How to tip in Italy?
 

In US, I guess the convention is that if the server brings you the bill WITHOUT a tray, you walk up to the cashier to pay and leave a tip on the table. If the bill comes in a tray, you pay the server, including a tip.<BR><BR>Is that the same practice in Italy?

The only time you are going to pay a cashier is at a cafe or gelateria before ordering your coffee or ice cream and then consuming it standing up, not at a table. If you are sitting at a table for a meal and are waited on, the server will bring you a bill, and it could be anything from a formal bill in a little folder or some quickly handwritten notes on a scratch of paper (frowned on by the Italian fiscal authorities) and you will pay the server directly. Tipping is another issue. In many places, the tip is included and will state that on the menu or the bill itself as &quot;servizio incluso&quot;. You can still leave a few small bills on the table for exceptional service. If not included, leave the usual ten to twenty percent. &quot;Coperto&quot;, which you may see on some menus and bills, is not the service charge but a cover charge, for bread, water, table linens etc. and is not optional.

If there is 'coperto' listed then you do not tip. I've never seen coperto not listed actually. Italians rarely tip, only for great service.<BR><BR>Some restaurants will have you pay at the cassa (register), as will some cafe/bars. But they aren't the norm.

I always heard that you weren't supposed to tip (because of the coperto) but that it's cheesy to pick up the small change from your bill--that you leave that as a small tip.

The coperto is not a tip! It is a cover charge, not a service charge, and you will see something like &quot;Pane e coperto&quot; on the top of the menu, at something like 2 Euro per table. There will be another entry on the menu saying &quot;servizio&quot; if service (tip) is included. If there is no entry on the menu or bill for servizio, the tip is NOT included. The Italian government recently passed a law whereby restaurants were supposed to get rid of the coperto charge because all of that should be part of the restaurant's overhead. Some have complied but others have not. In any event, coperto does not equal tip. And it is nice to leave something on the table anyway, even if servizio is incluso because many times, the management of the restaurant just keeps that and the waiters get nothing.

Unlike in the Usa in Italy waiters do not receive smaller wages because they are supposed to earn more money from tips. In Italy a waiter erans a full wage and is supposed to acta accordingly. Tipping is thought of only as a further sign of particular appreciation of a service that went far beyond what's regularly supposed to be. In this case, in case you are treated particularly well, you may want to leave a _small_ tip to the waiter, usualy this tip is the small change after you paid your bill or something of the same size. Large bills (5% or more) are not customary and may sometimes result offensive for the waiter.

I thought I had it all figured out but now I'm confused as in day 1.<BR><BR>Grinisa's comment is that if it is not servizio incluso (that is, service charge NOT included), you pay the usual 10-20%. But Alice Twain's answer implies that regardless of servizio incluso or not, you don't tip (OK may be the small change, less than 5%) because it may be inferred as insulting to the waiter.<BR><BR>Can someone clarify?? But in any case you either leave the change or tip on the table, or include the tip when you sign the credit card receipt. Am I correct on this one?

It's simple: do not tip.<BR><BR>Unless...<BR><BR>your service is very very good. Then leave a small amount.<BR><BR>Coperto vs servizio, ok I guess you are right on that one. But I rarely see servizio when I eat out, and always see coperto. Never am I expected to tip, regardless of whether servizio is listed or not. I only do tip when I do not see a coperto or servizio, which has been rare.

Although it's true that waiters are paid a decent salary in Italy, in over 30 trips, I have never come across one that was insulted by any tip that I've left. Rather, I was warmly welcomed by both waiter and management upon subsequent visits. If you have no plans to return to a particular restaurant, don't tip. But I will continue to follow the example of the many Italians that I have dined with in every region of Italy and leave 10 to 20 percent when service is not included in the bill, and leave some change on the table when it is.

Despite all the replies here:<BR><BR>1) I defer to Alice because she lives in Italy and her posts are always very detailed with sensible explanations;<BR>2) I live in France. Years ago, one would see here and there &quot;service compris&quot; or &quot;service non compris.&quot; Now, service is included everywhere. This is French labor law. 15% is automatically included in the price in a restaurant or cafe: everywhere. You never have to leave a tip.<BR><BR>Once more I'll add this system is a double-edged sword. The waiter is guaranteed his 15% so he is not dependent on the customer (the socialist government has ensured he will get paid regardless). The down side is he can give you rude service or hardly any service at all (in which case the service was not compris for you. Get it?). So it can go both ways for customer and waiter. I almost never leave any change in France anymore unless the service was so outstanding, it is way beyond the call of duty. And in the event I have a meal in an upscale establishment or even coffee -- at Deux Magots for example in Paris (a nice cafe but certainly not as nice a place for coffee as, say, Le Ritz) -- why would I leave a tip? Do you know the prices for a cup of coffee there?<BR><BR>Those who want to tip in addition to what the bill says: more power to you. In addition, when I sit at the cafe, am served and the waiter expects me to pay right away (which is becoming more and more the norm) all the while hardly acknowledging my existence, I'll keep my spare change.

20% tip? My roomates would think you're crazy =p

jc:<BR><BR>It is very simple service is not included because the service is not something that the customer pays for, the waiter's wage is fully paid by the owner as a regular restaurant cost. While you see ervice as sometihng that is offerend somewhat in addition to the dinner or lunch we just see it as part of the restarant's offer, if you see things this way you can also see why often there is no &quot;service included&quot; on the menu. The waiter is there not in order to offer you something more, his work is just part of what the restaurant does for you, it is included in the restaurant's offer! If you are in very touristy area, wiaters have seen many foreigners leaving them large tips, so they do not take offense, but if you just go somewhere that is not so touristy (and you have reasons, lots of reasons to do so, I assure you!!!) you may happen to hit a waiter that is not glad of a large tip at all.

Alice et al- How about tipping other service industry employees - bellmen, concierge, housekeeper, etc. Any advice?

I tip the bellman EU1 per bag; taxicabs in Italy: just round up to the nearest Euro. Taxicab drivers will be surprised if you tip more than that, but you can tip them for helping you with baggage (see above); otherwise, no. Hotel: I leave about EU3-5 per day and then total at the END of the stay (and only when the room service was satisfactory) and leave it behind in the room upon checkout. Concierge: tip for exceptional service; if you didn't use his services, then no need to tip. Doorman: I tip off and on but always if he gets me a cab and then it's EU 1.

I'm American and used to wait tables so I find it very difficult not to leave a generous tip. My question is why would anyone, anywhere ever find this offensive? Seriously, I don't get that.

Different countries, different cultures.<BR><BR>In Japan, you don't leave a tip anywhere. At least that's how things were when I was there 10 years ago.<BR>

Italy isn't Japan, and tipping is part of its culture. Unless service is specifically included, I always leave about 10 percent unless the service has been horrible. That has rarely happened. I even leave a few lira (now Euro) on the table when service has been included and no server had taken offense, even in the smallest of isolated, non-touristed hamlets. Are you saying if you eat in some mom and pop pizzeria in Abruzzo for 8 Euro and you leave a 1 Euro tip, or about 12 percent, that that's too much and the waiter is going to be offended? Come on.

I have ate out with many Italians, ranging from friends of mine, to my roomates. Never seen one of them leave a tip.

in80days:<BR><BR>You are right, Italy is not Japan, but tip is still not part of our culture. Corruption and bribing is. And Itlians often do not perceive much of a difference between a tip and a bribe. In good and bad. You may hit some (few) people who will withold services that are due unless you tip them generously, you might find people who will feel offended by a tip (large or small), you might find people who just do not care. In all areas. Still, to Italians a tip and a bribe are not so far apart.

One little area of grey on the tipping front. In restaurants in very touristy areas (main piazzas and the like), tips are the norm. The wait staff normally are people working &quot;under the table&quot; and many are not Italian. I remember working in a restaurant here in Siena and the pay was Lit. 50.000 (around $25) per shift but then it was because we would make around $100 tips per shift. At other restaurants, fine dining and away from the main tourist areas, staff was contract staff and they made more as well as having all of their taxes etc. <BR><BR>When with Italians we never tip but then we don't go to tourist places.

If they are working under the table, then they are breaking Italian law. Is Italian law not to be applied to them? You are supporting the black market; in fact, you might be taking a job away from an Italian who needs it but can't get one because of someone who is working illegally in that restaurant in the tourist area. Moreover, how do you know for certain those waiters are illegal? Perhaps they have been granted asylum and enjoy the right to work as any Italian even if they have heavy foreign accents. And why do those restaurants expect tourists to leave tips in the first place? Because they know the tourists will without a second thought and they might be cooking the books (no pun intended) to the disadvantage of the foreigner. Alice is correct in her postings; by tipping and taking it upon yourself to be the judge if you should tip here and not there, you are making value judgments on people without knowing the facts for certain.

dkd:<BR><BR>When you ask if the law does not apply to those who work under the table in e restaurant (and often they are Italians!) you suppose that these people are glad of working without norms and no legal control for a pay that is lower than what the regular employees receive. This are the other way round: some people just will not have a regular employee because it isn't cheap enough and because it is LEGAL. You do not support legality by not giving these people a tip (nor by not giving them any), you support legality by not eating in these places and at the same time supporting the workers who work in there.

Alice, I couldn't agree with you more. And we all know how expensive it is for any business in Western Europe to hire an employee. The business pays a lot in taxes to the government. My reaction is not to patronize such restaurants for the very reasons you brought up, and I hope you are not thinking I was arguing with you.

Actually in Italy these costs are lower than in the rest of europe and they are not basically connected to taxes that the business pais, n the other hand the business pays only social services for the employee (and luckily, unlike in many other countries, we have still some social services such as a public health system that is free for everyone who needs it and others like it), while the only mney that goes in taxes is actually money that would be otherways be paid in taxes by the employee, this means that if I get 1000 euro as a monthly wage I do not have to pay taxes on this wge because the taxes have already been paid (ritenuta alla fonte, this is called). My wage is actually about 1500 euro, only that 500 euro of taxes have already been paid in taxes, if these money had not already been paid the business would have to give these money to me, than I would have to pay the same 500 euro in taxes and social services. Inother words, the business pays ME and gives part of the money it owes me to the state in taxes and other services that otherways I would have to pay myself.

Alice, thank you for your rational explanation of why someone might be offended by a tip. I have heard that, and just couldn't see how a tip could be offensive. Your explanation makes it clear. I found it very difficult to pay without leaving a tip, as tipping is ingrained in our system in the U.S., but I managed to do it by telling myself it was the proper thing in Italy. I'm glad to see I was doing the right thing by not tipping. Now, if we could just get the restaurant industy in the US to follow suit and pay a real wage and include that in the prices, we'd have a much better system!<BR><BR>Anne

WARNING, DO NOT USE [email protected]<BR>THEY GOT THE DATE WRONG FOR MY RESERVATION AND ARE TRYING TO FORCE ME TO PAY.

When I'm not sure if I should leave a tip or not, I'll try to see if people from the other tables leave a tip. I look at people who looks like they are locals.

Annie:<BR><BR>Obviously not every Italian worker in Italy feels offended by a tip, but it can happen. As a general rule, if the service is nice and efficient, I leave some change. That's all. This kind of tiny tip means &quot;I am very satisfied, thank you&quot; and is perceived thus by the waiters. In some bars there is a cup (often filled with water) on the counter where you can leave one coin (20 cents or so).

Hey PROBLEM - is that your idea of an Italian tip?

Just back from Italy, and found the tipping extremely perplexing... especially in Venice. After reading here, we realized a tip was not necessary, but as our county's tipping custom is so ingrained, felt odd not leaving something. So we usually left something. But in a touristy restaurant in Venice, we were presented the bill and told &quot;Service is not included.&quot; Also, the &quot;coperto&quot; was generally not enforced, but was so at an outdoor cafe (also in Venice). It was listed on the menu as a &quot;music coperto.&quot; But there was no music. Just a 4.50 charge on top of the 4.50 cup of coffee. <BR>Although we rarely used taxis, we found them quite expensive, and were not sure of the tipping policy there either. We decided to err on the side of generosity.<BR>I would love to hear some further clarification, and hopefully not further debate.<BR>

<BR>I recall music charges at the outdoor tables at Florian's on the Piazza while music was playing.<BR>It generally discourages people from just sitting on the Piazza all day with just one beverage.<BR>However, I would have protested about paying it if the band was not playing.<BR>I hope you liked Venice anyway.

Alice Twain wrote<BR>&gt;...if I get 1000 euro as a monthly wage I do not have to pay taxes on this wge because the taxes have already been paid ...My wage is actually about 1500 euro, only that 500 euro of taxes have already been paid in taxes, ...&lt;<BR><BR> In the US we do the same thing for all employees. It is called &quot;withholding&quot;.<BR><BR> Self-employed people have to pay &quot;estimated taxes&quot; four times a year.<BR>

Hi all,<BR> We once had a waiter who, for some reason, was miffed that we had been assigned to him. The service was awful. Since the service charge had been added to the bill, there was little I could do except complain to the manager, who was not available at the time.<BR> I left a penny for a tip.<BR> The waiter was very peeved.