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Tips and Tipping - when to and when not too
Tips and Tipping - when to and when not too, is one of the day’s trickier social issues. Get it right, and they’ll make you feel like Roman Abramovich; get it wrong, and they’ll make you feel as though you’re one of the homeless brigade.
Tipping, or leaving a gratuity (if you come from the home counties), is never a legal requirement, despite what some might intimate in their baleful stares. And compare the States with say Japan. Forget the tip in Dallas and you will be made to feel very embarrassed at the very least. But tip in Tokyo, and you will cause serious offence. It’s a social minefield.
Tipping on a cruise liner can, by all accounts, be fraught with problems. Now, you might think that tipping is there to reward good service, a particular attentive waiter shall we say, a kind ship’s steward, or a captain that has actually found Southampton in the fog. But no. Tipping on board a cruise liner is usually compulsory. Not legal note, but compulsory, and the cruise ship companies try to help avoid any confusion. There are a myriad of schemes and suggestions, and automated deductions, that make running an investment portfolio seem a doddle in comparison.
Tipping when travelling, depends on which country and which culture you happen to be enjoying. Take Barbados. Restaurants will usually take you for 10% to 15% as a service charge on the bill; but check you’re not paying a cash tip as well. A barman will expect you to cross his palm with a U.S. dollar for every round, and you might discover that the hotel is also in on the act, including on your bill a service charge for the maid of two U.S. dollars per room per day, and porters, one U.S. dollar per bag.
Tips and tipping is so tricky, that the best tip of all is to learn the etiquette of your chosen destination and do some homework. It might save you money, and a very red face.
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