That is seriously the question in France. Obviously, the general answer is you don’t tip because service is included in your bill. However, it gets a little trickier because some people do seem to leave a little something at cafes, restaurants, for cabbies and at hair salons.
Dman tells me that a tip or pourboire (literal translation: “in order to drink”) is really almost a courtesy. You leave a couple of euros so that your server can grab a drink later or something like that. I don’t go by what he says, though, because his tipping record is all over the place. If he has change, he leaves it. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. If the waitress is cute, he probably tips a bit more. He’s more conscientious of tipping at a chic place than the corner cafe. There’s some rhyme and reason there, but I don’t totally get it.
Tip? No tip?
For restaurants, I’ve figured out a bit of a formula. On a bill under 50 euros, you leave maybe a euro and/or some change. Over 50 but under 100, you leave around two to three euros. Over a hundred, you leave five.
Or not. Because I see plenty of people who leave nothing.
The arbitrariness bothers me. I’m used to leaving the standard 18-20% on a restaurant bill. This random, tip-as-you-like system is unsettling. Is it too much? Not enough? Am I being a stupid American? Probably.
And don’t even get me started on hair salons, which are tricky enough in the States, where you tip the shampoo girl, the blow-dryer, the stylist (but not if he/she’s the owner)… Again in Paris, some people tip at these places; others don’t. I can’t tell if I’m expected to tip because they know I’m American and know that Americans usually tip.
In fact, I’m sure it must have been Americans in Paris who ruined the whole not-tipping system here. All these unknowing, tipping tourists have caused this maybe-you-tip, maybe-you-don’t mayhem—along with my general anxiety every time I’m in a situation where I’d normally tip in the States.
The other day, I had Thai food delivered and on the bill of 30 euros, I gave the delivery dude a 3 euro tip. (This was soon after I’d come back from New York.) He looked at the money blankly and said, “But you overpaid.” Dman explained, “It’s a tip. She’s American.” The dude grinned happily, clearly thinking, “Dumb, over-generous Americans, you gotta love ‘em.”
Aargh.
2 Comments
Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 7:15 am
I am on a roll with the comments tonight! Dude, how annoying when things change in regards to tipping! My first trip ever to Paris I was told not to tip as it was included (which was fine because most of the service sucked anyway). Second trip, I kept wanting to leave a tip (better service), but traveling companions would look at me like I was Cyclops. Most recent trip, service was good, had a few extra euros…and so I left a tip, dammit! It does get confusing though over the pond. Just leave a tip if you’re vibe-ing it–not because you think they know you are American. =oD (lol) Cali keeps rockin…West Coast V
Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 7:37 pm
While you’re there can you tell them to tip us when they visit the States! That’s agony. When you have to gauge whether to add gratuity to their check according to how thick their French accent is . . . And still not offend them.