Tipping in Venice, Florence, Rome
 

What percent for breakfast and lunch? Drinks? Dinners? Cabs? Gondola? Hotel maids and porters? Tour guides? I usually tip 15% to 20%in the US. I'll be using Euros for the first time. My last trip to Italy was 20 years ago.

My Italian friends either do not tip at all or they round up to the nearest full Euro. But it seems that in the heavily touristed areas, service personnel are expecting something more these days.

Hi N,

See http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35021898

((I))

Most people do not tip in Italy but I do (small tips) not as much as one would tip here but if the service is good its only polite to acknowledge it.
Tipping is a touchy subject for Italians, most do not tip or if they do 10 cents or so or whatever small change due.Which is pretty much what I do. If its something super I give 2e-5e.
These days some of the waiters etc are pretty pushy and from me they get zippo.......Use your judgement

Just a note -- if you pay by credit card there is no place on the receipt to leave a tip as there is in the US.

So if you want to leave a tip when you pay by CC it will need to be in cash.

Please, don't tip more than rounding up to the next euro. Italians do not tip, but for a reason. Waiters are paid a real wage in Italy.

In the U.S., tipping is standard, and indeed necessary, because waiters and bartenders are paid minimum wage or less, plus tips. Tips form the bulk of their wages. This is not the case in Italy, or in most other European countries.

If waiters are becoming pushy in Italy, it is because an expectation is being developed that Americans will foolishly leave a big tip.

>In the U.S., tipping is standard, and indeed necessary, because waiters and bartenders are paid minimum wage or less, plus tips. ....<

Restaurant service workers are exempt from the minimum wage laws, ie, they aren't covered.

((I))

Wow, Ira, I simply can't win with you, can I?

Thank you for correcting me on that.

I think a source of confusion is the terminology "tipping." In the US, tip is an integral part of the pay package. For example, US restaurants typically do not provide any benefits to waiters: the waiters are expected to provide their own benefit, such as health care, out of base pay + tip if any money is left for this purpose.

Isn't it the case in Europe that the waiters are provided with benefits by charge+service that the customers are required to pay? So "tips" are something in addition to the pay package. So when you get a reply to a question "is the tip included?" No, simply says "tip" is not part of the charge+service.

To be technical about it, waiters (and other tipped personnel) are NOT exempt from the minimum wage laws; the base pay is simply lower ($2.13/hour), and the base pay plus the tips must be at least the standard minimum wage. In other words, tips can make up part of the minimum wage, but if there aren't enough tips, the employer has to up the base pay to provide at least the minimum wage for hours actually worked.

Definitely a different system in the US than in Italy!!

Anne

Hi faredolce,

>Wow, Ira, I simply can't win with you, can I?

Thank you for correcting me on that.<

Sorry, I didn't intend to imply that you were not correct.

I was only extending your remarks.

((I))

Thank you for the correction, Ann.

((I))

On the other current thread about this I mentioned that each year waiters in italy seem to be more aggressive about seeking tips over the included service charge. Some say the service isn't included, others say service is included but not the tip -- and one even went so far as to tell us although the service charge was clearly spelled out -- that doesn't include the tip which is "normally 10 to 15%". Outrageous. Ignore them -- in fact I regard such statements as a good reason to leave nothing -- rather than the small tip I'd be likely to leave otherwise.

Meanwhile here's another correction to a statement above that the charge slip doesn't include a place for tip, so you need to do it in cash. This summer, we encountered several restaurants who bring a charge slip with a clear extra line for a tip and for a total -- just like in the US. I noticed already on my credid card statment that it comes through as two charges. Apparently they have already run through the amount when they bring the slip for you to sign, then if you add at tip, they run it through again for that amount. It took me a few minutes to realize why I had two charges at three different restaurants, the second for each being 3 to 5 euro. Things are changing, and as I said they are getting aggressive about tips.