Tipping Across the World

I found a great article today on tipping. It is from a British perspective (so unfortunately it leaves out that country but you can see my previous article on my guesswork of British tipping) but I thought I would share. I always find tipping extremely confusing as it is different everywhere you go. Here are a few samples. You can find the original article from Yahoo! Travel UK here.

"
Australia and New Zealand
Tipping is not widely expected, and may even cause [offense] to some. However, tipping in restaurants is becoming more common, and a 10% tip for good service will be appreciated by restaurant and bar staff. Taxi drivers and hairdressers do not expect a tip.

Egypt
One of the first words I [learned] when I went to Egypt was ‘baksheesh'. Literally meaning ‘spread the wealth', this is Egypt's monetary way of saying thank you for services rendered. Tipping is discretionary, but a couple of Egyptian pounds . . . here and there goes a long way. Porters, tour guides and waiters all appreciate baksheesh, and whether it's for a meal or for someone carrying all those purchases you made in the souk back to the hotel, every penny counts. Remember to carry round small change and ask for small denominations when changing your money. Small bills are a prized possession in Egypt because, obviously, no one gives change for a tip. One exception is taxi drivers, who, as my Egyptian friend says, are usually rude anyway, and will probably try to rip you off. So, needless to say, don't tip them.

France
Service is included by law in France, and your bill may state 'service compris' to indicate this. In any case, it is polite to round up the bill to the nearest euro, or to add 10% for exceptional service. Taxi drivers and porters will always appreciate a couple of Euros for efficient service. However, watch for signs that say ‘Pourboire Interdit', which means that tipping is forbidden.

Greece
In Greece, although a service charge is automatically included in your bill when eating out, this does not necessarily mean that it will go to the waiters and waitresses. So, if you're satisfied with your meal, a tip of 8 - 10% is customary. Bear in mind that during the Christmas and Greek Easter holiday periods a service ‘bonus' of 18% will be added to your restaurant bill as a holiday extra for the waiters. When [traveling] around, rounding up your taxi fare to the nearest Euro is also the norm.

Germany
Although a service charge is included (appearing on your bill as ‘bedienung'), it is the norm to tip up to an extra 10% of the bill, especially in upmarket restaurants. One word of advice. Never say ‘danke' unless you are really appreciative of your meal, because more often than not, this will be interpreted by the staff as a signal to keep the change. In addition, hand your tips to the staff when paying the bill instead of placing it on the table as you leave . . . In taxis, add a Euro or two to the total to keep the cabbie smiling.

Italy
When dining in restaurants, a 10 - 15% service charge (coperto) may already be included in your bill. If that is the case don't feel obliged to add any more, and if not, a 10% gratuity is sufficient. In many Italian cafés, you will often pay more to sit down and enjoy your coffee or gelato ice cream rather than standing at the bar anyway. So, if you do sip your coffee or hot chocolate while sitting down, an extra €0.50 is a sufficient tip (you won't find better hot chocolate than in Italy, but that's another story). Smaller trattorias and pizzerias don't expect a gratuity, and tipping a small family-run business may even cause [offense]. Taxi drivers also do not expect a tip. When I attempted to leave one in Florence my friend practically slapped the coins out of my hand. Again, however, rounding up to the nearest Euro is fine, or if your cab driver helps carry your bags you may want to extend this to a couple of Euros.

Japan
The Japanese are pretty clear cut when it comes to tips. Any monies left are more likely to cause [offense] than gratitude. The number stated on the bill is what you should pay. No more. No less. Nuff said.

Spain
Service charges are included in the food prices on the menu in Spain, and tipping is a matter of personal choice. Most people leave some small change if they're satisfied and 5% is usually plenty. It's common to leave small change at bar and café tables, or if you eat tapas or sandwiches at a bar - just enough to round the bill to the nearest Euro.

[And for an interesting bit, here's what they say about US!]

USA
Tipping is serious business in the States. Many service staff get no more than minimum wage, and rely on tips to supplement their income. One of my colleagues (whose name shall remain anonymous) was actually chased out of a diner because they didn't leave a big enough tip when eating. So, tip generously, and often. You should leave a 15% minimum tip in diners, restaurants and cafes, and if service is really good then 20% is more the norm. In bars, slipping the bartender around a dollar per drink will ensure that service will never be a problem. And finally, when out and about in the States, tipping an extra 15% to your taxi driver is the norm.
"

Having been a waitress for a bit (it's a job I believe everyone should work at once along with some type of customer service position like a clothing store), in the US it is EXTREMELY insulting to get less than 15%. That means, to the waiter/waitress, that you did not do a good job (but, of course, if they were terrible leave them 10% or less). Servers can get extremely upset about it.
The only one I'm not sure about is $1 for every drink at the bar. That's a bit ridiculous. I do about every other drink or every couple of drinks (but always for the first one). Drinks at bars are already ridiculously expensive.

*some words have been changed - marked with [] or italicized.

Nearly Goodbye

It's nearly goodbye time. It's my last weekend in Edinburgh already. I'm ready to go home...just not to go home and leave forever. The weather has been pretty great the last couple of weeks but right now we're on a rainy spell and it's been pouring. Perhaps the city is just sad to see me go...

Today my flatmates and I went into town and shopped and finally had tea and cake at a shop we're been wanting to visit. I've been to Accessorize about 5 times this week. I bought a new travel bag (pictured below) and a computer sleeve (which ended up being too small - such a shame because it was so cute!). When I went back today to return the sleeve I ended up getting a really adorable necklace in the shape of an owl. It was something different that I normally wouldn't buy even if I liked it because I wasn't sure if I could pull it off but I'd seen it when I went in with my cousin on Wednesday and again when I went back on Thursday to get the bag I'd seen the day before. My eye kept coming back to it and I would just go stand in front of it forever. We went back today and I whined over it and we went to a different store and it was there too so I finally gave in!

 

He is just so adorable and chubby! I picked one that was extra fluffy and am really happy I got it. His name is Auwl (pretty much Sophie's Northern Irish pronunciation of owl which is awesome and we can't replicate). And the bag is perfect because it's big enough to fit my computer and a few other things (I've lost the space in my backpack due to the duvet I'm bringing home so I don't have to pay to ship it). I just wish my laptop wasn't so huge and I could have kept the laptop sleeve! It looked like a post card. I think making one myself will be something I'll have to explore when I get home...

On Thursday I submitted my dissertation on the ERASMUS programme (a European Union study abroad programme). [pause for cheering] It's quite surreal to hand it in. I hope I did well but no matter what, I know I learned a lot from it and think I could really apply things from it to study abroad/international education organisations (I'm going to have to get used to going back to putting z's in) in the US.

Speaking of which, I've officially begun my job search. I had planned to try and get out of Maryland but it looks like fate could keep me securely there. We'll see... Let's just hope the small issue of our degrees not being awarded until November won't affect anything since I won't officially have my master's degree until then. But my supervisor said he'd write me a letter which is great.

My flight is on Wednesday morning and I've just got to pack and clean. Tomorrow I'm going for drinks with some friends to say goodbye. It'll be hard for sure!

30 days to go...

Today marks the start of my thirty day countdown. Thirty days to write, finalise, and submit my dissertation and thirty days until I'm back home. Today is my kitty Zeus' 9th birthday so thirty more days until I get to cuddle him. Zeus LOVES boxes (and items similar to boxes) so here is a compilation of some of his cutest box pictures.

 

 

 

 

Mom's Visit #3

Lastly, Mom and I took a trip to the Lake District in north-west England. It's a beautiful area and has been the prime vacation spot for hundreds of years! It's talk about in a lot of Jane Austen's novels. We just went to Windermere and stayed in the cute town of Bowness-on-Windermere and took a few day trips into the neighbouring towns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

All in all it was a great weekend with Mom! I miss her already!

Mom's Visit #2

The first weekend Mom was here, we took a quick trip down to Newcastle to see my cousin Julie and her husband Andreas. I had stayed with them for Thanksgiving but it was the first time Mom was able to see their new place in England! On Sunday we took a trip to Alnwick Castle (which had an amazing falconry presentation), the seat of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. It was a really awesome castle although we were mildly disappointed because the website promoted it as a Harry Potter castle but it turns out only a small scene from the first book was filmed there.

Andreas, Julie, and me

Whitley Bay

 

Alnwick Castle

 

 

 

 

Newcastle