Even as Indian restaurants and patrons debate on the logic of levying a service charge, world over, tips are a norm. In many cases, workers in service industry refuse to get promoted as they make more money than their managers, thanks to generous patrons. The jobs which depend on tips include hotel bellboys, valets, delivery men, bar tenders and cab drivers.
Here are the best and the worst when it comes to tipping.
Celebrities
Hotel Heiress Paris Hilton can be rated as the best celebrity tipper. She made headlines a few years back when she gave a whopping $47,000 tip to a bartender. The lifestyle celebrity also opened her purse and heart to Indian poor as she gave $100 to a beggar she found on the street on a visit to India. It can well be assumed that it is not merely her association with the hotel industry, that make her realize the value of tipping.
As Americans are very judgmental of those who tip badly, the celebrity who came under scrutiny is Michael Jordon. The NBA star athlete who is now retired and worth over a Billion Dollars, is frequently criticized for tips as low as $5 or no tips at all.
Nationality
Since tipping is a norm, one would assume that Americans are the best tippers of the world. However, that is not true. While American tourists tip more consistently, probably as a force of habit, it is Germans who are amongst the best of tippers in frequency and in amounts.
The worst of tippers are Indians and Mexicans. When tourists of these countries visit Europe and nations where tipping is a part of culture, tour guides warn them to set aside some amount to tip bellboys at hotels, to buffer their resentment of that nationality.
Countries
Canada and America are the countries which make most amounts in the form of tips, followed by the UK, Australia, Germany and Switzerland. The tips average to around 15-20% of the bill in these countries. In France, Italy, Turkey and Egypt, lower tips as much as 5-10% are also received with a polite smile. Countries like Argentina and Brazil add a service charge on the bills, requiring no extra tips to be given.
In stark contrast to rogue waiters who demand tips and yell at stingy patrons in the US, Asian service industry is much more docile. No tips are expected in many countries be it India, South Korea. Tips are forbidden in China, but the extreme case is Japan where a waiter is insulted when tipped! For them, service is a part of honour and any suggestion of it being worse if not paid, is sacrilege. A kind word might just do the trick.
Age and gender
The elderly are known to be more generous tippers as they tip much more than 20% average. Patrons under 35 years of age, either stick to the average 15% or less. However, impulsive youngsters are known to give exceptionally larger tips.
Men are also known to be more generous tippers than women. However, this behavior might be an effect of large number of waitresses and the subsequent gender effect. Women are also known to be good tippers, when a male waiter or a serviceman is at his job.
