A guide to tipping in India

dessy · Aug 20th, 2006, 23:37

"Sure, if you want to be generous and can afford it then be generous. "

Yes, but those that are "generous2 make it difficult for the rest of us, as we are also expected to be "generous". I am not mean but I also dont believe in overpaying for a basic service. After all, all that a driver, waiter...etc is doing is their job and when we are happy its because they did their job well.

Nick-H · Aug 21st, 2006, 00:06

Point taken.

johnrxx99 · Aug 21st, 2006, 00:56

I have to say that the US of A is responsible for much of this this. Why rich americans have to tip so much is beyond me.

When in Rome do as the Romans. Do Indians tip? Yes, a few rupees change. Personally, I keep change for the old women at the temple or the old male beggars/sadhus. Thus, if the person is pleasant and not pushy tip wise a 10/20 rupee tip always goes down well.

If I've been in a hotel/guest house for a week or two, 2-500 rs depending on the level of service and attitude of the recipient.

Of course if you're staying in the Taj, spending the average annual salary a night, staff expect $20 to say hello!

capt_mahajan · Aug 21st, 2006, 01:05

i feel people should be free to tip generously or normally or not at all depending on their perception of the service (and, sometimes, their state of inebriation). i dont think only americans are guilty (if thats the term) of overtipping. rich indians do the same.

but it still irritates me when for eg a taxi driver in park street calcutta ignores me while making a beeline for some foreigners outside a resteraunt.

(bad example, on second thought. coz he's not planning to get a big tip out of them. he's planning to fleece them. )

freenote · Aug 21st, 2006, 01:35

a bit of basic psychology here ,it is quite possible that here you are in a strange enviroment,you don't realy now how to behave ,so you do it with your wallet , not right but it does happen .Americans in the 60/70s were famous for it .Any problem (paranoid ) buy your way out ,makes you feel better .

PeakXV · Aug 21st, 2006, 01:46

I tip mostly for the information I get - whether it be from the coolie, taxi wallah, or waiter. If the information is good then the conversation/communication is good - if the communication is good there is usually a good mutual understanding and thus less unexpected confusion or surprises.

gregornot · Aug 21st, 2006, 03:42

Namaste,
As one who only gets the lowdown of what happing in d other formns of India.Through this I see a common thread, that India is changing too fast,we(not I, as I have not made thejourney,yet)want it it to stay as the gem we found it to be. It's common knowledge that living in either Mumbia or Dehli are among the cheapest places in the world to live, while tipping has not been the norm, it seems that this is another aspect of the coming change.As we are they locals, which some IM'ers are truley native.

Trash,eve teasing, plastic left everywhere, touts, overcharged fares for tourtists and over crowded with tourist, private beaches,hangouts places now filled with "those" tourists that would be better off being some where else".

I look forward to my first trip and the mind blowing crowds(I am a 'nam vet with an aversion to crowds, so I will spend a lot of time at various vipassana mediation centers adjusting, I will appreciate being some where new and if treated decently, will not mind slip a few IN R's to some who rarely has the lifestyle that we (speaking of IM'ers, sitting at their computers or at the Internet cafe or luckly are able to work and get fairly treated and paid) are lucky to have. Just remember the next life time you may be the ones you scorn as "not" deserving (this is the way I read it!)the small tips.

Gandhi chased the British and their treatment of natives, India itself treats some of it's people better than others thru their own caste system. So that India could be run by Indians.and their sense of fairness.

I am so thankful that I can chose to be in India, where my very limited pension allows me to tip, as opposed to the lack of tipping that I do in the US because I can not afford the cost of living, renting a place to sleep or eating out in a restaurant rather than the dumpsters that I occasionally use as my menu.

I don't hope that anyone is taking as being derogatory to any single person reading this post. The biggest reason I am going to come to India so that I can live a lifestyle that allows me the "taken for granted lifestyle" that most IM'ers enjoy. For a limited period of time I will not, be the homeless walking wounded ("not all wounds are visible") vet who often finds himself railroaded by the government.Struggling in the unwelcoming approach that most US cities or Towns take to the homeless vet. I traded blood for disenchament and get out of town for too long.

Deep down inside of me is the struggle for spirituality that I find through my Vipassana Mediations. But I have gone to centers that were run by a "volunteer staff member" who chose to not like or accept me while talking the talk that they were (in my opioion) were not walking in my presence. It is true that I am hardheaded and at times do things my way, so I am also at fault.

This is getting topic so I will finish with the old saying, "Never judge another person until you have walked a mile, in their sandels" to get a tip

Metta,gregor

phobal · Aug 21st, 2006, 04:10

tips should only be given for exceptional service. not out of some kind of moral obligation.

exception: porters whose services you ASK FOR, 5-10rs per piece. IMHO.

gregornot · Aug 21st, 2006, 05:06

Greetings
This is a boiled down,right to the point post as I wish to express in my overly long post
peace

biswassb · Aug 21st, 2006, 07:12

I simply do not agree. If you have money to tip people who work for you and do a good job, please do so as much as you can. In turn, that person will return that favor. That's the way capitalism works. Last time I checked, India is a capitalist country like USA. In fact, my well-tipped rental car driver was not even a minute late in three weeks. There are a lot of socialist countries you don't have to tip, why not go there.

BTW, the reason tip system developed in the west is due to the fact that only a small fraction of what one pays for a service like the chauffered rental car goes to the poor chauffer providing it and the tip is the only thing that goes 100% to the service provider like the driver. Tip is the true capitalist way of rewarding the service provider.

manojb · Aug 21st, 2006, 09:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by biswassb

BTW, the reason tip system developed in the west is due to the fact that only a small fraction of what one pays for a service like the chauffered rental car goes to the poor chauffer providing it and the tip is the only thing that goes 100% to the service provider like the driver. Tip is the true capitalist way of rewarding the service provider.

One would think that the correct way to solve this would be for the chauffer's employer to pay him a decent wage. I already paid the employer for the chauffer's service? Why should I pay again?

capt_mahajan · Aug 21st, 2006, 09:27

a "you should tip well regardless of service" view is umm not very capitalistic.

dilbharatmain · Aug 21st, 2006, 09:45

lot of socialist countries you don't have to tip, why not go there.

Tip is the true capitalist way of rewarding the service provider.

Hey, you don't have to go to socialist countries if you don't like tipping. Refreshingly, here in NZ tipping still has not caught on, and it is believed that people working in the service industries are supposed to be paid a reasonable salary by their employers, rather than having to rely on tips from customers...

Saying that, if we hear the good old yankee accent, stetson hat, swagger... then usually the service may even be a bit better than normal, as we may think there could be a tip coming our way...

Judging from going out to dinner with Indian friends, 5 to 10% is fairly normal in most "middle range" restaurants. (the americans are totally overboard I think with 15% (sometimes 20%...). Drivers if they are good, safe, timely Rs70 for a day, Rs100 per day for overnight trips - remember a lot of drivers are making good commissions off every purchase that the tourists in their car are making as they are driving around.

dilbharatmain · Aug 21st, 2006, 09:46

"lot of socialist countries you don't have to tip, why not go there."

"Tip is the true capitalist way of rewarding the service provider."

Hey, you don't have to go to socialist countries if you don't like tipping. Refreshingly, here in NZ tipping still has not caught on, and it is believed that people working in the service industries are supposed to be paid a reasonable salary by their employers, rather than having to rely on tips from customers...

Saying that, if we hear the good old yankee accent, stetson hat, swagger... then usually the service may even be a bit better than normal, as we may think there could be a tip coming our way...

Judging from going out to dinner with Indian friends, 5 to 10% is fairly normal in most "middle range" restaurants. (the americans are totally overboard I think with 15% (sometimes 20%...). Drivers if they are good, safe, timely Rs70 for a day, Rs100 per day for overnight trips - remember a lot of drivers are making good commissions off every purchase that the tourists in their car are making as they are driving around.[/quote]

Nick-H · Aug 21st, 2006, 12:52

If you guys want to give money away just because someone earns less than you do --- I am a willing recipient and happy to give my PayPal details to any prospective donors!

Giving tip for anything other than good service, in any part of the world is a daft idea. And who cares if the guys grumble as you leave? You probably won't be going back anyway!

The tradition of paying peanuts to cattering staff and expecting the customer to meet the wage bill on top of what they pay for the produce is, to me, one of the worse ideas of capitalism. Yes, in those countries I know it so I do tip...

I tip here too. But the waiter, driver, etc is being paid. No need at all to go over-the-top. In the sort of restaurant I usualy frequent (Rs50 to Rs100 bill per person) I leave Rs5, or 10 if two of us go. The one place I go that is a little more expensive has a no-tipping policy anyway!

Aug 21st, 2006, 01:46	#21
PeakXV Naan.tering Nabob Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Abode of Glooscap Posts: 5,881	I tip mostly for the information I get - whether it be from the coolie, taxi wallah, or waiter. If the information is good then the conversation/communication is good - if the communication is good there is usually a good mutual understanding and thus less unexpected confusion or surprises. __________________ What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

Aug 21st, 2006, 03:42	#22
gregornot Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: UT,SLC-CA,-Bay Area Posts: 249	India is changing also for better or difference as experienced at one time Namaste, As one who only gets the lowdown of what happing in d other formns of India.Through this I see a common thread, that India is changing too fast,we(not I, as I have not made thejourney,yet)want it it to stay as the gem we found it to be. It's common knowledge that living in either Mumbia or Dehli are among the cheapest places in the world to live, while tipping has not been the norm, it seems that this is another aspect of the coming change.As we are they locals, which some IM'ers are truley native. Trash,eve teasing, plastic left everywhere, touts, overcharged fares for tourtists and over crowded with tourist, private beaches,hangouts places now filled with "those" tourists that would be better off being some where else". I look forward to my first trip and the mind blowing crowds(I am a 'nam vet with an aversion to crowds, so I will spend a lot of time at various vipassana mediation centers adjusting, I will appreciate being some where new and if treated decently, will not mind slip a few IN R's to some who rarely has the lifestyle that we (speaking of IM'ers, sitting at their computers or at the Internet cafe or luckly are able to work and get fairly treated and paid) are lucky to have. Just remember the next life time you may be the ones you scorn as "not" deserving (this is the way I read it!)the small tips. Gandhi chased the British and their treatment of natives, India itself treats some of it's people better than others thru their own caste system. So that India could be run by Indians.and their sense of fairness. I am so thankful that I can chose to be in India, where my very limited pension allows me to tip, as opposed to the lack of tipping that I do in the US because I can not afford the cost of living, renting a place to sleep or eating out in a restaurant rather than the dumpsters that I occasionally use as my menu. I don't hope that anyone is taking as being derogatory to any single person reading this post. The biggest reason I am going to come to India so that I can live a lifestyle that allows me the "taken for granted lifestyle" that most IM'ers enjoy. For a limited period of time I will not, be the homeless walking wounded ("not all wounds are visible") vet who often finds himself railroaded by the government.Struggling in the unwelcoming approach that most US cities or Towns take to the homeless vet. I traded blood for disenchament and get out of town for too long. Deep down inside of me is the struggle for spirituality that I find through my Vipassana Mediations. But I have gone to centers that were run by a "volunteer staff member" who chose to not like or accept me while talking the talk that they were (in my opioion) were not walking in my presence. It is true that I am hardheaded and at times do things my way, so I am also at fault. This is getting topic so I will finish with the old saying, "Never judge another person until you have walked a mile, in their sandels" to get a tip Metta,gregor __________________ "If the roots remain untouched and firm in the ground, a felled tree still puts forth new shoots. If the underlying habit of craving and aversion is not uprooted, suffering arises anew over and over again." Last edited by gregornot : Aug 21st, 2006 at 03:45. Reason: spelling

Aug 21st, 2006, 05:06	#24
gregornot Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: UT,SLC-CA,-Bay Area Posts: 249	Exactly what I tried to say Greetings This is a boiled down,right to the point post as I wish to express in my overly long post peace

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Aug 20th, 2006, 23:37	#16
dessy Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 81	"Sure, if you want to be generous and can afford it then be generous. " Yes, but those that are "generous2 make it difficult for the rest of us, as we are also expected to be "generous". I am not mean but I also dont believe in overpaying for a basic service. After all, all that a driver, waiter...etc is doing is their job and when we are happy its because they did their job well.

Aug 21st, 2006, 00:06	#17
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,213	Point taken.

Aug 21st, 2006, 00:56	#18
johnrxx99 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: UK Posts: 110	I have to say that the US of A is responsible for much of this this. Why rich americans have to tip so much is beyond me. When in Rome do as the Romans. Do Indians tip? Yes, a few rupees change. Personally, I keep change for the old women at the temple or the old male beggars/sadhus. Thus, if the person is pleasant and not pushy tip wise a 10/20 rupee tip always goes down well. If I've been in a hotel/guest house for a week or two, 2-500 rs depending on the level of service and attitude of the recipient. Of course if you're staying in the Taj, spending the average annual salary a night, staff expect $20 to say hello!

Aug 21st, 2006, 01:05	#19
capt_mahajan Infidel Sufi Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: styx Posts: 13,607	i feel people should be free to tip generously or normally or not at all depending on their perception of the service (and, sometimes, their state of inebriation). i dont think only americans are guilty (if thats the term) of overtipping. rich indians do the same. but it still irritates me when for eg a taxi driver in park street calcutta ignores me while making a beeline for some foreigners outside a resteraunt. (bad example, on second thought. coz he's not planning to get a big tip out of them. he's planning to fleece them. )

Aug 21st, 2006, 01:35	#20
freenote senior member refused Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: cornwall UK Posts: 1,956	a bit of basic psychology here ,it is quite possible that here you are in a strange enviroment,you don't realy now how to behave ,so you do it with your wallet , not right but it does happen .Americans in the 60/70s were famous for it .Any problem (paranoid ) buy your way out ,makes you feel better .

Aug 21st, 2006, 04:10	#23
phobal IM hoser Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: canaduh Posts: 519	tips should only be given for exceptional service. not out of some kind of moral obligation. exception: porters whose services you ASK FOR, 5-10rs per piece. IMHO.

Aug 21st, 2006, 07:12	#25
biswassb Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 66	I simply do not agree. If you have money to tip people who work for you and do a good job, please do so as much as you can. In turn, that person will return that favor. That's the way capitalism works. Last time I checked, India is a capitalist country like USA. In fact, my well-tipped rental car driver was not even a minute late in three weeks. There are a lot of socialist countries you don't have to tip, why not go there. BTW, the reason tip system developed in the west is due to the fact that only a small fraction of what one pays for a service like the chauffered rental car goes to the poor chauffer providing it and the tip is the only thing that goes 100% to the service provider like the driver. Tip is the true capitalist way of rewarding the service provider.

Aug 21st, 2006, 09:27	#27
capt_mahajan Infidel Sufi Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: styx Posts: 13,607	a "you should tip well regardless of service" view is umm not very capitalistic.

Aug 21st, 2006, 09:45	#28
dilbharatmain Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 126	lot of socialist countries you don't have to tip, why not go there. Tip is the true capitalist way of rewarding the service provider. Hey, you don't have to go to socialist countries if you don't like tipping. Refreshingly, here in NZ tipping still has not caught on, and it is believed that people working in the service industries are supposed to be paid a reasonable salary by their employers, rather than having to rely on tips from customers... Saying that, if we hear the good old yankee accent, stetson hat, swagger... then usually the service may even be a bit better than normal, as we may think there could be a tip coming our way... Judging from going out to dinner with Indian friends, 5 to 10% is fairly normal in most "middle range" restaurants. (the americans are totally overboard I think with 15% (sometimes 20%...). Drivers if they are good, safe, timely Rs70 for a day, Rs100 per day for overnight trips - remember a lot of drivers are making good commissions off every purchase that the tourists in their car are making as they are driving around.

Aug 21st, 2006, 09:46	#29
dilbharatmain Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 126	"lot of socialist countries you don't have to tip, why not go there." "Tip is the true capitalist way of rewarding the service provider." Hey, you don't have to go to socialist countries if you don't like tipping. Refreshingly, here in NZ tipping still has not caught on, and it is believed that people working in the service industries are supposed to be paid a reasonable salary by their employers, rather than having to rely on tips from customers... Saying that, if we hear the good old yankee accent, stetson hat, swagger... then usually the service may even be a bit better than normal, as we may think there could be a tip coming our way... Judging from going out to dinner with Indian friends, 5 to 10% is fairly normal in most "middle range" restaurants. (the americans are totally overboard I think with 15% (sometimes 20%...). Drivers if they are good, safe, timely Rs70 for a day, Rs100 per day for overnight trips - remember a lot of drivers are making good commissions off every purchase that the tourists in their car are making as they are driving around.[/quote]

Aug 21st, 2006, 12:52	#30
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,213	If you guys want to give money away just because someone earns less than you do --- I am a willing recipient and happy to give my PayPal details to any prospective donors! Giving tip for anything other than good service, in any part of the world is a daft idea. And who cares if the guys grumble as you leave? You probably won't be going back anyway! The tradition of paying peanuts to cattering staff and expecting the customer to meet the wage bill on top of what they pay for the produce is, to me, one of the worse ideas of capitalism. Yes, in those countries I know it so I do tip... I tip here too. But the waiter, driver, etc is being paid. No need at all to go over-the-top. In the sort of restaurant I usualy frequent (Rs50 to Rs100 bill per person) I leave Rs5, or 10 if two of us go. The one place I go that is a little more expensive has a no-tipping policy anyway!