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Hi,

Not sure whether this has been discussed before ... :-

In Dubai, is it a norm giving tips in restaurants, eg 5dhs tips after a 100dhs meal ?

In Spinneys, the cashier is supposed to give me a change of 5.25dhs, but he give me 5dhs instead.
In paying for taxi fare, I paid 10dhs for a 9dhs trip. The driver did not initiate to give me the 1dhs change.

As such I just like to know whether giving tips is a norm in this country or in this part of the world.

Kindly advice. Rgds.

ps: In contrast, in Bangkok Airport, all porters are required to wear T-shirts saying "No Tips" at the front and back.

With supermarkets and the like, very often they don't have small change so will round upwards.

Taxi drivers, upto you, they should always offer the change though, not automatically keep it.

When eating out, again upto you, but bear in mind most places automatically add 10% service charge.

Previous tipping topic.

http://dubaiforums.com/viewtopic.php?t= ... 4a80d027fe

Tipping is an odd thing. Personally it really annoys me when people expect one, but I guess if people are always tipping you, then you probably think it is rude when someone doesn't.

Here's my tipping rule:

Bad Service - you might get a verbal tip
Average Service - nothing special, no tip
Good Service - 10% tip
Exceptional Service - don't know, haven't come across it in Dubai

That's it... 10% for GOOD service. I will not tip someone for just doing their job... hell, people don't pay us extra for what we sell for just doing our job.

Having said all of the above, I do 'round up' and I do give the car wash guys a little more - but that's it.

Best tip I ever got was from my grandmother: "Don't eat yellow snow" - guess it doesnt apply to dubai.

Concord wrote:"Don't eat yellow snow" - guess it doesnt apply to dubai.

Unless you're at Ski Dubai

bonk wrote:

Concord wrote:"Don't eat yellow snow" - guess it doesnt apply to dubai.

Unless you're at Ski Dubai

Are pets allowed

^ian^ wrote:
Having said all of the above, I do 'round up' and I do give the car wash guys a little more - but that's it.

You tip the car wash guys at Emarat/Eppco? There are like 10 of them working on each car.

Depends on my mood. I tip whenever i feel like giving tip regardless of the service. At most, 10% service charge plus coins or any small notes i have. "Thank you and wide smile" are more than enough.

I hate giving tips to taxi drivers for driving me nutts with their reckless driving style plus the awful smell.

EDIT:

damn you guys are stingy ..

i tip most of the time .. after all these guys make squat for a living and i am sure my extra few dirhams will make someone's day .. and for a second think of it the other way .. maybe the standard of service in dubai is so low is because of the fact that the people are paid so low, and live in shitty conditions so coming in to work everyday the person has no motivation whatsoever to give you "exceptional" service ...

gtmash as for tipping at the car wash these guys usually have a tip box so when you give the money to one guy they put it in a box and i assume they divide it up at the end of the day ...

now all of you stop being so stingy and think of the miserable pay these guys make and put a smile on someone face and GIVE A TIP ..

jeez ..

From a year ago:

I give the biggest tips to the lowest paid workers. For example all those guys that wash cars at the mall. The price is 10 dirhams and I always pay 20. In addition I pay them before the do they job (I don't want them waiting for me for the money while I shop). I imagine some people pull away without paying (would not surprise if their excuse is that [the driver] could not find the person, etc.].

Petrol station attendants I always tip (round up to the nearest 5 pr 10 dirham amount).

Delivery guys I always tip 20% or more (dependign on where they travelled from)- These guys usually make the least amount and sometimes people don't tip them.

I tip the least at expensive restaurants (as I look at the amount of the tip and not a percentage - depending on the time spent and the "work" done by the tip - and how busy the place is, the busier the place the lower the tip.

Bartenders (always tip but amount depends).

dubaiforumuser wrote:In Spinneys, the cashier is supposed to give me a change of 5.25dhs, but he give me 5dhs instead.

You should get the 25 fils. They keep smaller amounts.

In paying for taxi fare, I paid 10dhs for a 9dhs trip. The driver did not initiate to give me the 1dhs change.

I wait to see if driver offers me change. If he does, I say keep it. If he doesn't, I demand it.

As such I just like to know whether giving tips is a norm in this country or in this part of the world.

I've never had an argument over tipping here - different from US/Canada where you can start a war if you refuse to tip. Prefer it here. You can be generous when service is good and keep the change when it's not.

Agree with Maad. If they deserve it.

I do the same at IBN Battuta mall with the car wash guys. 10AED but I give them 20 AED. If I am doing my food shopping I'll bring them out some cold cans of 7up and they are always grateful. Nice bunch of guys.

I thought 15% was the universal norm when it came to tipping? Guess not over there. Here it's typically the base to start from. Although I'm not unlike Ian. Bad service you get zero. Average service I'll leave the tax. (14% in Ontario) Good service 15% maybe a bit more. Exceptional service (which happens rarely) 20%. Again....very rare. I honestly can't remember the last time that happened. The first time I was in Dubai I was told to tip taxi drivers but not "the thiefs" (not my quote) who take you on those little boat rides up and down the creek. I will always tip service in a restaurant. Not like Mc Donalds or anything like that. I mean a real sit down and enjoy your meal kind of place. If it's the same there as it is here they get paid less than minimum wage as tips are expected and part of their wage structure.

regards to the original post

would you actually wait for 1 dhs from a ten or .25 from a bill?????

dubaiforumuser wrote:In Dubai, is it a norm giving tips in restaurants, eg 5dhs tips after a 100dhs meal ?

In Spinneys, the cashier is supposed to give me a change of 5.25dhs, but he give me 5dhs instead.
In paying for taxi fare, I paid 10dhs for a 9dhs trip. The driver did not initiate to give me the 1dhs change.

As such I just like to know whether giving tips is a norm in this country or in this part of the world.
.

well tipping is tipping, i guess, wherever your are -- a show of appreciation for a job well done. i find that when some people do not give exact change, like a dirham or a few fils missing, is when they lack change to give rather than them automatically deducting their "tip".

man, even if i don't earn much, i still give out tips especially to people at gas stations and car washes - just imagine working in that heat and with their salaries which are lower than most! i try to stick to the 10% rule but sometimes i just give whatever change i have on me. but i don't think twice about not giving either, if the service was awful.

dubaiforumuser wrote:
In Dubai, is it a norm giving tips in restaurants, eg 5dhs tips after a 100dhs meal ?


In paying for taxi fare, I paid 10dhs for a 9dhs trip. The driver did not initiate to give me the 1dhs change.

1. tip in restaurants: If service is average I tip 5%, good service 10%, exceptional service 15%. I also tip the kitchen if food was very good.
But if i suspect i will become a regular I always tip the Seater/ Maitre D and thus always get a good table

Tipping in bars: I usually tip the bartender, ALOT first time I order, thus ensuring i get speedy service rest of the night.

2. regarding Dubai taxi drivers: I tip them only if they take the good route, and not the long "tourist" route. Honest people deserve tips !

Tipping in hotels: I can recommend tipping when you check in, at least at 3-4 star hotels most of the time. Several times I have received better rooms/upgrades/comps when tipping. I tip in the "open" if there is a manager nearby. And so far no complaints. I would say you get an upgrade 50% of the time.

In your opinion perhaps you think im a horrible person, but if i would tip everyone all the time, i would be broke

No seriously, I only tip those that deserve it or can give me something in return.

BTW TIPPING IS NOT A CITY IN CHINA
Regards

Swe77