[TANGO-L] tipping customs

[Sergio Vandekier <sergiovandekier990 @HOTMAIL.COM>]

Tipping customs vary from country to country.

In some areas of the world tips are not accepted, in others it is calculated
as a percentage of your bill (15-25%), in some countries like Spain the
waiter only expects the change coins.

In the States as well as in Argentina the tip is considered to be part of
the salary of certain service professions.  This means that a waiter in
these last two countries are paid a very low base salary which is
compensated by the tips that they certainly will receive. this happens in
ship cruises as well.

The usher at a theater or at the movies expects a tip   (0.25 to 1.00 peso)
in Argentina. You also tip the attendant at the gas station, the barber, the
waiter, the cook at certain restaurants, the attendant at the rest rooms.

The tip at a rest room should be 0.50 to 1.00 peso.
Most people in Argentina give 1.00 peso as a tip. You are not required to
leave a tip each time you use the toilet.

To enter a rest room in Eastern Europe you have to pay a certain amount to
the attendant lady at the door other wise you are not allowed in.  In many
places of the world the entry to a toilet requires you to insert a number of
coins at the door.

A waiter in Paris may follow you to the door to ask for his "pourboire
monsieur".

In most airports to get a luggage cart you must pay at least 3 dollars they
are free in Argentina.

Cab drivers in many countries take you for a ride, then they demand a tip or
keep the change without asking if it is ok. Frequently they do not bother to
help you to unload the luggage.  In Argentina they will bring the luggage to
your house if needed.

Here I have never seen somebody to keep the change, most taxi drivers round
down on the amount: 6,30 will require you to pay only 6,00. It may be
different for tourists.

It is not proper to over tip, I have friends that have tipped 10 to 50
pesos.  A Russian recent immigrant shoe shiner on Calle Florida showed me a
100 dollar bill that he had just received as a tip. "It must be false" - I
said :)- no it is real- he answered- I had it checked at the bank.

It is not proper to under tip as you are cheating a worker of part of his
salary.

During Juan Peron's time tips were considered to be demeaning for the worker
so "gratuities" were automatically added (25%) to your check. Since this was
compulsory and not voluntary service quality decreased. The same as I
noticed in Eastern Europe during communist rule.  I remember in Buda Pest a
long line of people in front of a restaurant that was empty except for the
waiters that were chatting among themselves. When I asked if I could eat
there (as they noticed I was a foreign tourist) promptly removed a
"reserved' sign from one of the tables and brought dinner. As I left local
people were still waiting in line to be served.

 I was recently at "Sin Rumbo" in villa Urquiza where I danced with two
American girls. At the end one of them asked me if I could get change for a
two pesos bill, so that they could leave a tip. Forget it, I said, I will
take care of that.

Talking to the waiters they told me that the Italians are the most generous
tippers, then the Argentines. I will not say which ones are the most
miserable.

Best regards, Sergio

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