News Forum - Travel Guide: To tip or not to tip when travelling in Thailand?

[Thaiger]

Tipping can be expressed in a variety of ways depending on where you are. While it’s not considered standard in Thailand, it is happily accepted. But it’s not as simple as tipping a portion of your check. There are some scenarios where tipping is appropriate and others where it’s not. The tipping culture varies heavily depending on where you eat. The higher up the chain you go, the more common tipping becomes. This makes sense because those who dine at more pricey restaurants are much more likely to be able to pay a tip. So to tip or not to […]

The story Travel Guide: To tip or not to tip when travelling in Thailand? as seen on Thaiger News.

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[LoongFred]

29 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

Tipping can be expressed in a variety of ways depending on where you are. While it’s not considered standard in Thailand, it is happily accepted. But it’s not as simple as tipping a portion of your check. There are some scenarios where tipping is appropriate and others where it’s not. The tipping culture varies heavily depending on where you eat. The higher up the chain you go, the more common tipping becomes. This makes sense because those who dine at more pricey restaurants are much more likely to be able to pay a tip. So to tip or not to […]

The story Travel Guide: To tip or not to tip when travelling in Thailand? as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

Make sense.  You don't need to tip at a street food or noodle shop. However, in nice places where many foreigners eat it pretty standard. Failure to tip separates foreigners and Thais that appreciate good food and service. Although Thais are very polite, some complain at how cheap some foreigners appear. My advice is to relax,appreciate good service and open your wallet.  What is small to you might be big to them.

This isn't an anti American thing. My Thai friends leave generous tips but try to keep it hidden.

[Shade_Wilder]

37 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

Make sense.  You don't need to tip at a street food or noodle shop. However, in nice places where many foreigners eat it pretty standard. Failure to tip separates foreigners and Thais that appreciate good food and service. Although Thais are very polite, some complain at how cheap some foreigners appear. My advice is to relax,appreciate good service and open your wallet.  What is small to you might be big to them.

This isn't an anti American thing. My Thai friends leave generous tips but try to keep it hidden.

God save us from the self-hating expat trying to 'fit in'.

I tip at the "lower-class" places as the people are nicer, and stiff the high-class places as I don't like the company.

 

[Marble-eye]

1 hour ago, LoongFred said:

What is small to you might be big to them.

I agree with you Fred for once, 25 satang is nothing to me but it might be a life changer for someone else.

[riclag]

26 minutes ago, Marble-eye said:

I agree with you Fred for once, 25 satang is nothing to me but it might be a life changer for someone else.

A while back The young lady of the house tipped the Pizza Company dlry driver 50 bht ! Should of seen the look on the young lads face . Priceless!

[Fluke]

1 hour ago, LoongFred said:

 

This isn't an anti American thing. My Thai friends leave generous tips but try to keep it hidden.

I do that as well, keep the tip hidden .

My accomplice will stick it in her handbag if she sees it first 

[Soidog]

17 minutes ago, Fluke said:

I do that as well, keep the tip hidden .

My accomplice will stick it in her handbag if she sees it first 

My Thai friends tend not to leave tips and instead buy the waitress a new house or car. They are so so rich and so so well educated and so so hi-so.

[Guest1]

25 minutes ago, Fluke said:

I do that as well, keep the tip hidden .

My accomplice will stick it in her handbag if she sees it first 

Might be because if she does not get tip, for her service and trouble, why should someone else who just served a meal? 

Back to topic:

20, 40, ..., keep the change it mostly is it in Restaurants. But: I IGNORE the tip boxes in 7/11 and such, as well as I do not tip in self service locations.

 

[LoongFred]

1 hour ago, Marble-eye said:

I agree with you Fred for once, 25 satang is nothing to me but it might be a life changer for someone else.

Very generous of you. Are you sure it won’t break your bank. Do you also count the change?

[LoongFred]

I can’t believe how cheap some people are. They talk about being caring but not about others. 

 

[Marble-eye]

11 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

Very generous of you. Are you sure it won’t break your bank. Do you also count the change?

That's the kind of guy I am Fred, easy come and easy go, but I live my life by the saying 'a penny saved is a penny earned'.

Of course I don't count my change, I have a machine to do that for me.

If I can remind you of the old Scottish saying "Mony a muckle maks a mickle,' remember that Fred and you won't go far wrong.

[Dmitrii]

I give tips almost everywhere starting from Bolt taxi drivers and especially to masseurs (they are doing hard work and need to be rewarded by 100 baht at least).

It cannot seriously undermine my travel budget and I consider it as my "two weeks millionaire" social role 

Seriously guys, after we have spent THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS on tickets, accommodation and let's say  "entertainment", it is so cheap to save on tips.

I made a calculation: if I spend 500-700 baht on tips per day for 2 weeks, it means 7000-10000 baht, which is about $300.

Comparing to my total vacation budget of $4000 it is not a big deal, is it?

[Soidog]

4 minutes ago, Dmitrii said:

I give tips almost everywhere starting from Bolt taxi drivers and especially to masseurs (they are doing hard work and need to be rewarded by 100 baht at least).

It cannot seriously undermine my travel budget and I consider it as my "two weeks millionaire" social role 

Seriously guys, after we have spent THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS on tickets, accommodation and let's say  "entertainment", it is so cheap to save on tips.

I made a calculation: if I spend 500-700 baht on tips per day for 2 weeks, it means 7000-10000 baht, which is about $300.

Comparing to my total vacation budget of $4000 it is not a big deal, is it?

That’s fine, if you are in Thailand 2 weeks. What about if you live here permanently? 500 a day 182,500 baht a year! I do however take your point. If you live here you are unlikely to be eating out two or three times a day. 
 

Tipping should never be a social norm. Neither should a service charge be allowed on a bill. Tips are for good service. If I get the feeling I’ve been taken good care of, I tip. If not, I don’t. 

[Dmitrii]

1 hour ago, Soidog said:

That’s fine, if you are in Thailand 2 weeks. What about if you live here permanently? 500 a day 182,500 baht a year! I do however take your point. If you live here you are unlikely to be eating out two or three times a day. 
 

Tipping should never be a social norm. Neither should a service charge be allowed on a bill. Tips are for good service. If I get the feeling I’ve been taken good care of, I tip. If not, I don’t. 

Surely, things become different if it is not a 2 weeks vacation but a long stay.

But the majority of us here is just short time visitors, we should try to support people while we are in Thailand I suppose.

Why they would want is come otherwise?

[Grumpish]

1 hour ago, Dmitrii said:

 and especially to masseurs (they are doing hard work and need to be rewarded by 100 baht at least)

I do as well, especially if they have done a good job - and at 200-300 baht for an hours massage they can't be getting paid much.

Compared to the Americans the British are notoriously stingy tippers. However we tend to tip according to the service received, so if I have had good service from, say, one of the waiting staff in a restaurant or bar then I will give a good tip direct to them and just leave the small change as the tip that is shared between all the staff. 

 

[JMichaels]

4 hours ago, riclag said:

A while back The young lady of the house tipped the Pizza Company dlry driver 50 bht ! Should of seen the look on the young lads face . Priceless!

 

I financed my way through school delivering pies; 1/3 of my income was from tips (and always reported to the IRS )

I call 1112 several times a month and always tip the driver well. I can tell you from experience they remember your name/address if you do. Where I worked before, drivers would fight over these customers and avoid the Cheap Charlies.

I agree your tip should always reflect the level of service received, but the smiles you usually receive back in Thailand for even the smallest gesture is well worth it...

 

[Marc26]

29 minutes ago, JMichaels said:

I financed my way through school delivering pies; 1/3 of my income was from tips (and always reported to the IRS )

I call 1112 several times a month and always tip the driver well. I can tell you from experience they remember your name/address if you do. Where I worked before, drivers would fight over these customers and avoid the Cheap Charlies.

I agree your tip should always reflect the level of service received, but the smiles you usually receive back in Thailand for even the smallest gesture is well worth it...

My 1st trip to Thailand was my 1st big trip where I was making good money

And it was a lot cheaper back then

I am always a good tipper so was tipping really well that trip

The hotel had a Mercedes that would take you into town for free. I was giving those drivers 500baht every time and just tipping generally

 

I met my now wife that trip and I called to tell her I was coming back

She asked where I was staying

I said Baan Yin Dee

She said "I think people work Baan Yin Dee happy to see you again"   :)

[Marc26]

Although I am a good tipper, I have no issue not tipping if the service is bad

 

A lot of people in the US will say they tip 15% even if service is bad and more if good

 

No way with me..............I tip well, but tipping is still for good service and not automatic

[dj230]

Am I just getting billed as a foreigner? I constantly see 10% service charges added to my bill when I eat at restaurants 

[JMichaels]

2 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Although I am a good tipper, I have no issue not tipping if the service is bad

A lot of people in the US will say they tip 15% even if service is bad and more if good

No way with me..............I tip well, but tipping is still for good service and not automatic

 

Tipping is just hard-wired into the behaviors of Americans; my overseas friends are always amazed at all the folks we tip when they visit the US.

Service industry workers are generally not making huge salaries, and whether or not tips are built into their salary structure should not matter. It is part of their bottom line...

I rarely receive service in the US bad enough that I would not consider tipping what is minimally accepted as customary. Usually if you do, they are either having a bad day or there bad service is the result of how they are treated by the customer.  Goes both ways...

 

[Disenfranchised]

6 hours ago, Grumpish said:

I do as well, especially if they have done a good job - and at 200-300 baht for an hours massage they can't be getting paid much.

Compared to the Americans the British are notoriously stingy tippers. However we tend to tip according to the service received, so if I have had good service from, say, one of the waiting staff in a restaurant or bar then I will give a good tip direct to them and just leave the small change as the tip that is shared between all the staff. 

It is not that the British are stingy tippers it is that Americans are conditioned to providing 20%+ as a tip, especially at restaurants. 

It is the norm there that waitresses get 2 to 3 dollars per hour the rest being their 'tips'. The whole hospitalty industry has a gotten away with not paying a living wage for decades.

Edited March 11, 2022 by Disenfranchised

[Disenfranchised]

5 hours ago, dj230 said:

Am I just getting billed as a foreigner? I constantly see 10% service charges added to my bill when I eat at restaurants 

Depends on the type and class of restaurant. Wouldn't be suprised if they were farang owned trying to impose the American model of paying their staff where there wages subsidise the price of meals and maximise profit. After all why should should you pay the rest of the staff properly when tips garnered for service at the table can be shared amongst everyone especially the owner.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Disenfranchised

[Disenfranchised]

"JMichaels said: I rarely receive service in the US bad enough that I would not consider tipping what is minimally accepted as customary. Usually if you do, they are either having a bad day or there bad service is the result of how they are treated by the customer.  Goes both ways..."

Oh dear, you must go restaurants where a floor manager rules the wait staff with an iron hand. Frequently wait staff will:

Ignore any table not assigned to them.

Not keep an eye on those tables that are to assigned them.

This results in slow, sloppy and abysmal service compared to other countries where people are paid properly and take pride in serving their customers.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Disenfranchised

[HiuMak]

9 hours ago, Soidog said:

Tipping should never be a social norm. Neither should a service charge be allowed on a bill. Tips are for good service. If I get the feeling I’ve been taken good care of, I tip. If not, I don’t. 

Tipping is not a regular practice in Thailand. I tip only for good service like massage, hotel bell boys, etc.          I also tip depending on the good services I got and usually 50Baht, which can be a meal for someone in Thailand. If I have to tip over 50Baht will usually depends on events or occasion, for example when you are taken care well for having a family birthday celebration dinner.  Over Tipping is not a good practise as it encourages expectations for more tips. Don't spoil the market.   

[HiuMak]

29 minutes ago, Disenfranchised said:

Depends on the type and class of restaurant. Wouldn't be suprised if they were farang owned trying to impose the American model of paying their staff where there wages subsidise the price of meals and maximise profit. After all why should should you pay the rest of the staff properly when tips garnered for service at the table can be shared amongst everyone especially the owner.

don't tip when you are already billed for services.