Tips
 

Is tipping becoming a thing of the past? I ask because last week and this week in two different towns the waitress thought that I had paid the wrong money for my meal and put the extra in front of me and both times I had to explain that it was the tip for them and they seemed surprised and very grateful.

Rosemary

Re: Tips
 

Most Spaniards have never tipped except for the odd cents change. They only expect tips from guiris in tourist areas:D

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The first one was an ordinary working town and the other was a Spanish tourist town so that might explain it but it is the first time that I have come across this there although saying that Graham has commented in the past that they always seem surprised at the amount of the tip and I can assure you that I am not that generous.

Rosemary

Re: Tips
 

well many shops etc cannot be bothered with the odd couple of cents in change and give it to you in your favour.

I have tipped on the odd ocassion, in one bar that serves beer with excellent tapa at the lowest price around almost hostility - until I said "para los ninos" at which there was a grin and a gracias.

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Our nearest Carrefour never give the few cents change and it is always in their favour.
But if it one cent over a full Euro they will hold their hand out until you pay:thumbdown:

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Our local shops and stalls in the indoor market always round the price down by a few centimos. In the ferreteria we normally use (a very old fashioned shop where you go to one counter to get what you need and be given the bill, and then to a separate one where the owner's wife presides over the till) they knock a couple of euros off plus the odd cents, as a rule. You don't get that in Leroy Merlin or Bauhaus!:D
I think there's only been one occasion where he hasn't stocked what we were looking for.

Most times if I've just called in somewhere for a coffee I don't tip, but I do in restaurants unless the food or service hasn't been good. I must say I like it better that a tip seems to be appreciated than in some countries where it is pretty much demanded, or a service charge is automatically added to the bill.

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I know it probably marks me out as a foreigner, but I don't care, I still tip for good service and a cheery smile. Why not?

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I've always tipped, usually around ten percent, unless the service is poor. With the current crisis I tip around 15 percent. People are openly suffering and I can live with paying the extra 15 percent to people who are poorly paid anyway.

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especially as many of them are maintaining last years prices and the years before that and absorbing the IVA increases rather than lose customers for a few pennies

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On top of that, the waiting staff around here are paid three Euros an hour, without a contract, slave labour, and they hope to double their ridiculous wages with tipps, which still amounts to slave labour.

If I couldn't afford to pay those tips, I would stay indoors, rather than be a skinflint.

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Seriously, there's waiting staff working for as little as 3 Euros an hour ? :ohmy:

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Well isnt it about time you started paying your staff properly ??

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There are probably some who actually work for the family for no wages at all in order to maintain a roof over their heads.

Rosemary

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Well that would be illegal because it is under minimum wage, which is around 4.25 euros per hour

Up here, most waitering jobs are 6 or 7 euros per hour

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The ones working for €3 per hour are likely unemployed and working black. Around here, it's simply a way of life for many. A lot of restaurants have one one or two official employees, but there are six or eight people working in the evenings.

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It's much the same here, they work black, collect their 430 Euros a month paro, and just about get by. I don't see too much wrong with it.

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people gotta eat

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"Family" just helping out ?

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What about taxi drivers and hairdressers for example? Is it usual to tip them in Spain?

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Not used a taxi but if I did I would automatically tip. Hairdressers look at me a little strange when I tip but not as much as the waitresses did.

rosemary

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after being there for close on 3 hours the bh gave her hairdresser a tip on saturday............
the colouring had been done but she still hadnt had a cut. Demanded hair be dried then gave her the tip - don't expect me back ever again.

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From what Ive seen Spanish dont tip and they dont expect tips , I remember years ago four of us ate at a decent restaurant and the bill was around 200 euros , we tried to give the waiter a 20 euro tip as all was very good but he did not want it and almost seemed offended !he went and spoke to his boss who came over and said it was not necessary but accepted it after we insisted , bizarre !

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A compliment seems to be more appreciated than the cash........though things may be about to change under the current financial climate?

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Tip may not be expected in some places but I have yet to meet anyone in the world who doesn't appreciate one.:confused:

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When I went to Cuba, the tips most appreciated were things like small bars of soap, which was almost impossible for most Cubans to buy, rather than cash. And a couple of waitresses I gave part-used lipsticks to were absolutely over the moon.

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Used lipstick URGHHHH I would be insulted of somebody offered me that !

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If I hadn't heard beforehand that stuff like that was really appreciated, I would have been hesitant to offer. but I guess if we couldn't get hold of these things our perspective might be different.

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Not in the third world. We leave everything behind we haven't used, half packets of Rennies, Asprins etc.

When we lived in Africa we weren't allowed to pay our housekeeper more than the official rate. Mobuto thought it would bugger the economy if the westerners started paying over the odds. We used to give him food to take home and other stuff. He even used to wash empty tin cans and take them back to his village.

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My Oh left a tip with the payment on a tray and the waitress came after him and wouldnt accept it even though he explained it was for her.:confused:

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The Cubans also hang on to empty cans, eg from soft drinks. They cut the tops off and take them to get ice cream from the state-run ice cream parlours (one of the few foodstuffs available off-ration) as they have to supply their own containers.

Mind you, my experience is probably well out of date now as it's at least 15 years now since I was there and things have probably changed a lot. I always remember seeing a really big double fronted shop with nothing in the windows but cheese-graters, of all things - but you couldn't buy cheese for love nor money!

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There are some places that forbid tips for their staff. El Corte Ingles used to do that, I don't know if they still do.
Interesting that some get the impression that the Spanish (in their town) don't tip. I can't say they seemed to be big tippers, but it was normal in Madrid cafe-bars to round up the amount paid, normally small stuff like 12 or 15 centimes. I sometimes saw people leave a 50c tip after eating a menu, but that was rarer.

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I'm amazed no one has mentioned the term "Bote", Spanish for pot.

In most places I have seen where tipping is common there is a pot or bote behind the counter into which tips are passed on by staff to be shared out later I presume.

It is common for tips to be handed over the counter, para el bote, but occasionally given to waiters, para el bote.

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Yes, a place we use, they throw it in the pot, ring a bell and shout ¡¡¡¡bote!!! Very loud!

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I sometimes think I'm living in a rich area, which is untrue, but the Spanish people I know do tip. I took shelter from the torrential rain this morning in a Spanish cafe I don't normally use, and squeezed on to a table with others sheltering from the downpour, Spanish people.

We all left a tip for the waitress.

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Exactly.

I wonder if Cman and Stevie are a just a little mutton jeff or just never got round to finding it on google. :rofl:

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It's more a Med resort thing ime, but I think I've seen it in at least one Madrid bar. Not the norm though.

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Yes I have come across that in Corte Ingles but now just leave the tip on the table as I walk out.

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I was always told that leaving a small amount like 5c / 5p was to insult staff who had given poor service. This of course is dependent on the cost of the service, i.e. not for a cup of coffee

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Well I was referring to those who had only had 1 (or at most 2) drinks. I never saw a tip of 5 or 10C left for a coffee or glass of wine as being seen as an insult - I can see it being the case if the customer had ordered a meal though.