A lot of my friends back in the United States have spent time waiting tables as you can earn pretty decent cash. Still, most of them wanted to avoid waiting on foreigners. It’s not that they are prejudice, but often foreigners don’t realize that waiters and waitresses make nearly all of their income through tips. In fact in the USA a server’s base pay is less than half of the minimum wage! (based on what my friends told me me anyways.)
And this infographic confirms what I am saying, as you are supposed to tip between 15 to 20 percent in North America. Across the rest of the world, however, tips of either 10 percent or nothing at all is more customary.
In South America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East it’s usually customary to add 10 percent if there is no service charge. In Asia? It can all be thought of as rude in China and Japan to leave a tip!
One thing to check no matter where you are at is to see if there are any service charges being added to your bill. If so, you probably don’t need to tip.
Some people don’t like to leave a tip. And some servers would rather just be paid a straight hourly wage.
Personally, I love the tip-for-service system. Why? At least in my world travels, I have never found better service than in Canada and the United States. When servers know they have to work for their income, they tend to work hard. Yeah, I feel bad because some hard working servers get stiffed even after providing great service.
So what about hotel porters and taxis? Check you the above infographic by lovingapartments.com to find out more!
