Confused about tipping in Swiss restaurants
 

Last year my husband and I were in Switzerland for a couple days on the way to Italy. I had not looked up tipping practices for Swiss restaurants. We went to 2 restaurants for dinner in Zurich and 1 in Chur. None of the menus we saw said whether service was included or not, only that tax was. I asked at each restaurant if service was included and they all said no. So we tipped as if nothing was included in the menu prices.

We are now going to Switzerland for a longer trip. Rick Steves says service is included and you only need to round up the bill, no more than 5 to 10%. Lonely Planet says by law, 15% service is included in the prices. So why did all three of these restaurants say no service was included? They did not seem like "tourist trap" types.

I want to tip a fair amount but not be doubling up if a basic service charge is included. So what is a fair amount for good service?

elizacat:

The information in the guides is correct: 15% are included by law. The persons claiming that there was no service charge included are wrong, and they know exactly that they are lying. Unfortunately a number of places in Switzerland are profit-oriented rather than customer-oriented. They should be identified to the local tourist office.

As to my personal practice: If satisfied with the service, I do round up to the next franc or two for fairly low bills (up to around 20 francs), up to the next 5 francs for bills over 75 francs and something in between for bills in between, generally not exceeding 5%. I do not round up, if I am not satisfied. I do however reward exceptional service with some extra money.

Examples:
CHF9.20 -> CHF10
CHF14.80 -> CHF16
CHF25.80 -> CHF28
CHF53.40 ->CHF56
CHF76.80 -> CHF80
CHF112.90 ->CHF115
CHF124.90 -> CHF130 etc.

When the server comes to get the money just say the amount he is to give change to, ex. "16"

Hope this helps.

This is generally the case in Germany too. Round up to the nearest 5 or whole number, unless exceptional service was rendered. Same when paying with credit card, or just leave a cash tip on top. As dining out is so expensive in Switzerland, you will cause no offence if you don't tip in addition to the service already included. But when paying in cash, keeping all the loose change seems a bit churlish.

In most of Europe the tip is just round up, how hard is this?

In most of the world the tip is just round up, how hard is this?

How hard is this? Pretty hard if you don't know what to round up to.

Phil's explanation above:

"As to my personal practice: If satisfied with the service, I do round up to the next franc or two for fairly low bills (up to around 20 francs), up to the next 5 francs for bills over 75 francs and something in between for bills in between, generally not exceeding 5%." Followed by seven specific examples.

This explanation is very helpful, as it is not intuitive if you are not accustomed to it.

Correction: those people in the Swiss eating establishments who said that service wasn't included were not "wrong." They were lying and I hope you understand now that this can happen even in places that don't "see like tourist" whatevers. It can happen when people know they can make some extra money.

And another thing: there is, unfortunately, a periodic "attitude" around here that "you really should already know...this or that."

No, you shouldn't necessarily and that's why smart people actually read things like the hated Rick Steves' guidebooks and find out.

Hope your next trip is delightful.

The over/under on snide replies is 10, though I usually bet on the under.

When we were in Sevilla for five days, my friend Sandra insisted on tipping in the dining room of our hotel pretty much as she tipped in the States. I told her it wasn't necessary, but she wanted to do it.

We were very popular in that dining room.

Comments taken, though it is difficult to control the frustration when people damage something and then ask "should be not have?".

You lost me.

Thanks, Phil for the guidelines. Would these same guidelines be appropriate for Italy?

<<Unfortunately a number of places in Switzerland are profit-oriented rather than customer-oriented.>>

Dunno how those orientations are mutually exclusive. The fact is that if a business isn't profit-oriented it fails and if it does not provide what customers want, it fails.

The waiters' actions stem from their own greed: we can sucker the tourist into paying us additional "service" charges. That's dishonest.

That said, waitstaff in Europe are NOT paid like waitstaff in the United States. They are paid like employees of other businesses and subject to the same minimum wages. Thus, tipping waitstaff in Europe as if you're in an American restaurant gives them a nice bonus for serving American travelers (this is why Peg's friend was so popular).

I think this is the case of terminology mismatch.

First, look at a Swiss restaurant bill. For example, https://therealpickygourmet.wordpres...tegory/dinner/ the bill fourth pictures down. You are required to pay only the Summe/brutto, etc, in this case 151.50CHF. If you look at this bill, you see Netto 140.28CHF. On top of this is added MWST of 11.22CHF to reach the final bill of 151.50 CHF. Whether you actually pay 155,160 CHF, etc., is up to you.

Americans would phrase the question "Is the tip included? Is the service included?" Literally, if the terminologies do not match exactly, the restaurant can say "No" because the terminology did not match or the restaurant wanted to take advantage of lack of understanding of the pricing structure.

I think Phil's approach avoids the war of terminologies. If the total bill says an amount, what should one pay?

They use the word service in Europe, so the terminology is perfectly correct to ask if the service is included. Americans can get wrong answers if they ask if the "tip" is included.

Once again, I'll probably be slammed because of being too "literal", but the major problem is that many tourists ask "is the tip included" and the server is 100% correct in saying "no". The tip is different from service. Tip is something extra you might give, so of course if that's what you ask, that's what they'll say.

Sure though, I'm sure some servers will say yes to "is service included", which I guess is why you were smart to ask before you go this time.

Greg explains it well, the terminology is the thing. You are having the "service charge" added on. A tip in Europe is something given on top for good service.

Duh, I got sidetracked while doing my response. Now I see I'm not alone in my response.

Thanks for all the responses. Special thanks to Phil. The examples are really helpful. For the record, I asked the servers if service was included, not tip. So it is disappointing they all answered no. It was my own fault, of course, for not checking it out before the trip. We were only in Switzerland briefly. I was focused on Italy where I did know the customs. I do sometimes tip up to 20 per cent in the U.S. So it's nice to know exactly the amount that's already included and I can go from there. For the brief time we were there last year, it was no big deal but for a long trip, it adds up.