Tipping in Paris
 

Most threads on this are 1+ years old, so I thought I'd surface the subject for the benefit of newbies (and me!). I'm particularly interested as it relates to restaurants, bistros, and cafes. Anything new you vets have to say on the subject?

Tipping is not required, none of my French friends do it.

Thank you Michael for one sentence that speaks volumes! Service is included, and other than rounding up to the nearest Euro, unless I were planning to dine there everyday, absolutely ditto Michael!

Except in very rare cases I have read about where the 15% service is not included on the bill as it should be, tipping is not necessary.

I know that tipping is not required. And maybe I'll get slammed for this, but here's my thought.
While a waiter in Paris doesn't have to provide full counsel to his Parisian locals, when he comes to my table he's going to have to go to work. He's going to have to translate certain things, or at least suffer through my slow and poor attempts at their language. He's probably going to have to spend some time explaining some of the items, and also help me choose a wine (we're not talking about grand restaurants here with a sommelier). If he does all this and keeps a smile and treats us nicely -- he's getting a tip (probably 10%) I don't care what the locals do. They're not as high maintenance a customer as I am!!

I go with Patrick. Extra work deserves some recognition.

The French customer may also be a high maintenance person, fussy about wine or preparation, leaving the waiter just as frustrated and impatient even if not for linguistic reasons. But I would be the last one to tell you not to leave a tip.

I'm with Patrick and Ira. Just recently we had lunch in Paris and our French companions were annoyed because we left a tip (less than 10%). My French acquaintance said: "Don't do it, you're spoiling it for us." I guess my daughter brainwashed me for life. She did a lot of waitressing while putting herself through college.

I've lived in Paris for the last 10 years and my friends and French familly usually tip 10% in a restaurant (the waiters are often apprentices which = slaves) and hair stylists; spare change for drinks and always for nice taxi drivers.

I usually tip 10%. Whether it bothers the natives or not is not my concern--the waiters are locals too and THEY sure aren't bothered! I spent some time waiting tables in my salad days, so I guess I have sympathy for servers. I tip chambermaids in hotels too.
Interestingly, there was an article in a British publication not too long ago about how the American habit of "overtipping", i.e, tipping more than a mere token, is spreading in fancy hotels and restaurants in Europe because top tippers are getting better service (duh). One guy related that upon being shown to his room at a London hotel, all he found in his wallet was a 50 pound bill. He shrugged and handed it over. After that, every time he stayed in the hotel he was upgraded to a suite at no extra charge. He happened to see his file at the front desk and it was noted BIG TIPPER.
All I can is that from personal experience, it does pay off in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. At one restaurant we went to frequently, we tipped well, we liked the service and atmosphere as well as the food. On a impromptu visit, we stopped by the place one warm summer night. It was packed. We didn't have a reservation. The restaurant was turning away people right and left, but one of our regular waiters saw us and promptly found us a table.

I'm surpised that I can't find references to tipping on Fodor's website but you can on Frommer's:

"Tipping-- The law requires all bills to say service compris, which means the tip has been included. But French diners often leave some small change as an additional tip, especially if service has been exceptional.

Some general guidelines: For hotel staff, tip 1.05€ to 1.50€ for every item of baggage the porter carries on arrival and departure, and 1.50€ per day for the maid. In cafes, service is usually included. Tip taxi drivers 10% to 15% of the amount on the meter. In theaters and restaurants, give cloakroom attendants at least .75€ to 1.20€ per item. Give restroom attendants about .30€ in nightclubs and such places. Give cinema and theater ushers about .30€. For guides for group visits to museums and monuments, .75€ to 1.50€ is a reasonable tip."

We have exported McDonald's, Disney, Pizza Hut and, the ultimate ignominy, Starbucks; it follows we should export our tipping culture.

I wrote that several times, but once again :

1)The 15% service fee included in the bill isn't a tip. Depending on the cafe/restaurant/etc...It will be kept by the owner or 15% of the sales will be added to the waiter's paycheck (most french people, by the way, are unaware of it and believe that service fee goes to the waiter). You've no way to know (I understand there are some tax incentives to give it back to the staff, but AFAIK, most little cafes/restaurants won't. Larger ones are aparently more likely to do so for reasons I don't know. Though I won't try to explain how this 15% service came to be added to bils, once again : this isn't really a tip.


2)Usually, the waiters receive an acceptable salary. They're never paid below minimum wages, nor taxed on tips they're assumed to get, contrarily to their counterparts in the US. Though, especialy during the high season in resorts, the waiter might be a low paid student, usually, it's a regular job (and in upscale restaurants, a well paid job). IOW, the waiter won't starve if you don't tip him.


3) Tiping isn't required, even by custom. Feel free not to tip if you didn't like the service, without remorse.


4) More important : there's NO generaly accepted rules about tiping in cafes/restaurants in France. It's really done on an individual basis. Most people will tend to tip like they saw their parents, friends, etc, tiping. This will result in some people never tiping, others always tipping except when the service is absolutely awful, some leaving only small change, some leaving always the same amount for a meal regardless of the dinner's cost, some tipping a rough percentage of the meal's cost, etc... IOW, there's no way to tell how one *should* tip in France.


Personnally, I tend to quite always tip, usualy roughly 10%, except when I'm not satisfied by the service, in which case I do not tip at all.


I'm going to add that tipping taxi drivers is much more customary (though still, some people don't)

clairobscur reminds me of a worthwhile point. Ask in a Paris restaurant "Is service included?" and you will almost always get the answer "yes". Ask in a Paris restaurant "Is the tip included?" and you will almost always get the answer "no". Service and tip are not at all the same thing!!