Feature

Hey, Big Spender

by Beth Vrabel

Knowing how much, when and whom to tip is one of those murky gray areas that plague even the most experienced travelers.

Dave Ramm just wanted to be nice. A native of Lincoln, England, Ramm, his wife and 6-year-old son had been touring Asia for about six months when they met with his Vietnamese in-laws for a short tour of the Perfume Pagoda in Hanoi.

They paid in advance for the tour, which included a leisurely ride to the pagoda entrance in a boat rowed by a local woman. A few hours later, as arranged, the same boat owner took them back to their taxi.

“When we arrived at the dock, I decided to give the lady a tip, which I thought was only fair as she’d been nice,” Ramm said. “I don’t tip for the sake of tipping. If someone is nice and has given a good service, then I’ll tip.”

The woman took the tip — about 50,000 dong (a couple of U.S. dollars) — and threw it back at him. As the woman yelled, the tour guide told him the tip was rejected not because of a cultural aversion to tipping but because the tip itself wasn’t up to the woman’s expectations.

The woman followed Ramm and his family as they headed to the taxi, screaming that she normally got $10 or $20 in tips. She blocked Ramm’s mother-in-law from getting into the taxi and held back his wife.

“At this stage, I stepped in, as did the taxi driver and our guide, and they saw the lady off, who by now was saying that, yes, she would now accept our previously offered amount for a tip,” Ramm said. “This was not forthcoming.”

Just how much, when and whom to tip is one of those sticky questions that plague travelers. Tip too little and riskembarrassment. Tip too much and be pegged ethnocentric or, worse, a patsy. Tip at all in some regions and offend the host.

Lesley Carlin McElhattan, a travel etiquette expert for TripAdvisor, said the only way to prevent a potential tipping faux pas is to do your homework. Ask other travelers, double check with tour guides and read articles about tipping. It also doesn’t hurt to keep a few small bills on hand, just in case.

“I recently saw someone tip a hotel parking valet with $20 and ask for $18 back,” McElhattan said. “I understand the ‘I just went to the ATM and have no small bills’ problem, but if you’re in this situation, get change from the front desk.”

Muddying the issue even further, Americans have a reputation for big tipping, even in regions where the custom isn’t common.

“Unfortunately, nowadays when traveling down in Australia, the Americans just have to tip even though the Australians are earning real good salaries,” said Sandy Lucas of Maryland, a native Australian and travel specialist with Glyndon Travel. “They are starting to expect it, but not from me.”

Australians will likely get a tip from frequent traveler Tim Gittins, though.

 

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