hopscotch

I think you have it about right virgi. I would never tip over 5% in Europe. Remember that the server gets 15% automatically already. Your bill includes the service fee plus the tax, often 20% or so. The arithmetic says that a bill of €100 actually has about €70 worth of food and wine in it. If you leave a percentage of the total as tip you are tipping on top of the tax and the built-in tip.

Just leave the small change. Be aware that the change may include €2 coins. These are about the size of an American quarter but are worth nearly $3.00.

Cowboy1968

Yes, Virgi, when I'm in the US I tip 20% unless I receive rather mediocre service or worse.

In your example of a bill of 23.40E, I would probably give 25E, too, -- IF and ONLY IF I was satisfied.

Tips can be given for services that are above average. Carrying food from the kitchen to the table and back does not qualify on its own.
Service has to be speedy, qualified, knowledgable, helpful, friendly, etc.

Typical situations in which I would consider a good tip in a restaurant:
- waitress helped you to translate the menu
- if you wanted wine, they gave you more than one (and more than only the most expensive) choice of wine to go with your menu

As others said: You tip in situations when you say to yourself: "This was more/better than I expected."

I have to admit that I also sometimes over-tip, especially with small amounts, e.g. a cup of coffee for 2.50 and I'd give 3 and tell them to keep the change. But that does not hurt.

But if you run up a bill for 82 Euros in a restaurant, it would be obscene to give a 100 Euro. 85 will do nicely. If service was excessively good and outstanding, 90 would be okay.

queener

With the Euro/Dollar exchange rate, it would be prudent to buy your shoes here. I love Josef Seibel shoes - but you must find the style that fits your foot the best.

virgi

Thanks for the help all, and hopscotch, really glad you told me about that quarter-size coin. I'm gonna write it down.

hetismij

Hopscothch the server does not automatically get 15%! Where did you get that idea from? Yes they get a minimum wage, which is (just) a living wage, but they do not get a percentage of the covers. You will often have more than one person serve you so they cannot possibly all receive that amount.
My DIL is a waitress so I know what I'm talking about.
For a bill of €82 I'd probably round it to €90 or even in exceptional cases to €100 - generally tips are shared amongst all the staff, including the kitchen staff, dishwashers etc.

Maybe the fact that you are all such stingey tippers is the reason various nationalities seem to dislike Americans

The€2 euro coin is slightly larger than a US quarter, just as the €1 coin is slightly smaller. They are both two tone coins and easily identifiable. The 50eurocent coin is the same size as a quarter, but is copper coloured.

virgi

Oh and about the shoes- I just read another post fro Paris I can rent a sedgeway(sp)1111 Wonder if I can do that in Amsterdam & Germany. Only reason I'm so concerned about the shoes, is because of a very recent -still swollen from that trip-story that I won't presume to bore readers about.I have comfortable shoes-many pairs of Easy Spirits but this last time-no matter, I just dyed my garden Easy-Spirit shoes for this trip so thanks about all the info. I wrote several brands to check out over there, from this forum kind sharings.

hopscotch

hetismij ("it is me" for those of you who don't know Dutch),

I got my information from living in and traveling around Europe on and off for 30 years. The "service" line is now left off most restaurant bills but it is built in anyway, or we would have heard about strikes and riots of the cafe waiters. Dutch waiters have told me about all the money that American tourists leave on the table. They are happy about that.

It is proper to leave small change. In fact, waiters often don't even bother to return it.

The €2 coin is 2 mm larger than a quarter and is two tone. Virgi might be so stoned that she will miss the difference in a dark smokey weed house.

Virgi, I hope you painted your shoes two tone (at least) with bangles. Purple and yellow would fit you right in as an "echte Amsterdamer" based on your comments about what you are there for. You know, they actually have some of the best art museums in the world in Amsterdam. See Frans Hals, my favorite. You might like them.

<i>Maybe the fact that you are all such stingey tippers is the reason various nationalities seem to dislike Americans.</i>
Wow. I'm trying to remember all those distasteful encounters with waiters in Europe. Not, of course. If you are disliked I guess it says more about you than about &quot;Americans.&quot; True, Europeans dislike American politicians and foreign policy. When I first lived in Holland President Jimmy Carter was the favorite boy to kick in my Haarlem cafe. I had endless arguments with my drinking friends, and still do.

hetismij

Hopscothch - the comment on tipping was a joke - it seems from this forum that many US citizens have large chips on their shoulders and are convinced Europeans don't like them. Not true. I like most Americans. Seriving staff in the Netherlands receive minimum wage or just above, they do not receive a percentage of the cover. If a service charge is included in the bill it will be clearly stated on the menu. That charge is divided up between all the staff. Between 5% and 10% is an acceptable tip if you are having a full meal, and no service charge is included, 5 being on the mean side, 10 on the generous.

Virgi - Segways are not yet legal in Holland for public roads so no, no Segway tours of Amsterdam. The Amsterdam street scene is lethal enough for most visitors without adding Segways to the chaos.

FLJudi

Check into Wolky shoes, found in the US in specialty shoe stores and on line (about $118). These are Dutch design, very comfortable with cork footbeds and memory foam insoles. I have arthritis in my feet and these are the only shoes that I can walk through Europe in. I have very narrow feet and can't wear any of the other brands mentioned. The Wolky sandals are very adjustable and should fit all widths. For me, $118 is a bargain if I can walk without pain.

virgi

thanks about the segway and the shoes.

My dear dear hopscotch: I have seen art in the finest museums throughout Italy, Czech, N.Y. and most recently, D.C., so while I'm sure Amsterdam has great art, r it's not in my interest to see the work of a lunatic that cuts off his ear over some emotional issue- or seeing an attic where so much indignity was placed on individuals because of their religious beliefs-which,by the way, has been capitalized on by Ann's father and turned into a money making scheme by the cause of such horrid acts. Therefore, Amsterdam holds a treat for me that is not readily available elsewhere, and should it be frowned upon, that problem is on the frowners mindset-not mine. My shoes are dyed brown, if you must know and they will take me to see all the beautiful area there in Amsterdam. I will see the life of the Amsterdamites, soak up the culture there, get a glimpse of the everyday happenings, and if it's through rainbow eyes, better yet. So there.

hopscotch

virgi,

I was bending over backward to be not judgemental, but I must have slipped. We are certainly of different generations and life styles.

Frans Hals did not cut off any part of himself. His art is the work I love. Some is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and a little is in the Frans Hals museum in Haarlem.

You are rather rough on the operators of the Anne Frank House. I saw the long line out front but have never been inside. I read her book and several books about her. I think a much more telling book was written by Corrie ten Boom of Haarlem, &quot;The Hiding Place.&quot; Her Christian family hid Allied flyers who had been shot down and Jewish families, and helped them escape. Corrie and her family were captured by the SS. Corrie survived the death camps and wrote her amazing book. My former landlord in Haarlem lived near her and was also part of the underground that helped downed American flyers get back to England.

I think you would enjoy another book, &quot;The Undutchables: An Observation of the Netherlands, it's Culture and its Inhabitants&quot; by Colin White and Laurie Boucke. It will prepare you well for your expedition to Amsterdam, before you adopt your rainbow eyes.

hetismij,

Sorry, I overlooked the winky.

GSteed

Tipping! Consider that a waitperson earns $8 an hour. A good one can service five to eight tables. Allow two hours for each table. If each table tips $2 that waitperson will double his hourly wage. Chances are good that no tax will be paid on that extra income.
General tipping; Tip the bartender with your first purchase...tip the waiter 20% if you plan to return, when you do return request that same waiter! Don't be afraid to tip the maitre d. At the opera. We find our favorite attendant. She gets $1 per coat. On leaving, she ignores for the moment the long line of non-tippers and returns our coats! We then miss the parking lot chaos.

virgi

Fljudi: Wolky shoes I'll look for them, thanks. Gsteed: great idea for tipping. I don't drink so that elimanates bartenders, but elsewhere,thanks.
hetismilrehaps what looks like &quot;chips on shoulders&quot; from Americans, is more a defense-attitude, because everyone I know whose been to Europe, especially Paris, say the same thing, &quot;they don't like Americans over there&quot;. A Japanese traveler that I met in Italy, explained that it's not the Americans they don't like, they don't like anyone who speaks english. Go figure. Maybe if the natives over there wouldn't frown on us (probably because of the political issues here), then Europeans will see that a simple smile exchange, could show a different impression-both ways. Hopscotch: I'm staying right there byy the Ryiksmuseum &amp; will go, also want to go to Royal Het Concertgebouw, Neuwe Kerk the red light district,Oude Kerk in Delft, Haarlem, Jordaan, Museum Amstelkring Am. hisstorical museum, a typical grocery &amp; department store, and of course an adventure down the canal.
Thank you for the recommended reading,bookmarked for when I get home. Idid however read about the episodes that took place between Mr. Frank and the government over the commercialization of the attic (years ago, forgot the name of the book) and it was a messy battle, mostly over who gets the profits, more than opening up raw sores. Things like that don't appeal to me. And about my indulgance-choice, you wouldn't believe the mass market of anti-depressant this &amp; pschotic that medicine taken in the US by oh-so-many people. I,on the other hand, don't even need an aspirin, just a buzz once in a while, kinda like a glass of wine or a beer over there, get it? And by the way, I'll be 61 on the 23rd of this month. G'day.