Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

A tip to great hospitality

A tipping culture has set in with the increasing eating out trend. RAKHEE MOHAN finds out all about the humble `baksheesh' in its new avatar

Photo: AFP

WARM SERVICES Most places have a tipping box and it gets equally shared by all the waiters

Walk into a restaurant and the laid tables , the ready waiters , prompt service, excellent food and the relaxed ambience sets off a goodwill that you wish to appreciate graciously. And instead of the complimentary lip service one desires to reward it monetarily. Tipping as it is known

began as an action denoting `keep the change'.

Rules of tipping

But it has now grown in to a culture that's at times confusing. When do you tip? Do you state your satisfaction levels on the amount that you leave behind? How much do you tip? Are you in tune with the propriety levels of tipping that different hierarchal levels pander to? Agrees hospitality consultant Satheesh Karunakaran of Satsuma Hospitality Ideas, "people remain by and large confused on what the right amount is when it comes to tipping." Tips, he informs, unabbreviated, in the hospitality parlance stands for `To Improve Prompt Service'. It's a kind of egging on, an encouragement, and a pat on the back for the beneficiary to keep doing the good work.

For warm services

Adds Mr. Satheesh, "in the hospitality industry no one goes out of their way to solicit tips and it isn't mandatory. It's just a personal reciprocation for the warm services that are offered . That makes them feel great and they want to reward the one who has made the effort." The tipping rates he assesses "would begin from Rs. 2 and climb all the way to Rs. 100 on a normal basis at a five star hotel. In foreign countries you pay ten per cent of the bill, which is not affordable by Indian standards so hardly anyone follows that. Here you tip according to your budgets."

But there are times when you see a scowl on the face of waiters if you happen to run out of short change and plunk anything less than a fiver . Some take it as a professional right to be tipped handsomely. And if you haven't tipped well, the farewell song can get a little grating to an otherwise nice time.

But otherwise how do people go about tipping? Says Parvathy, BBA student, "for us youngsters who are not earning and yet frequently visiting a hangout it is a tough balancing act. But our tips begin and end at Rs. 5. At times it might climb to Rs. 10. But mostly waiters don't expect much from us as we become regulars." For professionals who eat out frequently it just is a matter of Rs. 2 and sometimes none at all. Says Thomas, "when we go out for lunch at smaller restaurants we hardly ever tip. But once in a while when we have an outing with the family at a bigger restaurant we tip up to Rs. 20."

Tipping criteria

But the criteria for tipping remains mainly on two points according to Michael, Manger at St. Francis Press, "if the service is prompt and if the waiters have a pleasing attitude, then only do I tip. For the people on the other side of the story, i.e; the waiters, attendants and stewards, the grass is indeed greener. While most weren't willing to openly speak about tipping, they did agree that that it gives them added cash that they can spend on their kids and family. And at times one can get unbelievably lucky especially with hardcore tippers like foreigners.

Sharing

Says Rajkumar Singh, a waiter at Delhi Durbar, "recently, just for serving a glass of lassi, I received a tip of Rs. 150 by some foreign tourists." But here as in many restaurants the sole person doesn't get to pocket the tip. Says Rajkumar, "we have a tipping box and so it gets equally shared by all the waiters, at the end of the day." Elaborating on this method of sharing the spoils is Suvarnan, F&B Manager at Woods Manor, "there is a point system and according to seniority it divided among the captain, the steward, assistants and even the trainees and cashier because he has to be fast with settling the bill."

Bad tippers

On tippers with a large heart and a larger pay packet, he reveals, "From my experience what I have seen is that the Japanese and Philippines are the ones who tip least. But those from the US tip liberally. And it is the NRI'S who tip graciously." And it isn't just at restaurants that one goes about tipping. Right from room service to valet parking everyone gets to be a part of the burgeoning tipping culture. Most of the city hotels cater to this idea. But some like Le Meridien state they do not encourage tipping at all. "There isn't even a tipping box. Customer service is a part of courtesy hospitality and client-guests need not pay extra for it," states their PR office.

Whether you are for tipping the scales in favour of tipping or not it's here to remain. But the humble `baksheesh' has certainly got more gloss and class to it in its new avatar.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail