailand has taught me a lesson. Standards are different and my expectations have been raised. When I visit the UK, guilt about tipping is now a thing of the past.
August 8th, 2007 at 8:57 am
I never tip tuk tuks as they over charge by so much anyway, I will tip motorbike taxis though if they havent tried to rip me off initially.
Will only tip in a restaurant if the food and service have been worthy and never tip at hotels that have service charge - they’re already taking their tip without asking!
Personal service such as massage, caddy, haircut etc always get a tip.
August 8th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
When mum was with us and we needed help with her wheelchair, I always tipped the tuk tuks because they did go out of their way. Now that the fare has gone up from 80 baht to a 100 baht, I don’t tip either. And you’re right. I tip in a restaurant when the food and service are worthy. If they have a service charge, I generally don’t tip. Thanks for your words of advise though. It helps to know someone else’s thinking on the subject.