Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Keep the change
|
How much should you tip for a service that has satisfied you? Read on to find out all about tipping.
|
IT WAS embarrassing like hell for Divya Mohan as she recalls the incident about tipping. "While studying in college at Bangalore, the most awkward occurrence with tipping was when my fiancé had taken me to a five star hotel on a lunch date for my birthday. Since I was staying in the hostel I was always hard up for money. After our lunch, he left a hundred rupee as a tip. As he walked towards the door, I swapped the note for a twenty-rupee note and was caught red-handed doing that, by him. Even today, years after marriage, he torments me about that incident."
Tipping dates back to the days when kings they gave baksheesh to their subordinates on joyful occasions. But today its reference is mainly as tipping in restaurants, to valets for parking, at the beauty salons and sometimes even to well-mannered auto and taxi drivers.
Tipping etiquette
There are so many anecdotes related to tipping. What exactly is tipping etiquette? There are no hard and fast rules to tipping but courtesy demands some amount of appreciation for good service in the manner of money.
Tips often provide a much-needed monetary help to many as in the case of Ravi, a bearer in a city hotel. Says he, "With rising prices how do we live and maintain a certain standard of living.
This secondary income is what helps in adding comfort to our lives." He adds, "We have many well off clients who visit the hotel every month and we make extra money from their tips. If they are satisfied with our service they ask for us during the next visit. So I make sure that they remember my name."
The concept of tipping is easily accepted by Indians who have lived or studied abroad.
" I thrived on restaurant tips for a good part of my post graduation. When I opted to do my PG, I did not want my parenst to foot my bills so I worked at restaurants and filling stations. People are very generous if you give them good service with a smile. It was trouble-free pocket money for me," says Sulaj Krishnan working in Canada.
Valet parking
But the criterion on which the tip is determined is the excellence of the serviceOne has to earn the tip. In no culture and country is tipping mandatory. "When the valet parks my car I make sure that he receives Rs.10 or Rs. 20 for that service. What we are asking him to do is to handle very expensive cars and bring it back without a scratch. This needs a great deal of control and confidence. Sometimes during weddings and conferences he has to handle many cars of different price ranges and sizes and probably walk a good distance to retrieve the car. This act is one worth acknowledging. If something were to happen to the car his job is in jeopardy," says Kamala Sunil.
Auto drives and coolies at the station are one community that earn the wrath of the general public. Most of the customers have to fight to get a good deal with them, so tipping is hardly ever even considered after utilising their service. Though there are fixed rates for them, public are of the
opinion that they take a share more than the service price and the tip added together. Some people strictly adhere to the rule of 10-15 per cent of the service as tip.
Tea money
In some parts of the country "chayakku valathum" or `money for tea' is given as a gesture for good service. Many times tips are taken along with the main bill, as in this case. "Whenever my gas delivery comes, I never get the balance if it's between Rs. 5 - Rs. 10. It is understood that it's his right. Very demanding," says Dr. Jaya.
"Some customers are of the opinion that they are already paying a good price worth the service and we staff have to do everything that does not even cover our job description. When we see some guest from Kerala we are extra nice to them to make them feel at home. But many times there is no response," says Iqbal a bellboy in an apartment hotel in Dubai.
"When visiting the parlour if I feel satisfied with the service and cleanliness. I give them a satisfying amount. I feel it is a big job they do to make us content," says Divya Mohan.
Samir who works, as a delivery boy for a fast food unit, says, "For the past few years there have been no increment in salary But the tips have been gratifying. So we try to give exceptional service to the customers so that we are given a worthy tip."
Many hotel administrations do not approve of this practice. They feel that if they were to increase the salary of the staff and levy a blanket service charge, either the staff will continue receiving tips or go on a strike.
One of the traditions practised in most Kerala homes by visiting guests who stay is to tip the helpers of the house before leaving. And if the guest were to be the mother of the daughter-in-law of the house then the tip expectation is very high.
"If the guests don't tip my helpers then they are very tight lipped the next time another guest comes. The maids openly exhibit their likes and dislikes," opines Kamala.
So, tipping exists in many forms. To many it is a customary act, while to others it's a genuine gesture for good service received. And to yet some others it's an act of vanity and exhibition of their riches.
Frowned upon
"WHILE ON an official trip to Japan. I learned that tipping is not a part of their culture in any industry. After all they are known for their hard work. If you tipped openly they are offended. May be you have to pay it discreetly. We were cautioned by our hosts in Tokyo that we were not to tip anywhere"
JESSINA ABOOBACKER
Photo: K. Gopinathan
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
