Tipping as a Local

[notamermaid]

Good to hear that, auldlassie,

 

have people become more generous in Great Britain or am I just influenced in my perception by the British people I know?

 

Perhaps I should not ask for an answer to my question, English politeness could make it a little tricky to answer that one...

 

Seriously, I have not seen as much tipping in the UK as in Germany. And leaving a tip in the hotel room is from what I have heard and experienced travelling in the UK not done.

 

I am sure there are some good websites around, a couple I looked at where too concise to the point of being vague or inviting misinterpreting the information. I wonder if river cruise brochures are a good place to find out about tipping? Just wondering.

 

notamermaid

[Mark_T]

On the continent I wish sometimes that some Britons would realize that their actions speak so much louder than words and spoil theircountry's reputation... Witness the first few days of Euro 2016 ... among many other incidents over the years.

 

Careful now, or we may need to raise the topic of German tourists and their habit of reserving sunbeds at 5am with their towels and then not actually using them before lunch time :)

 

With regard to the various online guides, I do find a lot of them err on the side of excess, some to the point where you have to wonder if they were written by the service staff themselves :)

[notamermaid]

Oh, yes, Mark T, I had forgotten about that seriously doubtful and notorious tradition of the 5am towels. Probably because I do not do that type of holiday. If I want a beach, I go to the pebbles on the Kent coast in wind and rain. :D

 

I really have done in the past. Do not need to reserve a place there...

 

In former Jugoslavia I once got the denominations of the money notes in a restaurant wrong and gave so much tip that the waitress was shocked. :o

 

notamermaid

[laverendrye]

Earlier this year in Berlin I noticed that in several restaurants the bill was marked (in English) "Tip not Included" while the menus noted quite clearly in German that taxes and service were included in the price. It turns out that this is a little scam that some restaurants in Berlin have been using for some time. Here's a piece from 2009 describing the practice:

 

http://www.thelocal.de/20090527/19531

[Mark_T]

Certainly worth making sure you can recognize the words for 'service included' in the local language.

[Canal archive]

I can assure all that as a very proud citizen of the United Kingdom we are always horrified at the behaviour of some of our compatriots (in the Euros case note that most of the trouble stopped when another country went home).

The USA is the country of service maybe due to the need to top up the wages as someone else noted. The U.K.s report would say, could do better, I think this could be said for many countries across Europe so we tip for service above what we would expect and always to the person concerned. I dread to think of the Brits you know Notamermaid our circle of friends and acquaintances are very appreciative of good service. Also don't forget that when on holiday and you get the tipping wrong you are somewhat unlikely to return at least in the near future

[G.M.T.]

Careful now, or we may need to raise the topic of German tourists and their habit of reserving sunbeds at 5am with their towels and then not actually using them before lunch time :)

 

With regard to the various online guides, I do find a lot of them err on the side of excess, some to the point where you have to wonder if they were written by the service staff themselves :)

Absolutely not true about Germans reserving sun beds at 5:00 am.:confused:

 

More like 3:30 am, as at 5:00 am they are queueing (well bunched around the MDR doors) waitng for breakfast to be served at 7:30am.:D

[notamermaid]

Hello canal archive,

 

yes, after the one party in the fighting returned home, it was better. What a wonderful tournament it has been so far. Sadly, though, my dream final of Wales versus Iceland will not take place.

 

My comment about the tipping in the UK was awkward, I apologize, I did not mean an amount rather the number of occasions, in which I wrongly included pub lunches. They are not tipped, neither does one tip the barman. On a holiday in Britain I have far fewer occasions for tipping than I do on a holiday in Germany due to how I travel and where I stay. I might have forgotten to tip that taxi driver in London once...

 

I still find the overall service and friendliness in the UK better than in Germany although in the last ten years German service has got better I find, not just in the tourist trade.

 

Hello G.M.T.,

 

well that is German efficiency madness for you. :D

 

I had a great cruise and my tip in the little pouch at the end of the cruise reflected that. I must say, though, that a "cultural difference hiccup" across countries was the low point of my cruise. There was a Scandinavian couple onboard. I overheard the man make a comment one morning - he seemed annoyed - about Germans (in English). Note this was a cruise where two thirds were German passengers. Then the couple kept the coach waiting twice, in the end we where actually late back for lunch in Budapest. Did not matter to me, but to the cruise director for the day's schedule.

 

Tipping: One oddity is tipping a person who is employed by an institution in Germany. Depending on the institution - usually the public sector - the person you want to give cash to is not allowed to take it. It would be bribing. Even if it is just a euro and you will never see the person again. That person will tell you straight out and refuse to take your money, even if you think they have done a great service do not insist on giving it.

 

notamermaid

[Mark_T]

Tipping: One oddity is tipping a person who is employed by an institution in Germany. Depending on the institution - usually the public sector - the person you want to give cash to is not allowed to take it.

 

That one is not so uncommon and it extends to business gifts as well (Christmas etc.), there is usually either a complete ban or a very low value limit in many countries, except of course in those countries where it is actually a requirement if you want a successful outcome to anything involving the public sector :)

[notamermaid]

Yes, that's right, it very much applies to gifts. Here in Germany it usually is a complete ban on cash and gifts over a very a small value equivalent in cash (can you imagine standing in front of a person, calculating in your mind what this gift in the person's hand might be worth :eek:). I meant to say the oddity is that sometimes tourism and the service it entails coincides with that person being part of a public institution, even then the ban applies and it might not be clear to an outsider that it is the case. Even when being offered a drink you are only allowed to except if it does not offend the person uttering the invitation deeply.

 

I have seen such a scene. Really awkward.

 

notamermaid

[G.M.T.]

I heard a rumour this morning that for the enxt two months all public institutions can accept tips, gifts and bribes. This will then be collected and given to DFB (German FA) in order to buy a new football team.

 

Speaking of Iceland, I would love to see a Viking Chant during sailaway.:)

[Canal archive]

That would have been my dream final as well, the England lot don't play as a team!

In some instances tipping has to be careful, in some cases in the UK it could be presumed to be, benefit in kind, and therefore liable to be taxed, admittedly this usually applies to gifts but it has been known.

My husband worked for many years for a German company and eventually did a German language course without letting his German coliguise know, it worked wonderfully they discovered when he inadvertently answered one of them in German. He hasn't used his skills for some time but it helped on our first and second cruises as well as causing some hilarity when others speaking German are not to careful with their utterances, it shows don't assume others don't understand.

[CPT Trips]

Wait. Did I read Notamermaid's post correctly? One does not tip in pubs? What about, "and one for yourself."

 

Iceland and Wales both captured a lot of attention over here. As did Hart, but not the kind of attention he wants. Now awaiting the qualifiers for Russia.

Edited July 8, 2016 by CPT Trips

[notamermaid]

O.k., the "one for yourself" is sort of for the barman that you get to know and chat to. I tend not to regard it as tipping. But yes, you could call it that. By definition, for me a tip is cash for a service, like the little extra for the taxi driver, etc., again one official definition might regard a drink for the barman as a tip. Wikipedia calls a tip gratuity, meaning money.

 

I was a bit sad that Germany lost. Great to see though that the huh cheers of Iceland caught on with the French fans. A newspaper article claimed with the French it is 'uh. Not sure, could not quite hear last night if they missed out the first "h" or not. :)

 

notamermaid

[CPT Trips]

The initial aitch in the chant was probably drowned out by the sound of teardrops hitting the beer in Germany. ;)

[Cyber Kat]

That takes me back to the days when it was 1,000, or more. lira to the dollar. Coins were in short supply and change frequently included a telephone token and a piece of candy. ;)

 

More good info, thanks.

 

LOL - we experienced that! We were with a group, and the bus stopped for a "rest stop" I didn't get off the bus, but my husband did. We saw people coming out with ice cream cones. I asked him to get me one and when he came back, he handed it to me, and dropped a bunch of candy in my lap. I said, "what's this?" He said, "Change." :D

[Mark_T]

O.k., the "one for yourself" is sort of for the barman that you get to know and chat to.

 

Exactly right, it would be a little odd to just do that with your first round in the pub unless it was a very large order (in number of drinks not value) or unless he had to do something special like run down to the cellar to change a barrel so you could get exactly what you ordered.

 

Also while on the topic of pubs, unlike the USA, you generally pay for each drink order as you go, you don't wait to pay at the end.

[Canal archive]

Most British pubs will allow you to run a tab especially if food is involved and or a group. Our friends ran a typical canal side country pub for few years and to save his liver he would gracefully accept a drink and put the cost of it in a glass and share the proceeds with his young waiting staff at the end of the week.

[Mark_T]

Most British pubs will allow you to run a tab especially if food is involved and or a group.

 

I would refine that a bit and say that if food is involved then you can probably have everything put on the one check, but if you are not ordering food then expect to pay as you order at the bar.

 

The pubs that are primarily food focused are more like restaurants really and there they will run a tab as normal. A traditional pub is not so likely to do this.

[Canal archive]

Must be different in some parts of the U.K.

[thdave]

If the practice in Hungary and Germany is to not tip, presumably because there wage laws to provide a decent income (unlike the wage laws in the USA), then is the recommended tipping by Viking and perhaps others there to create more profit for the company?

[jpalbny]

My personal POV on this topic, which may be off base, is not that you "don't" tip in Germany, Hungary, etc.

 

I look at it like this: servers in Germany, etc. are paid a higher wage, so that they are not so dependent on tips to make a decent wage. In the US, servers may make $5 per hour or sometimes even less - well below minimum wage. They would be in abject poverty without tips.

 

I have never had a German server refuse a tip, nor have I had one get cranky with me if I pay with a cc and don't leave one. It is much more optional.

 

That said, I almost always give our server a tip. Reason? Almost every server has taken the time to speak to us in English, make us feel welcome, help translate menus, etc. I am happy to show my appreciation for that effort with a few Euros when I see it. I certainly don't tip 20% like home...because I'm not home. :) I'm pretending to be a local! ;)

Edited July 11, 2016 by jpalbny

[CPT Trips]

If the practice in Hungary and Germany is to not tip, presumably because there wage laws to provide a decent income (unlike the wage laws in the USA), then is the recommended tipping by Viking and perhaps others there to create more profit for the company?

 

 

No. The high cruise fare one pays generates the profits for the cruise line.

 

I started the thread because I wanted to better understand the local/national tipping customs in the bars, hotels, and restaurants in the ountries we visit on our trips. The individual cruise lines and tour companies do a fine job informing me on the expectations on their portion of the trip.

 

Thanks to our non US cruisers for the education!

Edited July 11, 2016 by CPT Trips

[Mark_T]

If the practice in Hungary and Germany is to not tip, presumably because there wage laws to provide a decent income (unlike the wage laws in the USA), then is the recommended tipping by Viking and perhaps others there to create more profit for the company?

 

Just to be very clear, on Viking at least and some others as well I'm sure, the cruise director is not one of those on a salary, they are independent contractors so the 'tips' are their salary.

 

For the others, if you can be on the receiving end of 7-14 days of excellent service and not feel that a gesture is deserved then you are clearly made of sterner stuff than I am :)

[thdave]

I guess that makes sense, but it bothers me that the cruise director is working in countries that have wage laws requiring them to be paid decently, such that tips aren't required to make a living. Yet they are not paid accordingly.

 

I'm not sure why I'm so concerned with this as I know I'm going to tip them as recommended and won't give a hoot. After all, I'm there to enjoy myself and feel good about the trip and short changing the crew serving us is not part of that.

 

The issue is that the tipping seems contrived by the cruise lines given the countries we are visiting.