greed or cheap

[hbkbkk]

you are in a taxi the meter is 38 baht and you pay them 38 baht, but the taxi drink seem so disappointed.

you are eatting in a restaurant that already charged you 10 percent service charge and vat (which they probably keep for themself.), but still expecting you to give them more tips.

so the question is am I cheap or just sometimes people are just greedy?

[Sylver]

you are in a taxi the meter is 38 baht and you pay them 38 baht, but the taxi drink seem so disappointed.

you are eatting in a restaurant that already charged you 10 percent service charge and vat (which they probably keep for themself.), but still expecting you to give them more tips.

so the question is am I cheap or just sometimes people are just greedy?

I don't think its a matter of being cheap or greed, in most cases.

Being a farang has advantages and inconvenients. Because a lot of farangs here are tourists, and because tourists do as tourists do, there is some kind of expectancy build-up.

The taxi guy expected the 2 baths tip because, well, most farangs do in that situation. Same applies to the service girl.

Whenever you expect something and don't get it, you are disappointed - that's the definition of disappointment, after all.

I don't think it's greed in most cases. It's not about the money, but expectations.

You would expect a school kid to wait for his 2 baths change. That's expected so the taxi driver won't be disappointed or offended. A fairly affluent farang guy is a different matter.

For myself, I would tend to leave loose change unless the guy is a jackass or the service piss poor. Assuming many do like me, not leaving a 2 baths of change is like saying that the service sucked.

[chocolateLady]

from my expereince

if taxi driver is polite + drive good, I always give them a good money by round up to ''0'' or ''5'' or if drive super cool while I don't know much about where is it. I also give them some tip specially

but if they keep swear and behave unpleasant = how much I can see from meter, they got same amount PLUS i note their name and plate no. and call to JS.100

[Loburt]

This is obviously a trick question, because the taxi meter will never be 38 baht.

[Sylver]

This is obviously a trick question, because the taxi meter will never be 38 baht.

I guess it's on purpose they have made the start fee 35 baht, jumping 2 baht everytime 37, 39, 41 , 43 to be sure people will leave the tips

Have you thought of the only possible alternative? 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60...

Come on! Taxi prices are really nothing to complain about in Thailand.

[Dr_Sassy]

I don't care if the service provider is going to judge me whether I am a dirt cheap customer or a compulsive spender..

If they give me an excellent service up to my standard (not theirs) I'm gonna either give them tips OR just give a sincere smile and say thank you.

If they make me go nuts, even 1 baht means a lot to me and they are not gonna hear 'keep the change'. Am I cheap now? :oops:

[zeusbheld]

what do you think the chances are that the people actually doing the work see *any* of that service charge?

[Loburt]

depends on the establishment. some do give it all to the staff, and others keep it for themselves. they should be who "greedy or cheap" is directed at.

as far as how hard people work, they still have to give good service if they want a tip.

my father worked as a bartender for 20 years. his earnings depended for the most part on tips. he always said that if the service is bad, don't tip.

simple as that.

[hyper223]

if you knew how hard these people worked waitng on you you would give them a tip you tight git

Regarding the taxi, I do round up to the nearest 5 -- unless the driver acts as though I'm obligated to give him extra money.

In the case of a restaurant, the server is paid to do a job, are they not? I pay the establishment the stated price. That price may or may not include an explicit extra "service charge." The establishment then pays the employee a salary. Very simple setup.

Employee thinks they make too little money? Quit. There are other people to do that job. Employee gives bad service? It's in the business' interest to not allow that to continue happening. Fire the employee.

Employee needs an incentive to work harder? EmployER needs to handle that themselves, as they're the ones that want happy customers, ie, profit.

[Zombiedriven]

It is a taxi I don't normally take them but when I do I always give the "change" to him/her other wise it holds me up on waiting on the change. When I am in Thailand I normally go by AOT expensive but worth it.

[Loburt]

I usually round up to the next five or ten baht in a taxi, but usually carry two or three baht in single baht coins in case the driver is an absolutey water buffalo or nasty piece of work and then I give them exactly the fare.

[zeusbheld]

I bought a plank of wood today (as you do). They charged me 80 baht, and as I handed it over the guy asked for a tip. I decided there was nothing particularly extraordinary about the way he had cut the plank of wood so I didn't give him a tip and walked away. It made me feel cheap though, couldn't help myself, even though has was a cheeky ***t asking for it and I'd probably paid a 100% farang tax for the wood anyway.

new yorkers tip for *everything* and i've never heard of a new yorker tipping a carpenter. i've never tipped a carpenter or craftsman here.

now, many of the woodworkers i've used are in business for themselves; i do not to tip at family-run restaurants (the kind rarely frequented by farrangs, but where i do most of my eatin'). i tip at restaurants where the staff are clearly workng for another person or company, but even so i'd never tip the guy at home pro for building furniture, let alone for cutting a board. the guy asking for a tip seems really odd to me; in any case i don't see why you should feel guilty in the slightest.

[zeusbheld]

if you knew how hard these people worked waitng on you you would give them a tip you tight git

Regarding the taxi, I do round up to the nearest 5 -- unless the driver acts as though I'm obligated to give him extra money.

i tip if the service is good AND if they don't try to pocket extra change or ask for more money. have to say though i've had very good luck with taxi drivers in thailand--so much so that i usually give 'em an extra 10 baht.

In the case of a restaurant, the server is paid to do a job, are they not? I pay the establishment the stated price. That price may or may not include an explicit extra "service charge." The establishment then pays the employee a salary. Very simple setup.

not true everywhere, certainly. in new york, for example, workers are paid very little exactly because it is usual and customary to tip. here it is usual and customary at the kinds of places farrangs frequent to tip at least a 20 or a few coins. aside from the widely held view that all farrangs are rich; most of the places farrangs frequent *are* rich-folks restaurants, and as such i don't think it's mandatory but if you go to an exensive restaurant and don't tip to local standards according to your demographic then i think you can spare a twenty.

if you're rich folks and can't spare a twenty for the poor slob who does the strong back work for you for next to no money, if and when he or she does a good job, then yep your'e a tightwad and a prick.

on the other hand, "tightwad" and "prick" are not to be taken as moral judgments...

[hbkbkk]

i believe that we should reward good service and i often do.

but most restaurant in asia already charge you a 10% service charge. Do they expect us to pay another 10% on top of that. Especially when they are already overcharging the food already.

I guess generous is giving more than you have to and pride is taking less than you need.

[robbie36]

I usually round up to the next five or ten baht in a taxi, but usually carry two or three baht in single baht coins in case the driver is an absolutey water buffalo or nasty piece of work and then I give them exactly the fare.

Now that is what I do call cheap.....l

[Loburt]

really? so if a taxi driver is rude, takes me the wrong way, or drives like a maniac, I should just round it up to the next five or ten baht for him?

your reply is what I do call crass...l