News and Notes from Around the Interweb:
- A Comprehensive Worldwide Guide to Tipping. And here’s my simpler approach to tipping no chart to memorize..
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That tipping list looks pretty good — it squares with what I’ve encountered in many countries. I try to remember to look at a country’s tipping culture before I arrive, but I sometimes forget. It’s a bad feeling to get the bill in a restaurant and have no idea whether you are supposed to leave a tip. Last year I was in a touristy area in Malaysia and I actually asked the nearby tables whether I should tip (answer: no). I also find the mainstream guidebooks (like Fodors) to overstate the local tipping culture.
I rarely tip taxi drivers. If they load and unload a bag, sure. But otherwise, taxi fares are inflated anyway, and most cities have a taxi monopoly. There’s no reason to tip them for providing the basic service which you hired them for. And now that NYC cabs accept credit cards, there’s no awkward “where’s the tip?” moment. Swipe the card, set the tip at $0, and hop out.
There’s also an easy way to avoid tipping at restaurants. Get the food to go. Or have it delivered and tip the delivery guy nominally, not as a percentage of the bill.