Tipping, What Is The Right Amount In The Phl?

[Mr Lee]

I know we all have different thoughts on this, so maybe we can gain some type of consensus on what might be correct to do, or a happy medium.

[Art2ro]

If it's customarily 15% to 30% in the U.S., here in the Philippines, I make it 30% or none at all for poor service!

[Mr Lee]

If it's customarily 15% to 30% in the U.S., here in the Philippines, I make it 30% or none at all for poor service!

Wow, I think you meant 15% to 20% and here I often tip 10% if the service is good and more if I order bottomless ice tea and they never make me wait for a refill. I figure that many places have a 10% service charge, so those I tip nothing or give a little more on top of the service charge if they give excellent service, so the places that do not charge the service charge, I figure the 10% is sort of a given since employees at those places make very little money, and I would rather give some to them, than the service charge, where the owner no doubt keeps most of it.

[Dave Hounddriver]

You have made an assumption, Kuya Lee, that the owner gets none of the tip. I have found that most employees that I tip have to 'share with everyone' and I have often wondered how much the boss gets out of that. This is Philippines.As to how much to tip, different professions are paid in different ways. I would tip more for a massage than a meal because the first is paid on a percentage and the second is on a wage, (low though that may be). To tip a massage therapist I do some calculations in my head to figure out that, if she does 4 or 5 (1 hour) massages a day and gets 75 to 100 pesos tip per massage then she is doing ok. Of course I would double that for a 2 hour massage and that means I give about 150 to 200 tip.For waitresses I give 10 to 15% of the bill.My barber gets 20 pesos.I think it is very important not to perpetuate the stereotype of the rich Kano that so many of us fight so hard to break down. It only takes a few foreigners overtipping or overpaying for a service to get the story out like wildfire that those 'Kanos' are all rich and don't mind overpaying for goods and services.

[Mr Lee]

You have made an assumption, Kuya Lee, that the owner gets none of the tip. I have found that most employees that I tip have to 'share with everyone' and I have often wondered how much the boss gets out of that. This is Philippines.As to how much to tip, different professions are paid in different ways. I would tip more for a massage than a meal because the first is paid on a percentage and the second is on a wage, (low though that may be). To tip a massage therapist I do some calculations in my head to figure out that, if she does 4 or 5 (1 hour) massages a day and gets 75 to 100 pesos tip per massage then she is doing ok. Of course I would double that for a 2 hour massage and that means I give about 150 to 200 tip.For waitresses I give 10 to 15% of the bill.My barber gets 20 pesos.I think it is very important not to perpetuate the stereotype of the rich Kano that so many of us fight so hard to break down. It only takes a few foreigners overtipping or overpaying for a service to get the story out like wildfire that those 'Kanos' are all rich and don't mind overpaying for goods and services.

Interesting, so you tip more than I do in some circumstances and less in others, so I guess it all balances out. OK so much to learn and I keep learning all the time. I only wish there was some type of chart telling us what the average working people here earn daily.

[Art2ro]

If it's customarily 15% to 30% in the U.S., here in the Philippines, I make it 30% or none at all for poor service!

Wow, I think you meant 15% to 20% and here I often tip 10% if the service is good and more if I order bottomless ice tea and they never make me wait for a refill. I figure that many places have a 10% service charge, so those I tip nothing or give a little more on top of the service charge if they give excellent service, so the places that do not charge the service charge, I figure the 10% is sort of a given since employees at those places make very little money, and I would rather give some to them, than the service charge, where the owner no doubt keeps most of it.

Yeah, I meant 15 -20%, but I tip at least 30% or less only if no service charge is incorporated in the bill and it depends on the service and attitude of the waiter or waitress and plus their appearance! Poor service, they'll be lucky with a 10% tip from me or none at all if I'm pissed off of the food and service! Also it depends who we are with when dining out, because some of our friends use their Senior Citizen 20% Discount cards and my tip makes up for that! Edited March 26, 2011 by Art2ro

[BobNChe]

It's not possible to realisticly set a "proper" amount because the custom is so varried in so many different countries! In the UK tipping is not that common etc... Here it varies greatly and when people get carried away it seriously upsets the apple cart in terms of day to day expectations of employees here. Trying to use norms from different countries here just isn't prudent. When in Rome!!It really boils down to the type of establishment you are patronizing. Mid to higher end places here will add 5-10% on to the bill as a service charge. 85% (the law allows 15% to be held back to cover breakage) of which is typically shared amongst the service staff. BUT, as is typical of many things here, certain individuals feel entitled to share in the bounty as well. This commonly includes managers, accounting and administrative staff. All additional cash tips (if warranted) are typically shared by all, but there are some exceptions.Lower to middle range places will not have a service charge, but tipping in some form is about 50/50 as many just don't tip. Here waiters are happy if you toss in a P20 note on a bill of P2-500 for example. It's not being cheap, get rid of the western expectatuons and guilt. They are happy to get it and would do nicely if the other 50% participated.Lower end restos and carenderias and such would just laugh and run with anything you might offer. They do not expect a tip at all.

Edited March 26, 2011 by BobNChe

[Old55]

It's not possible to realisticly set a "proper" amount because the custom is so varried in so many different countries! In the UK tipping is not that common etc... Here it varies greatly and when people get carried away it seriously upsets the apple cart in terms of day to day expectations of employees here. Trying to use norms from different countries here just isn't prudent. When in Rome!!It really boils down to the type of establishment you are patronizing. Mid to higher end places here will add 5-10% on to the bill as a service charge. 85% (the law allows 15% to be held back to cover breakage) of which is typically shared amongst the service staff. BUT, as is typical of many things here, certain individuals feel entitled to share in the bounty as well. This commonly includes managers, accounting and administrative staff. All additional cash tips (if warranted) are typically shared by all, but there are some exceptions.Lower to middle range places will not have a service charge, but tipping in some form is about 50/50 as many just don't tip. Here waiters are happy if you toss in a P20 note on a bill of P2-500 for example. It's not being cheap, get rid of the western expectatuons and guilt. They are happy to get it and would do nicely if the other 50% participated.Lower end restos and carenderias and such would just laugh and run with anything you might offer. They do not expect a tip at all.

I agree with Bob's guidelines.

[Jim Sibbick]

I am one of those people who tip as I do in my own country! Australia has a no tipping culture.So, on my first visit, I wasn't tipping and as Filipinos have a no tipping culture, no one thought what I was doing was odd.It was only afterward, reading forums like this that I found out people are tipping in the Philippines and wanting to know what to tip.I think the real answer to the question, what is the right amount to tip in the Philippines, is .........tip what your conscience allows!Otherwise, if you have a Filipina in your life, give her the money to pay your bills and see what tip she give, .......if any.Regards; Jim Sibbick

[TomM]

I really don't have a percentage rate for tipping. I tip our taxi drivers variably because we have them turn on the meter from where ever there at and take us to where we need to go. Usually an extra 40p or however I feel. Reliability is the most important if I want to go to the airport I pay them double the meter because they come right to the door and take us there as early as 4am. I have no rule on tipping especially in restuarants if I feel I got good service than I tip them most of the time no tip unless my fiancee asks. She knows better I guess and I listen to her to avoid problems. I tipped a guy that just put our groceries in the trunk of the taxi 18p it all looked like a 5p and 4 -1p but I am sure he was pleasantly surprised. I usually sometimes give them 5p or nothing just depends on my mood. As far as I am concerned seems like a none tipping country. If I knew it was going to be split with the owner or others I wouldn't tip at all. Not to be mean just because i got good service I think the waiter or waitress should get that because of the low wages. When I first got here I went to the Moon Cafe and had the fillet mignon and a mango shake I tip the girl 50p the bill was maybe 300p next time I came in she was extremely helpful and I can't explain I guess I over tipped but she brought me everything I needed and was pleasant so. I guess like the guy before go by your concious and tip as you see fit.