tipping in France
May 9th, 2011, 04:17 PM
#21
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In countries where tipping is not uncommon, like in France, generous people tip when satisfied, ungenerous people don't.
There are generous locals and tourists as well as ungenerous locals and tourists.
If you are satisfied with the service and the food and feel happy to leave a tip, do so. The receiver will neither feel ofended, nor think that you are a stupid tourist. However, tips in Europe are not expected to be as high as in the US. Far from. We don't do the 'x % on the total amount calculation'.
And in my opinion, a service charge and a tip are two different things.
There are generous locals and tourists as well as ungenerous locals and tourists.
If you are satisfied with the service and the food and feel happy to leave a tip, do so. The receiver will neither feel ofended, nor think that you are a stupid tourist. However, tips in Europe are not expected to be as high as in the US. Far from. We don't do the 'x % on the total amount calculation'.
And in my opinion, a service charge and a tip are two different things.
May 9th, 2011, 05:17 PM
#22
I treated my French friend to dinner in Paris two weeks ago. I asked her what to tip. She emphatically encouraged me not to tip more than rounding up to the next Euro, resulting in a few Euro cents. To we Americans it seems cheap, but it's perfectly normal in France.
May 9th, 2011, 09:08 PM
#23
Luckily, Americans only represent 6% of the visitors, so their weird customs remain in the minority. Thank goodness most of the tourists are French, German, Belgian, British, Spanish, Swiss and Italian with bit more <i>savoir vivre</i> and a proper respect for salaried workers who do not need to grovel for tips.
May 9th, 2011, 10:18 PM
#25
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Well, as someone who has lived here for 17 years, and goes out with lots of French friends (even though not a 'French person')I'm with Kerouac.
I would also be surprised, despite what the French Embassy in Washington says, if you ever find a restaurant where the service is NOT included. My understanding is that it must be included so that the French tax department knows how much the restaurant is taking in.
I would also be surprised, despite what the French Embassy in Washington says, if you ever find a restaurant where the service is NOT included. My understanding is that it must be included so that the French tax department knows how much the restaurant is taking in.
May 9th, 2011, 11:57 PM
#26
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Stu, if you want to tip 20%, go ahead. But it's ridiculous indeed. Waiters don't have to live from tips. If they work in a restaurant/bar that follows the laws, they get a decent salary.
If you tip so much, you ruin it for your co-travellers who know better, and don't tip at all. In Brussels it is nowadays almost expected that foreigners leave a tip. Waiters see/hear it from far away that they have US guests. And I see the $ signs in their eyes!
If you tip so much, you ruin it for your co-travellers who know better, and don't tip at all. In Brussels it is nowadays almost expected that foreigners leave a tip. Waiters see/hear it from far away that they have US guests. And I see the $ signs in their eyes!
May 10th, 2011, 12:52 AM
#27
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I had to laugh at Kerouac's proposal to "impose" European tipping customs in America!
An English friend joined us for a couple of days on our recent Paris trip.
The British have a horrendous reputation for being bad tippers in the US, so bad that waitstaff try to foist them off on each other or the newest employees as soon as they hear their accents.
Our friend, on the other hand, tipped like an English milord of the Edwardian era, showering large tips on everyone in sight. It made it hard for us to go back to the same places!
Waitstaff in the US are often young people filling out the years before they start their "real" jobs or waiting for their break as actors or whatever. They get paid crap and make it up on tips. When waiters are professionals and adequately paid, a tip really is a tip. Your guilt or what you do at home does not enter into it.
An English friend joined us for a couple of days on our recent Paris trip.
The British have a horrendous reputation for being bad tippers in the US, so bad that waitstaff try to foist them off on each other or the newest employees as soon as they hear their accents.
Our friend, on the other hand, tipped like an English milord of the Edwardian era, showering large tips on everyone in sight. It made it hard for us to go back to the same places!
Waitstaff in the US are often young people filling out the years before they start their "real" jobs or waiting for their break as actors or whatever. They get paid crap and make it up on tips. When waiters are professionals and adequately paid, a tip really is a tip. Your guilt or what you do at home does not enter into it.
May 10th, 2011, 02:02 AM
#28
"I always tip my lawyer and find 15% goes down well. What is your cultural norm? I work in the law business and I understand that lawyers like money."
Oh my gosh listen to yourselves.
Also see this same thread every year in the spring at Fodors.
Europeans are paid to carry out service. Tips are just "pour boire" not payment to make up for poor local management.
Rant over, have a great holiday.
Oh my gosh listen to yourselves.
Also see this same thread every year in the spring at Fodors.
Europeans are paid to carry out service. Tips are just "pour boire" not payment to make up for poor local management.
Rant over, have a great holiday.
May 10th, 2011, 02:06 AM
#29
Unfortunately, I have only lived in Paris for 38 years and I still tip more than my French friends -- meaning that I often leave a tip when they don't tip at all. They just look at me as though I am incurable.
May 10th, 2011, 02:21 AM
#30
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hoxa61 wrote: "In countries where tipping is not uncommon, like in France, generous people tip when satisfied, ungenerous people don't."
That sort of judgmental post gets right up my nose.
Herself and I are just back from a few days in France and, as we had hoped, we had some very enjoyable meals. Apart from one special circumstance, we did not tip. I do not feel guilty, and I dislike the implication that I am ungenerous.
We got some much-appreciated help from other people, including shop staff and tourist office employees, and didn't tip them either.
That sort of judgmental post gets right up my nose.
Herself and I are just back from a few days in France and, as we had hoped, we had some very enjoyable meals. Apart from one special circumstance, we did not tip. I do not feel guilty, and I dislike the implication that I am ungenerous.
We got some much-appreciated help from other people, including shop staff and tourist office employees, and didn't tip them either.
May 10th, 2011, 03:23 AM
#32
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kerouac on May 10, 11 at 3:08pm
Luckily, Americans only represent 6% of the visitors, so their weird customs remain in the minority. Thank goodness most of the tourists are French, German, Belgian, British, Spanish, Swiss and Italian with bit more savoir vivre and a proper respect for salaried workers who do not need to grovel for tips.
Kerouac, you forgot us Australians. We get the no tipping thing. Here in Australia I don't tip for poor service and don't feel bad about it at all. Really good service will get a small tip which is customary.
I read the 'tipping guide' from the French Embassy in Washington Dc and honestly I think they are messing with your heads.
I get the tipping thing in the US and I'll be there in a few weeks and will follow the tipping guidelines, but please tell me I'm not expected to tip the person who shows me to my seat in when we go to the theatre?
Luckily, Americans only represent 6% of the visitors, so their weird customs remain in the minority. Thank goodness most of the tourists are French, German, Belgian, British, Spanish, Swiss and Italian with bit more savoir vivre and a proper respect for salaried workers who do not need to grovel for tips.
Kerouac, you forgot us Australians. We get the no tipping thing. Here in Australia I don't tip for poor service and don't feel bad about it at all. Really good service will get a small tip which is customary.
I read the 'tipping guide' from the French Embassy in Washington Dc and honestly I think they are messing with your heads.
I get the tipping thing in the US and I'll be there in a few weeks and will follow the tipping guidelines, but please tell me I'm not expected to tip the person who shows me to my seat in when we go to the theatre?
May 10th, 2011, 06:12 AM
#33
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>>Stu, if you want to tip 20%, go ahead<<
Where did I say I tip 20% in France??? I sometimes tip 20% in San Francisco. Here is wHat I said about tipping in France:
"I always leave about a 5% tip in nice restaurants if I receive good service. Never more than 10E, however."
And then I further explained what a "nice" restaurant is:
"if my wife & I have a very enjoyable 180E birthday/anniversary dinner with kirs & 5 courses at a nice restaurant (Michelin 1 star) and take 3 hrs for the dinner, a 2E tip would be too much???? or is that 4E for two????
I would probably tip about 8-10E."
The US Government's guidlines ae consistent with what is written in the .09 Fodors guide to France.
Stu Dudley
Where did I say I tip 20% in France??? I sometimes tip 20% in San Francisco. Here is wHat I said about tipping in France:
"I always leave about a 5% tip in nice restaurants if I receive good service. Never more than 10E, however."
And then I further explained what a "nice" restaurant is:
"if my wife & I have a very enjoyable 180E birthday/anniversary dinner with kirs & 5 courses at a nice restaurant (Michelin 1 star) and take 3 hrs for the dinner, a 2E tip would be too much???? or is that 4E for two????
I would probably tip about 8-10E."
The US Government's guidlines ae consistent with what is written in the .09 Fodors guide to France.
Stu Dudley
May 10th, 2011, 06:44 AM
#34
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I know this is pissing in the proverbial wind but here are a couple of my experiences with tipping in France vs. the U.S.
A couple of years ago in Lyon I was catching up with friends at a small bouchon. Time got the better of us (along with far too many carafes of wine) and we ended up being the last people in the restaurant by some margin. We'd also run out of cigarettes. All the tabacs were closed and with no way of getting any more, the waitress gave each one of us a cigarette and when we offered to pay for them she refused. When we came to settle the bill, she even refused the five euro tip as she said "it wasn't necessary". Even for service 'above and beyond' some people don't expect a tip. (I did drop off a packet of Lucky Strike at the restaurant for her the following day though).
In a busy bar just outside San Francisco a couple of weeks ago I bought two drinks with a $50 bill. Knowing how much the drinks should cost I was surprised when the barman gave me $8 change. After I managed to catch his attention again, he immediately (without exchanging any words) went to the till and got out the missing $30 from my change. Not wanting to look like a 'miserly Brit' I gave him a dollar tip (when in Rome etc.) and my companion immediately added another $2 to it as she "wanted to be able to show her face in here again".
Tipping customs are different in every country and whether you agree with them or not, you can't really tell other people how they should be spending their money just because it's not what you'd do.
A couple of years ago in Lyon I was catching up with friends at a small bouchon. Time got the better of us (along with far too many carafes of wine) and we ended up being the last people in the restaurant by some margin. We'd also run out of cigarettes. All the tabacs were closed and with no way of getting any more, the waitress gave each one of us a cigarette and when we offered to pay for them she refused. When we came to settle the bill, she even refused the five euro tip as she said "it wasn't necessary". Even for service 'above and beyond' some people don't expect a tip. (I did drop off a packet of Lucky Strike at the restaurant for her the following day though).
In a busy bar just outside San Francisco a couple of weeks ago I bought two drinks with a $50 bill. Knowing how much the drinks should cost I was surprised when the barman gave me $8 change. After I managed to catch his attention again, he immediately (without exchanging any words) went to the till and got out the missing $30 from my change. Not wanting to look like a 'miserly Brit' I gave him a dollar tip (when in Rome etc.) and my companion immediately added another $2 to it as she "wanted to be able to show her face in here again".
Tipping customs are different in every country and whether you agree with them or not, you can't really tell other people how they should be spending their money just because it's not what you'd do.
May 10th, 2011, 07:50 AM
#37
"I get the tipping thing in the US and I'll be there in a few weeks and will follow the tipping guidelines, but please tell me I'm not expected to tip the person who shows me to my seat in when we go to the theatre?"
No tipping of the usher at the theater in the US. This is different from my experience in Paris, where tips are required in some theaters but not others, depending on whether they are private or state-run.
No tipping of the usher at the theater in the US. This is different from my experience in Paris, where tips are required in some theaters but not others, depending on whether they are private or state-run.
May 10th, 2011, 08:42 AM
#38
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My only bad experience with tipping happened in Amsterdam many years ago. I took a Dutch lady friend to lunch at nice restaurant near Dam Square. We had a lovely meal and good service, as we chatted in English. When it came time to pay, my companion told me to only round up the amount on the check. I did so, leaving the change on the table. As we left the restaurant our waiter chased after us, catching us at the door, and huffily tried to give me back the tip, saying he was insulted at the amount.
I was stunned, and embarrassed into reaching for my wallet, but my friend lit into that waiter, in Dutch, like an enraged Valkyrie; steam coming from her ears. The waiter slunk away to the applause of the Dutch patrons.
I must admit I do tend to do a bit more than rounding up in touristic European restaurants, after that.
I was stunned, and embarrassed into reaching for my wallet, but my friend lit into that waiter, in Dutch, like an enraged Valkyrie; steam coming from her ears. The waiter slunk away to the applause of the Dutch patrons.
I must admit I do tend to do a bit more than rounding up in touristic European restaurants, after that.
May 10th, 2011, 12:41 PM
#39
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Kerouac, you ARE "incurable" (-;
As for French tipping, and how waiting on Americans in tourist areas affects expectations:
We ate at Angelina in Paris. THe bill was about 16 euros. I gave the server a note to settle the bill. She never returned with change. Her pouting expression when i found her and asked for "la monnaie" conveyed surprise that i would not have rounded up beaucoup d'euros!!
As for French tipping, and how waiting on Americans in tourist areas affects expectations:
We ate at Angelina in Paris. THe bill was about 16 euros. I gave the server a note to settle the bill. She never returned with change. Her pouting expression when i found her and asked for "la monnaie" conveyed surprise that i would not have rounded up beaucoup d'euros!!
