Now a days most restaurants have started with the new concept of SERVICE CHARGE - 10%. so even if u like or not u hav to pay that 10% as the services offered.
In our country we prefer to BRIBE not tip. If someone has given us a service especially in a restaurant we conjure up moral reasons to justify not to tip. But if we need a service from a government servant who is duty bound to do his job we are ever ready to bribe him to get the job done. These are peculiar to our country only.
Re: Tipping
by bun maska on Feb 20, 2014 04:47 PM
That's because that's how the system works. Nobody wants to bribe govt officials willingly but if they dont then the govt officials can make their lives miserable by harassing them.
Re: Re: Tipping
by hillary desouza on Feb 22, 2014 11:09 AM
Bribing a government official is a crime as the law stands today. Surprising but true. Corruption is so normalised and widespread in India that it has become acceptable. Giver and taker are both wrong. Make the punishment od a government official severely punishable with non bailable imprisonment is a good start
Re: Tipping
by Golden on Feb 22, 2014 03:10 PM
there is not difference between bribe and tip..both are illegal morally, only thing is we accept one socially and others only emotionally..
If you can afford then you should tip because servers don’t earn a lot, by tipping it helps them live a better life. We Indian don’t like to give something for free but take anything for free. You should tip if you can otherwise you are too CHEAP!
Re: you should tip
by bun maska on Feb 20, 2014 04:49 PM
If Servers dont earn a lot then the restauranters should increase their pay. Restaurant business is a huge margin business.
I have a friend who says that you can pocket 75 rupees in 100 rupees after meeting all exps.
Re: you should tip
by Amit Ghosh on Oct 03, 2015 07:34 PM
In hotels/restaurants waiters wages are less than cooks,as they get tips, in some outlet tip money is pull and shared among staff.
Tipping is a bad practice started by the rich. There are many other types of service providers like Electricians, plumbers, etc. AC service providers, etc.
And 12% is really obnoxious. If you run a bill of 5000 rupees, do you have to shell out more than 500 rupees as tips - what rubbish.
Re: Tipping is a bad practice
by Ravi M on Feb 20, 2014 07:00 AM
I understand your opinion and I used to think the same until I came to the US for my graduate studies and had to work in restaurants.
Yes, tip should be optional but I don't think tip in itself is a bad practice. Please don't forget the human element here.
On a side note, its ok to not tip but we should treat waiters with respect - I see that lacking many times.
Re: Re: Tipping is a bad practice
by sachin on Nov 21, 2015 12:42 PM
you are right Ravi...what indians lack in india is dignity of labor. You should see how people call out to waiters/servers in restaurants especially the smaller ones...chich chich, oye, babu...what kind of tips would such people be leaving for the servers?
Re: Re: Tipping is a bad practice
by sachin on Nov 21, 2015 12:42 PM
you are right Ravi...what indians lack in india is dignity of labor. You should see how people call out to waiters/servers in restaurants especially the smaller ones...chich chich, oye, babu...what kind of tips would such people be leaving for the servers?
Re: Re: Tipping is a bad practice
by sachin on Nov 21, 2015 12:42 PM
you are right Ravi...what indians lack in india is dignity of labor. You should see how people call out to waiters/servers in restaurants especially the smaller ones...chich chich, oye, babu...what kind of tips would such people be leaving for the servers?
I agree with other commenters below. I think we bother too much about waiters and restaurant etiquette, and start to think that everything we find logical is wrong, and that everything that we are expected to do as "etiquette" is right.
Logic is that waiters are paid salaries, which get billed to you in the fancy prices of the restaurant. They OUGHT to be good, since they are getting paid for it. And YOU are the customer - they should be worried about impressing you rather than the other way round.
Logic is also that it is the restaurant owner's duty to pay his staff, not yours.
And logic is also that no restaurant has any moral right to charge something called "service charge". That is them taking the tip without your permission.
I don't agree with the tipping practice in the first place. The is one way of fleecing the customer. Why I should pay for the services for which the restaurant is obliged to? In my view, tipping is completely optional and it has to remain like that. When you extract money by putting pressure, it is extortion and not "social norm". Same as dowry payment, this has to be tackled legally. Any compulsion to tip is unfair and unethical. I don't have any respect for such tactics.
these etiquettes are not followed in India . Tip is optional . they cant demand it . If you have enough qualities, impress ur customers so much that they dont leave without tipping u .
Regarding tipping one must understand the practice in every country, then you know how to do it.
1. In Commonwealth Countries waiters are paid a full fledged salary and those expenses are included in the food bill. So, you are not obligated to tip unless the waiter has done extra service such as hailing a cab for you, or holding an umbrella in rain to help you cross the road and get into your cab or car. Then it is ideal to pay 10-15%. Otherwise a 5% is token.
In Commonwealth countries never, never pay huge tips such as 25%. The waiters actually get offended. There were occasions when higher tips were returned to American tourists by telling that we are paid salaries. I dont know if things have changed now.
2. However, in Northern America, waiters are not paid salaries; even if they are paid it is a minuscle amount. So the waiter actually earns his or her salary from the tip that you leave behind. Hence, if you are in the Americas, irrespective of the fact whether the service is good or bad, leave a minimum of 20% tip because that is his or her wage. If you are happy with the service make it 25% , if extraordinary make it 30%.
So there is a good reason why the Chinese restaurant waiter in America chased Singhvi to question as to why he didnt leave a tip. Mr.Singhvi might have actually deprived the waiter his wage and that is not acceptable.
3. If it is a buffet, never carry the cleared place for a refill; it is really offensive. Leave the plate and take a fresh one.
