Comments on: Overlooked: the tipping backlash

By: Mekhong Kurt

Mekhong Kurt — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:32:31 +0000

As an American living in Bangkok the past 16 years (and in China for years before that), I believe we have to consider where we are, since how people are paid varies.

For instance, the average monthly income in Bangkok for locals is around the equivalent of $250. However, in ordinary restaurants and the like, salaries are often a third or even just a quarter of that — i.e., not livable, even for a local, not in Bangkok anyway. The owners assume the employees will get tips as the bulk of their income.

I’m not saying that poor service deserves a tip; it doesn’t. But I’m slower to penalize here than I would be in the U.S., especially since the tip doesn’t go to the *individual* but is put into a pool shared equally on a set schedule (often daily, so the employee has bus fare and the cost of dinner from the street!).

With outright hostile service — which I suppose many of us have experienced — I have zero problem leaving no tip, and informing the manager why. If the manager in turn is rude, I’ll raise my voice but using a polite tone and language, tell him or her that’s fine he wants to defend an employee who was rude to me without cause, fine since I won’t be returning, given his (or her) attitude — and that I’ll be recommending to my friends *they* not go.

By: Skip

Skip — Wed, 16 May 2007 18:42:02 +0000

I rarely have a bad experience when dining out (but then, I treat the servers with respect and dignity: “please”, “thank you”, looking them in the eye), and customarily leave 20%. If the service is overbearing or perfunctory, then I leave less; accordingly. But if the service really sucks, I have a chat with the manager to explain, calmly and quietly, why I was dissatisfied. Almost every single time the manager will apologize and work to make things right. If they don’t, I just pay the bill (sans tip) and leave, never to return. No one says we have to patronize a business that shows contempt for its only source of income: customers.

I’d like to know how a Skycap was able to gain access to a passenger’s bags if the bags had been checked in at the counter, let alone soil them with garbage without a supervisor stopping him (referencing the linked Chicago Sun-Times column)?

By: Em

Em — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 21:50:20 +0000

I don’t know. All of the ‘hired help’ that we encounter when we travel are paid, but they aren’t typically paid a living wage. It doesn’t bother me even a tiny bit to tip for good service. This is not to say that terrible service deserves a tip, but there are professions, like waitressing, where the tip is the main component of the salary.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:57:55 +0000

Think of it as tipping fatigue, just being tired of everyone having their hand out expecting 20% just for showing up. And like you, I’ve had people follow me out of a restaurant to demand a tip after screwing up the order.

Then there’s this story of this skycap at Miami:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/zimmermann/300017,CST-NWS-fixer16.article

RE: Jeff Hyman

If you want to send a message, try tipping less than 10¢. Less than 10% just makes you look cheap (as does tipping nothing at all).