Scenic Runway

Tips-Gratuities

The amount of an appropriate tip/gratuity varies around the world. Wait staff in the United States rely heavily on tips for their salary. Wait staff in some countries receive hourly salaries for their service jobs and are less reliant on tips. Knowing how much to tip for services rendered can be confusing. When paying the fare for a taxi/cab in Paris my husband gave the driver more than the actual fare. While we were getting out of the taxi/cab the driver said “sir your change”. I was closest to the driver and said “No it’s for you. He wants you to keep it”. I was surprise by his reaction, he said thank you (merci) several times. This was not the first time that I had witnessed such a reaction while traveling in Europe. A similar incident occurred at the Barcelona Airport in Spain. It appeared that the amount of the tip was above what would normally be given. Whenever the tip is not indicated on the check I always ask what is the appropriate percentage for gratuities. I am sure that in many cases I have over tipped but if the service was exceptional I don’t mind.

Tags: Gratuity, Tips