Others may, but having worked in restaurants I don’t.
I also lived and worked in Germany, Austria and Sweden for eight years. I’m of German and Swedish descent, married to a Swede (Skåning), and speak both languages with a slug of relatives and in laws.
In Germany and Austria I generally pay cash and settle with the waiter directly, as noted above. I love that system.
In Sweden and Denmark I tend to use a card (betalkort), which is their preferred method of payment for everything, but will then hand the server a small amount in cash when paying the bill.
I actually look for my server personally and place this in their hand. And they are always grateful, I’ve never ever had a server anywhere react adversely.
In Mediterranean countries I would be even more careful.
Tips get rustled everywhere on the planet.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
22
I’d suggest that you definitely don’t.
In many Mediterranean countries (in fact, many European countries generally), service will have been delivered by various team members, rather than the single server approach beloved by American restaurants. Handing cash to a single server may well suggest this is for them personally and not for the other team members. No wonder that, as you say, they look grateful. Leave it on the table so that the cultural norms are observed.
Que? Seriamente? Con el debido respeto, estás lleno de mierda del toro, Senor Harters !
The following reflects my experience in Spain, and is written by Sandra Vallaure who has 20+ years of experience in Spain and who writes an on line travel guide. Bold emphasis is mine.
"Tipping in Spain is completely different than in other countries such as the US where tipping usually comes mandatory and probably in somewhat significant amount. In Spain, tipping is entirely optional and it’s not very common. You may see people leaving small change at cafés and bars and, eventually, someone tipping at a nice expensive restaurant. But most of the time, you won’t see anyone other than tourists leaving a tip.
If tipping is a regular custom for you and you feel that the situation deserves it, your tip will be kindly appreciated. However, don’t feel that you must do so. This is particularly true if the service was bad or not even particularly good.
As a rule of thumb, whether you tip or not will depend if you intend to return or not, if the waiter was nice, if you feel you’ve already been overcharged or if you feel generous on that particular day. The best advice is to follow your intuition, and remember the service charge is never given to the staff.
Never add tip to a credit card slip because the money will go straight to the owner again). Instead, always use cash.
Restaurants
Spaniards generally never tip at restaurants with table service, and if they do it’s next to nothing because a service charge is usually included in the bill (look for the servicio incluido mention). If service is not included (servicio no incluido), you should tip up to 10%.
Additionally, you may be charged an extra fee for sitting outside. To avoid any confusion, ask the waiter if there is a terraza fee. If you leave a tip, make sure you don’t leave your table unattended until the waiter takes it.
Example: You had a €27.10 lunch, you can then leave €1-2. Should you go to a more luxurious place and have a €90 dinner, leave €5.
Cafés and bars
Spaniards do not feel compelled to leave a tip for drinks or light food (e.g. tapas, bocadillo, sandwich). Therefore, if you order a meal at a counter, as you often will in a tapas bar, there’s no need to tip. Nevertheless, if you’d like to leave a tip you can round up the bill a few coins.
Example: If you have a coffee, don’t leave a tip. For a €2.80 bill that you pay with €3, you can leave the spare change.
With all due respect, I never leave tips on the table, and especially in Greece, Italy, Southern France, Spain and Portugal. This comports entirely with local custom, which is to leave no tip (especially where service is included), or a small one (a Euro or Two) directly with the server for good service.
The “pool” you refer to gets paid out of the mandatory service charges and is called wages. The extra tip is for the server personally because they did a good job.
Here is an article from Conde Nast that provides relevant advice for many countries:
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
25
I usually visit Spain twice a year, and have done for over 30 years, going back to when my sister in law started to live there. Never once seen anything that matches your experience in terms of handing a few coins to the server. However each to their own. I have no issue with you expressing your largesse in such a way - I’m sure that the servers appreciate such. as it will be so unusual.
By the by, the Guide to Tipping was a laugh. Not least the concept that Americans visiting Europe might want to tip in dollars rather than whatever the local currency might be. Only an ignorant arsewipe would even consider doing such an insulting thing. And, contrary to certain stereotypical images of the American tourist, I find few are actually arsewipes.
Entonces, ¿cómo está tu español? Parece que te perdiste algo.
As the article states, it’s not typical to tip in Southern Europe if service is included. You’d only do this if you got especially good service and if it were a nicer establishment. I would never tip in a Tapas bar, for example.
And I would generally round up when paying directly to the server, and never, ever, ever, leave it on the table.
As to arsewipes that is often a matter of personal perception. There is a lot of that going around.
Since you have traveled everywhere, and seem to know everything about the topic, and are uninterested in what others actually do or what authorities say, I’m kind of wondering why you started this thread.
In my experience waiters tend to do this in “no tipping” countries because they have you marked down as a tourist from a tipping country and they hope you will add the usual 20% as you would do at home.
I often wonder if tourists who tip against local customs by sticking to their home norms are responsible for the spread of tipping to countries where it was once alien. I know in the main tourist hotspots in cities like Paris, Rome, London etc their is an expectation that tourists won’t follow local customs and will be over generous.
Is it an issue. I think it is, the tourist comes over for a few days but their actions can shift a service culture to the detriment of the locals. Certainly no waiter will complain but expectations do rise.
1 Like
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
30
I’m sure you’re right, Phil.
London could be an interesting case. As you’ll know, unlike most of the UK, an added 12.5% service charge is almost universal. I wonder how many tourists from tipping countries (like America) are caught out by this - not understanding what a service charge is and, in consequence tipping (effectively twice). Particularly in those places which, although having a service charge, also have their credit machines set up to ask the question “do you want to add a tip”. Yes, I know it’s disgraceful practice, but it happens much more often than it should. I always ask why they do is and have never received a satisfactory explanation (which leaves me with the view that it is being done as a rip-off).
By the by, we were recently in Nashville, TN, and were having lunch at a place that clearly advertised they added an 18% service charge. We had no problem with that - but it was causing some conversation with the four Americans on the adjacent table, who were discussing whether this was the tip. One was, correctly, adamant that it was but the other three were not certain.
We all have our personal preferences both domestic or abroad, doesn’t make one right or another wrong. We can agree to disagree and the conversation can continue in a civil manner.
Locking thread. Civilized discourse is what we want at Hungry Onion. This is not a debate contest. If you don’t agree, state so and move on- Point-by-point rebuttal, name calling creates an unfriendly environment and discourage participation and a diverse view points.
