A guide to tipping in India

GoanCanuck

I found this article quite interesting although it is a little bit out of touch with reality.
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/19spec2.htm

dessy

What do you mean " out of touch"?
I hate all the rules about tipping, and having to tip even if the service was dismal.

capt_mahajan

this is simply inaccurate.

minimum of 50 at takeaways ? tipping petrol attendants? luxury cab 100 per four hours?

are we talking about india?

Nick-H

This article is not at all useful.

Maybe it is all about five-star hotel stuff, but seems way over the top for ordinary mortal economy.

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gautam_n_

Someone has too much money to spare I guess

vir

Hahaha...The two below are ridiculous. I still pay 15-25 to my barber for a treatment (haircut) and now I might have to pay 100 more as a tip. I guess Rediff is going timesofindia way.

============================== ============================== =====

Barber: Rs 100 minimal per treatment

Hotel staff: you might want to show your appreciation by leaving Rs 200 per day for each staff member with whom you came in contact

sudheer poppa

That article should be banned... 20-25% tip ? I think he woke up from a nightmare and wrote about it.

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Nick-H

I think a bunch of waiters, barbers and drivers got together and wrote it...

sirensongs

One does not have to tip even if the service is dismal. As a former waitress and bartender, I still believe that tips are given for *good* service.

In India, where most customers do not tip at all, I tip 10 percent. If the waiter was really good, I prefer to give the tip directly to the waiter himself (it's always a him) rather than in the "Tips Box" where it will get divided up between all the staff
equally (including the bossy Brahmin guy who stands around, just gives orders to the Tamang staff and refuses to do any work, like at my hotel here in Kathmandu). If a bunch of different people waited on me (as is so often the case here, inefficiency through waiting-by-committee) I just put it in the box.

If I stay at a hotel a long time, I will give the housekeeping and chowkidar something the day I leave, usually a few hundred rupees. This is because I did not tip them every single day even though they were doing stuff for me every day.

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capt_mahajan

dunno if this is true. most people i know will tip something, specially at resteraunts.

biswassb

In the US, the tipping is 15%. In India, many restaurants are adding 10% service charge to the bill. In that event, I do not tip. I do tip the driver Rs 100 per day. People who do this kind of job in India are very poor. There is nothing wrong tipping them higher amount if you can afford. For most foreigners and NRIs, Rs. 100 is petty change. I also know that unlike many western countries, these people are far very intelligent and doing these jobs for simple lack of opportunities. I suggest if you can afford, if you received reasonable service, tip them generously as if you are in your home country.

If you don't have salary in Indian scale why do you want to tip in Indian scale?

sirensongs

Maybe...because you're in India? This is sort of like saying "if you don't have Indian salary why would you pay the Indian scale? That cup of coffee would be $8.00 in California." Yes, but you're not in California.

And what happens if you're a visiting scholar and have *no* salary - does it follow you have to leave no tip at all?

Sorry, I was just going by the complaints of local restauranteurs who say the locals tip little or nothing. (Maybe they had just gotten spoiled by those overtipping foreigners, though...seriously.)

lez

And yes, it's all right to tip the ayahs in the maternity ward, but no, don't attempt to tip your dentist - he'll definitely take it amiss!


this bloke is living in a dream world, or smoking somthing that will get him 10 years

capt_mahajan

most indian establishments welcome foreigners more than indians (or nri's) because foreigners will tip more. this is not unique to india, btw.

nris dont tip as well and neither do budget travellers. (nris are more aware about prices in india than most foreigners, and sometimes even more than resident indians!!)

budget foreign travellers get the short end of the stick because everybody expects them to tip more, i think, which is unreasonable.

expecting to be overtipped is not too different from expecting higher prices just because the customer doesnt know better.

in a similar vein, my son, who used to play in a jazz band here in hyderabad, got used to upscale resteraunts preferring foreign customers, because they used to run up higher bills, and attract a more affluent clientele. so, when a dutch guy started playing with this group, you can imagine how pleased the resteraunt was, because some of his friends became regulars.

Nick-H

I agree with Sirensongs. This is India. pay Indian prices and Indian tips. Sure, if you want to be generous and can afford it then be generous.

At least be aware that if you give a driver a Rs1,000 tip for a weeks work that you are more than doubling his salary. If that is what you want to do, it is your money!

The drivers that i've met here are not very poor: far from it. Those that drive tourists around, and get the tips from them, are probably doing quite nicely from it!