Tipping
 

Hi all,

A few questions about tipping.

If you are ina restaurant where is says 10% is automatically added to your bill does the waiter/waitress actually get this money or does it go to the company or manager? And do you tip ontop of this?

My usual tip rate is 10% of the bill which I think is pretty standard so unless I have had exceptionally good service/food or exceptionally bad service/food I stick to this - what about you lot?

And with Taxi drivers, I normally round it up to the nearest 5, I did have one driver who rounded 42 aed up to 50 which I thought was a bit bloody cheeky so asked for 5 back- felt tight but thought he was taking the piss by refusing to give me change.

Who else do you tip and whats your going rate?

Kittycat
xxx

Re: Tipping
 

everyone tells me i always over-tip, but i think these people are on such low salaries what's a few extra dirhams for me...usually end up giving taxi drivers around 10 dhs, petrol filler man 10 dhs if he cleans the windows or 5 dhs if he doesn't...and always at least 10% in restaurants in cash, as i'm pretty sure they don't get the tip that is included in the bill...in fact, i seem to remember reading that jumeirah uses the tips to improve staff accommodation, which isn't really what they are intended for...

MM, xx

Re: Tipping
 

I always give 10% in cash - I am fairly sure that the staff don't see any of the service charge. In the grand scheme of things 10% of a bill is not a huge amount to us, but likely a decent amount for the staff.

Re: Tipping
 

Much the same for me. If the taxi driver or whomever has been particularly nice and I'm in a good mood they often get rather more. In a weird belief in karma I always give bigger tips when something good has happened to me or I have had a particularly good month businesswise.

Dhs 10 -20 (or more) is nothing to me, but these amounts add up and will help those in less fortunate positions.

Re: Tipping
 

Those petrol boys deserve big tips ... what a shitty job, I always (well maybe not always) get them a cold can of coke from the fridge in summer too.

Re: Tipping
 

I always give the Hyper Panda food-packing guy Dhs10 even though others expect them to take the trolley to the car and unpack to earn such a tip. I have never before paid the petrol-fillers anything but, when the hot summer weather returns, I may start doing so. I tip around 10% at restaurants but less if it's a buffet and all they do is bring drinks. I gave the flamingo guy at one of the hides Dhs10 for letting us see the birds last weekend but, at the second hide, the guy was in military uniform so I gave him nothing.

Re: Tipping
 

First off, places are not allowed to add 10% service charge anymore, unless they're classed as a tourist outlet, so I always ask them to remove it! They're adding the 10% illegally.

Even if I pay with a card, I always leave the tip in cash and try to give it directly to the people that have served me in the hope that they actually do get it.

Don't tip petrol attendants, they don't get to keep it - there was a big hoo-haaa in the papers last year when one particular chain was outted for patting down all their staff and removing tips.

Re: Tipping
 

I know for a fact they don't see much or anything of it. One very large hotel chain didn't pay any service charge to their staff for two years - then they found out the Lebanese GM was siphoning it off to his bank back home. Even now they only get a small percentage of it.

Most service staff in the big expensive hotels in the UAE are paid around AED1000 to AED1500 per month plus accomodation (which usually involves sharing a room with at least one other person) and food allowances (usually this is not the same quality as the food the guests eat - some even throw away food when the restaurants close!). They often get very short notice of their work schedules too so have no real life. Passports are held as a rule too. Next time you have miserable staff serving you keep in mind that before reacting...they put up utterly disgusting treatment from guests and management of all nationalities too.

I know this because my girlfriend used to work in one of these places - when you consider how much we pay for meals and drinks in these "five star" establishments it makes you think how much the managers and owners profit margins are. Shocking.

N.

Re: Tipping
 

I've just given a 33% tip to my Indian barber. Mind you, as he only charges Dhs15 it's only fair.:)

Re: Tipping
 

you are all heart aren't ya?

Re: Tipping
 

I'm sure I'll be resoundly criticised but I rarely give tips in the UAE. It's not because of the appalling service but because the odds are very good the tips aren't going to the waitstaff or petrol boys but to the owners. We already pay over the odds for food and beverages here and why pad the owners' profits anymore than we need to? This is a country where the consumer has no real protection and it's very much a caveat emptor world.

I'll tip cabs but only if they do a decent job, by which I mean no maniac driving, no falling asleep whilst doing 120km and no bothering me with useless chatter.

Re: Tipping
 

You heartless bastard :) Actually, while we are confessing... I don't tip people who ask or beg for it - rules out most Egyptians.