Is there any general rule as to who to tip where how much and under what circumstances? Well... let me answer the question myself - No!
Last Sun I landed in the new Hyderabad international airport. After an almost 15 hour non-stop flight from JFK to Mumbai and an overnight stay at the airport, I was totally exhausted and was just waiting to get to my destination. My flight being one of the first to land in this brand new airport, I got a royal treatment. I was so happy by the time I got into the cab, that I wanted to genuinely appreciate the airport personnel's services. I tried to tip my porter but he refused. I insisted saying I was very happy with the entire experience and that I wanted to express my gratitude. But he was reluctant to take the money. Well... there were quite a few of his superiors right there and I'm sure the poor chap was under pressure not to accept the treat. Somewhere deep down in his heart, there was an urge to stretch his hand and grab the bill but his mind knew better. He could see the circumstances were not right for him. If he were alone with no one watching, I'm positive he would have seized the opportunity. That would have made me happy because I felt he surely deserved it.
I believe all of us run into similar situations. One example is the Full Serve gas stations. Of course, this 'used' to be a question earlier but my time in New Jersey answered the question. What about the autowalas in India? We sure tip the cabbies in the U.S. A buck or two will throw a smile on the doorman's face at one of those restaurants as well. Ok, at least I think there are a couple of places where it is pretty much clear what to do. Waiters at the restaurant and bartenders at the bar. Once you get the check, just add the tip and pay. If it is a group of 6 or more, the restaurant itself adds gratuity (usually) to avoid the servers getting pissed off in case a cheap-ass group decides not to pay a tip which obviously would be big for a big group. But wait a minute, a Chinese colleague of mine claims you actually bargain in restaurants in China. Instead of paying a tip, you can actually walk out paying less than the check amount. Now that's awesome but unfortunately that breaks our, just formalized, rule that everyone pays a tip at a restaurant.
Finally do you agree with me that it is awfully complicated to decide when to tip who, where and under what circumstances?
Update: What about the barber/hair stylist?Labels: airport, autowala, barber, bargain, cabby, chinese, doorman, gratuity, hyderabad, india, international, porter, restaurant, shamshabad, tip, tips |
