Tiping

[lonleyjerry]

As i have not been to the phi, i would lie to know what is the customary tip.hotel helpbar tendertaxigirls service mealsI don't want to be cheap skate, but i don't have money to throw away eitherany advice for a new traveler would be helpful, thanks.lonely jerry

[Mr Lee]

As i have not been to the phi, i would lie to know what is the customary tip.hotel helpbar tendertaxigirls service mealsI don't want to be cheap skate, but i don't have money to throw away eitherany advice for a new traveler would be helpful, thanks.lonely jerry

Hi Jerry and welcome to the forum.   :wt-hell:  There is no easy answer to this and each of us do as we wish to do, so I will tell you what I do, but that may not be the correct thing for everyone but it does get me excellent service and I always seem to have a reserved table when I get to some of my favorite restaurants, but the funny thing was that I never reserved them.    So the first thing to remember in the Philippines is that an ordinary working person makes about the equivalent of about 4 to 5 dollars for a whole days work which may be a 12 hour day or more. Taxi drivers often only make about that after paying their daily rental fee because most rent the taxis for the day and do not own their own taxi. So keeping that in mind, I tip maids in hotels where they do not charge the 10% service charge p10 or p20 a day and that usually get me extra towels and anything else we seem to need for the room. I sometimes even tip maids in hotels where they do charge a service charge if they go above and beyond in their room service for us such as putting in ice water or giving extra towels without having to ask or supplying extra shampoo and soaps because the small shampoo just do not cut it for my wifes long hair and the small soaps do not cut it if a person showers a few times a day and it is hot in the Philippines most times, so extra showers are refreshing and often necessary.As for taxis, there is no set tip and it depends on if they try to rip me off by taking the long way or the short way. I remember what it cost to get to a particular place and during normal traffic and I usually give the driver that plus maybe p10 for a short trip or p20 over the meter for a longer trip say p150, and that is only if the meter is not fast and he does not try to take the long way around. Other things that will make me give a little more is if he attempts to speak English, is friendly, makes the aircon cooler for me when I ask for it and drives like a sane person would. If any of those items are not met, then they get no tip or very little. I always make sure to have the correct change and will often ask them for change of p100 if the fare is say p60 or so and if they say "no change sir," expecting me to just say keep the change, then they get a surprise and I give them the exact fare in change and no tip. In other words, if they give service they get a tip and if they play any games, they get none.Bar tenders I give about p10 to p20 for every p100 of the bill if they give me good service and are not pushy and I only give that at the end of the tab and if they do not try to over charge me because I keep track of the drinks and some will add a few for good measure and if they do then they get no tip.Girls I cannot really address because I am happily married and do not fool around, but I have been to girly type bars and had a girl give me a back message while sitting at the bar, and I was told the fee was a p50 tip for an hour and she did not try to hustle me for drinks or anything else because I told her I was married and not interested, so I gave her p100 which is a extremely good tip from what I have been told and if more could give back massages then they would not have to do the other things that it seems some have to do to pay their bills. I will just leave it at that. As for meals, the Filipinos I know rarely tip and if they do, then they usually tip p20 for a family or couple, but that may not be the norm and I may have only been with middle class Filipinos, so I have no idea what everyone does or what the rich do, and I  know that most of the poorer working class Filipinos do not go bar hopping so therefore do not tip. I tip depending on the service I get, so if the waiter or waitress continually comes back and fills my bottomless ice tea then I will tip 20% of the bill and that is way too much, but the perks are that they remember my wife and I and go above and beyond service and always seem to have a table for us when their happens to be a big waiting list. I would tell most people to tip p20 to 10% for average service and extra for above and beyond service, but that is just me and I know how little they make and how their eyes light up when my wife and I arrive, so to me the little extra is not a problem but I am retired and not rich, yet I am just enjoying my life and my motto is to do unto others as I would wish they would do for me.A tip for a hotel staff that gets me a cab in the rain or has to run to another street to find one would be p20 but if they just hold the door of a taxi for us or have whistled for one to come over. the I usually give them p10.Now many people may say I spoil some people or I am too generous, but I can also go the other direction when they try to cheat me.Hope that helps and if you can afford to be nice and you are on vacation, then do so and make someones day, but not to the point of you hurting yourself and if you are retired then remember that you will have to live within your budget and that you have to take care of number one first and that is you.Also remember that the major cities would be on the higher end for tips because they make higher salaries and the provinces would therefore be lower because they make less there. Enjoy the Philippines.Tipping according to trip advisor

[Jim Sibbick]

As i have not been to the phi, i would lie to know what is the customary tip.hotel helpbar tendertaxigirls service mealsI don't want to be cheap skate, but i don't have money to throw away eitherany advice for a new traveler would be helpful, thanks.lonely jerry

Philippines does not have a tipping culture. However, in tourist areas, especially those frequented by Americans, there may be an expectation of a tip.I am Australian. Australia does not have a tipping culture so I don't usually tip in the Philippines. I will give a tip if some one has given an extra service. Regards: Jim Sibbick

[Travis]

As i have not been to the phi, i would lie to know what is the customary tip.hotel helpbar tendertaxigirls service mealsI don't want to be cheap skate, but i don't have money to throw away eitherany advice for a new traveler would be helpful, thanks.lonely jerry

I am an American living on a tight budget so I only tip a little but still tip. this is a poor country & giving a p5 tip to a taxi or rounding up is the least I can do. in nice restaurants I usually tip 10% if given good service & p20 if given average service & nothing if given terrible service but I have given more when the staff was exceptional. I do not go out drinking much but when I did then I followed the same line of thinking. tips are expected from us white guys & I expect service for the tip. I find a smile & treating people nicely is almost as important as the tip. oh I forgot to add :welcome: to our friendly group :wt-hell: Edited August 28, 2010 by Traveler

[brock]

:541: HA HA Mr Lee.....10 or 20p tip for most everyone BUT 100p for the pretty girl who gives you a massage

[Mr Lee]

:541: HA HA Mr Lee.....10 or 20p tip for most everyone BUT 100p for the pretty girl who gives you a massage

Yes I was hoping that would be enough, that and the drink money she made, so she would not have to go out and do her real job.   :541: As I said in my OP, if people go above and beyond then I feel they deserve extra on the tip and she massaged my back for an hour non stop, which I felt was above and beyond. BTW she was far from pretty but had strong hands.I have also tipped a taxi driver p100 when I saw he was barely able to keep his eyes open and in the course of conversation with myself and my wife we pulled out of him that it had been a very slow day and night (it was a holiday) and he had not made enough to even pay the taxi rental fee so he could turn in the taxi and go home to his family, so with some brain picking we were able to determine that he was just p50 short after our fare and would need one more fare to go home, so we gave him p100 extra and the smile we got was worth the extra tip, and no he was not scamming us because we had to pull the answers out of him. I was just hoping he would go home before he fell asleep at the wheel and killed someone. So I am not a cheap bastard all the time and usually tip well for good service and a good chat in other areas as well and 20% occasionally on a meal is not cheap either and it has been to waiters, waitresses and even gay waiters a number of times, I do not discriminate. 

[Art2ro]

Where ever or whenever my wife and I go out to eat for restaurant dine-ins, I let her take care of paying and or tipping for what ever we have, because she says I tip too much 20-30%! Well, that takes care of my tipping habits!

[Inspector]

Where ever or whenever my wife and I go out to eat for restaurant dine-ins, I let her take care of paying and or tipping for what ever we have, because she says I tip too much 20-30%! Well, that takes care of my tipping habits!

I do the same thing, but if I really find the service exceptional, I will override, and tip well. The other day at the Ayala mall, I stiffed the server at the Casa Verde because the service was brutal, but gave 50 on a 80 peso haircut that was the best I ever had. I am almost bald now, yet this barber in the basement did more with my fourteen hairs then I thought possible. He was an artist. Each hair was individually babied, treated with respect, and eventually cut within a fraction of the one not so close to it anymore. He used powder, three different cutting instruments, a liquid and even massaged my scalp. Then, a single blade to shave my neck, with a skill that was beyond imagination. My hair is now even, all fourteen in the exact place they should be, and tingling with the pride a balding man should feel when he goes in for a haircut without any hair.

[Bil Brock]

As i have not been to the phi, i would lie to know what is the customary tip.hotel helpbar tendertaxigirls servicemealsI don't want to be cheap skate, but i don't have money to throw away eitherany advice for a new traveler would be helpful, thanks.lonely jerry

Philippines does not have a tipping culture.However, in tourist areas, especially those frequented by Americans, there may be an expectation of a tip.I am Australian. Australia does not have a tipping culture so I don't usually tip in the Philippines. I will give a tip if some one has given an extra service.Regards: Jim Sibbick

Hi Jim: It seems like it is the Americans who tip all over the place (especally if on holiday) & can ruin it for others as the locals come to expect it & regard other foreigners as "too thrifty" if they adhear to their normal custums regarding tipping.

[Jim Sibbick]

As i have not been to the phi, i would lie to know what is the customary tip.hotel helpbar tendertaxigirls servicemealsI don't want to be cheap skate, but i don't have money to throw away eitherany advice for a new traveler would be helpful, thanks.lonely jerry

Philippines does not have a tipping culture.However, in tourist areas, especially those frequented by Americans, there may be an expectation of a tip.I am Australian. Australia does not have a tipping culture so I don't usually tip in the Philippines. I will give a tip if some one has given an extra service.Regards: Jim Sibbick

Hi Jim: It seems like it is the Americans who tip all over the place (especally if on holiday) & can ruin it for others as the locals come to expect it & regard other foreigners as "too thrifty" if they adhear to their normal custums regarding tipping.

Yes and here is my observation on tipping.I don't get any better or worse service because I don't tip!Also, I am happy to be thought of as Kuripot (cheap). That way, I am not targeted by Filipinos seeking money.Regard: Jim