Tipping In Italy
- Thread starter Truscano
- Start date
Hmm.. interesting question.
To be honest, I don't remember leaving a tip for anyone here. The reason is that I learned how important every cent is after a lady at the supermarket yelled after me when I left the change there and walked away. She made me feel like an idiot for 13 cents
I have only used a cab once, when I needed to go to the hospital and it was an emergency so I just payed the driver and left no tip because I was in too bog of a hurry.
To be honest, I don't remember leaving a tip for anyone here. The reason is that I learned how important every cent is after a lady at the supermarket yelled after me when I left the change there and walked away. She made me feel like an idiot for 13 cents
I have only used a cab once, when I needed to go to the hospital and it was an emergency so I just payed the driver and left no tip because I was in too bog of a hurry.
In general, when you eat out at a restaurant or pizzeria In Italy you pay a table service charge. Usually €1.50 - €2.00 a head. This is automatically added to your bill. This is to cover the waiters, table service etc....
You can of course leave a tip should you wish but it is not mandatory and many do not as in theory you have already paid a cover charge.
I would say that tipping is less frequent in Italy than other countries I have visited.
I have never heard of anyone tipping a hair dresser before in Italy but that is only my personal experience.
You can of course leave a tip should you wish but it is not mandatory and many do not as in theory you have already paid a cover charge.
I would say that tipping is less frequent in Italy than other countries I have visited.
I have never heard of anyone tipping a hair dresser before in Italy but that is only my personal experience.
OK, that's a big help thanks.
I know there are different customs in different countries. Ireland and the UK seem to have become very like the US as regards tipping (but definitely not as bad).
The theory behind tipping, of course, is that you are rewarding good or exceptional service. The problem I have where the service charge is included, like in Italy, is that if the service is terrible you still have to pay for it.
I know there are different customs in different countries. Ireland and the UK seem to have become very like the US as regards tipping (but definitely not as bad).
The theory behind tipping, of course, is that you are rewarding good or exceptional service. The problem I have where the service charge is included, like in Italy, is that if the service is terrible you still have to pay for it.
Funny story with tipping the waiter Here it goes:
I went home last year to visit my family and my friends and all, and decided to go to the local Mall to have a drink with 2 of my best friends back home. We each ordered an ice-cream (it was gooooood) and one had a coffee, one had some tea and I ordered water.
Everyone got what they asked for, except for my water. So I wait... and wait.. and the guy was already serving other tables, surely he forgot about my water! In the end I reminded him I was thirsty and got my bottle of water.
You know what one of my friends did? When we left, she intentionally didn't leave the money on the table because she felt like the waiter deserved to hear her say "you get no tip from us, you're a bad waiter and don't deserve one". Then we paid for the stuff and actually left without leaving a tip It was so funny!!
Here it goes:I went home last year to visit my family and my friends and all, and decided to go to the local Mall to have a drink with 2 of my best friends back home. We each ordered an ice-cream (it was gooooood) and one had a coffee, one had some tea and I ordered water.
Everyone got what they asked for, except for my water. So I wait... and wait.. and the guy was already serving other tables, surely he forgot about my water! In the end I reminded him I was thirsty and got my bottle of water.
You know what one of my friends did? When we left, she intentionally didn't leave the money on the table because she felt like the waiter deserved to hear her say "you get no tip from us, you're a bad waiter and don't deserve one". Then we paid for the stuff and actually left without leaving a tip
It was so funny!!
Your friend did the right thing Rosie! A tip is just that, if you receive a good service then sometimes you can leave a tip.
I can't remember the last time I left one. Not because the service was bad, its just most people don't tip in the places that I visit.
In most places, at the end of your meal, you simply go to the Cassa (cashier) and pay.
The waiters do not handle money.
@Truscano The table service charge should be treated as an eat in charge as it pays for the table, waiters, dishwashers and any other extra costs that takeaway client does not use.
If you wish to tip then I'm sure it will be welcome but do not feel that you have too.
I can't remember the last time I left one. Not because the service was bad, its just most people don't tip in the places that I visit.
In most places, at the end of your meal, you simply go to the Cassa (cashier) and pay.
The waiters do not handle money.
@Truscano The table service charge should be treated as an eat in charge as it pays for the table, waiters, dishwashers and any other extra costs that takeaway client does not use.
If you wish to tip then I'm sure it will be welcome but do not feel that you have too.
In the US we are obsessed with tipping. We tip everyone for everything, often even if the service is less than desirable. In Italy tipping does not have the same demand as in the US. You will get good service and I assume they get paid a decent wage. There is never the expectation that you are expected to tip. However, if you get off the chart service you can leave a few Euros and you will make your waiter very happy. I wish our tipping structure was closer to that of Europe and even Australia.
I'm from Ireland, and tipping really isn't that much here. Well my parents tip nearly all the time, but that's just them. Other people I've encountered most of the time aren't really bothered, unless they felt like they received excellent service (which is hard since people here have so high standards lol).
When I was in Rome a few years ago, the waiters in the outdoor coffee shops just took the tips from your change without asking. When I thought on one occasion that I was being short changed I was told "Don't worry, I already took the tip"
Grr.....
Grr.....
Wow, how rude! Were they Italians or foreign?
I too noticed that in some places (but not Italy) people tend to help themselves like that. In some places, they even tell you to your face that they don't have change, but they'll give you a candy or a pack of gum, in the hope that maybe you'll say 'no thanks, keep the change'.
One funny story happened to me right here in Italy, related to tipping, just a week ago.
I went to an agency to help a friend send a package to his home country, and the sum he had to pay was not a round sum, but he had to receive change.
The sum was either 21 or 16 or.. something like that, the idea was that my friend gave the agency guy a paper bill and 1 euro, so that would get rid of the change and receive a paper bill in return.
Anyway, the agency guy was expecting a tip, so here's how he prepared the change for my friend: he was supposed to give my friend 5 euros in return, so he prepared 4 euros using four 1 euro coins plus 1 euro using many, many small coins, in the hope that my friend would leave the many coins to the guy. How rude was that ?!
I too noticed that in some places (but not Italy) people tend to help themselves like that. In some places, they even tell you to your face that they don't have change, but they'll give you a candy or a pack of gum, in the hope that maybe you'll say 'no thanks, keep the change'.
One funny story happened to me right here in Italy, related to tipping, just a week ago.
I went to an agency to help a friend send a package to his home country, and the sum he had to pay was not a round sum, but he had to receive change.
The sum was either 21 or 16 or.. something like that, the idea was that my friend gave the agency guy a paper bill and 1 euro, so that would get rid of the change and receive a paper bill in return.
Anyway, the agency guy was expecting a tip, so here's how he prepared the change for my friend: he was supposed to give my friend 5 euros in return, so he prepared 4 euros using four 1 euro coins plus 1 euro using many, many small coins, in the hope that my friend would leave the many coins to the guy. How rude was that ?!
This is the first time I have heard someone do that in Italy and can only agree with Rosie with it being rude. This is not normal and I personally would of complained to the owner or manager.
In my experience the entire issue of tipping is a cultural minefield. I like that it's not expected in Italy - that's how it should be. I find it a little awkward when I travel to the USA and the waitress or waiter feels the need to be over the top friendly to try to secure a tip.
