Tipping...

[markbsas]

You've moved to Buenos Aires.

Just today, my Miami amiga was saying "I love this city.... I miss this town... Let's get out of this store because everyone has had attitude since the moment we walked in... This town is amazing... I need to use the bathroom."

Wages are earned differently than in the States. The post listing all of the percentages is right on the money. Use the information as you wish, but it is absolutely accurate.

Once again, you've moved to Buenos fucking Aires!

I think maybe you have misunderstood something I said. I asked sarcastically where I moved because of the response that I got that somehow tipping is bribery or somehow obnoxious. And that is not the first time I've heard it since I've been here in Buenos Aires. A very strange idea to me and I absolutely do not believe it for a second!

For me, it doesn't matter what country I was born in, the principals are all the same. Kindness, generosity, paying for good service, getting paid a decent salary based on your performance. All the same no matter what country.

And yes it IS different here. Honestly, I don't love it here yet, but I hope one day I will. Plus, I'm not a city person, so I feel the same about New York City (sorry) that I do about Buenos Aires right now. But I'm sure I'll adapt to life here.

But I will never ever change who I am as a person to fit the place that I live. I'm far from rich, way far, but I will absolutely tip fairly when it is deserved.

Thank you
Mark

 

[nikad]

I have always tipped waiters and deliveries and will continue to do so (10% is my number unless they do something really exceptional ) I have never left a place without tipping, I do it even if they look bitter. My hubby usually tips more (20%) though- I know how much money some waiters make without tips, and it is really not good, some get 800 pesos a month for 8 hrs 6 days a week

When my husband first got here, the first time we ordered pizza, back in 2003 he tipped the delivery boy with 2 pesos (which was something like 10 pesos now ) and he gave him 1 peso back... i guess he thought it was too much! he was absolutely shocked when he came back upstairs, heheh

10% for restaurants and coffee stores
2 to 5 pesos for deliveries and
round up with cabs is my rule of thumb.

 

[nikad]

Let me add that I have the feeling that sometimes the porteño attitude is misinterpreted, here most wait staff are not the happy, smiling toothpaste commercial type, you tip them and then you go back and they will still look grumpy... it is a cultural thing I guess, they will tell you all kinds of weird stories and anecdotes, but are not the happy always happy type generally.

 

[ElQueso]

Yeah, I forgot to mention deliveries. I usually tip 2-5 pesos as well, mostly depending on what I have in my wallet at the time, or what change the deliverer can make.

 

[katti]

And what do you pay valet parking? (restaurants)

 

[ElQueso]

I've only been to one place that has valet parking in the three eyars I've lived here - the new Kansas out in Pilar. They have no public parking even though they could easily do so. I watched the locals and saw no one tip anything, not even a peso. So I didn't tip either.

Those poor guys probably make even less than the waitstaff though...

 

[nikad]

And what do you pay valet parking? (restaurants)

I give them 2 pesos (Kansas, the horse track, etc )

 

[nikad]

I honestly don´t know what happened, but years ago when i was a child, everybody would give tips, not as much as 20% but still something... it is true that a lot of locals do not do it anymore and I really don´t know why. I am not rich and I still do it, so I guess it has nothing to do with your income really. If I do not want to tip or have as little interaction as possible I go to a fast food place, grab my own stuff, pay before I eat and be done with it. I find it abusive when they charge you then infamous " servicio de mesa " though, am I expected to eat with my hands and have no napkins if I do not want to pay for that? What is the point of paying all the extra for the meal if the restaurant cannot provide a piece of bread, a napkin and cutlery? Should I pay everything separately, ie, the bread and dining ware, the tip, the meal, the parking tip... the servicio de mesa is an abuse 8 and helps avoiding taxes btw )

 

[katti]

I agree with this and am in constant discussion with my husband about this : I refuse to tip when they put "servicio de mesa" on the bill. In my opinion, it replaces the tip. Unfortunately it is mostly my husband who pays.

When we talk about tips with our Argentine friends they think you should always pay 10% in restaurants, even if they service was lousy. When we pay they always ask us "did you give 10%?".

In taxis I always round up, up or down, if it's 6,20 I pay 6$, if it's 7,5$ I pay 8$ , depending on the bills I have.

On the other hand, I will never forget that one time when we went to a restaurant in the south of france where they only had valet parking and when my husband (in a really good mood) gave this guy 5€, thinking he was really giving him a huge tip, this guy said "sorry sir, minimum tip is 10€!"... how embarassing that was...

 

[ElQueso]

On the servicio de mesa, I know it's aggravating. But the waiters don't get any of that, from what I understand, so it doesn't replace a tip.

In fact, I was once told by a local friend of mine that servicio de mesa was instituted under Peron (I'm not sure which presidency) and was intended to provide additional wages to waitstaff, which never actually made it into their pockets.

Nikad, do you know if that's true? I've always wondered...