Tipping...

[markbsas]

Ok folks,

Can someone help me out with how to tip here in Buenos Aires?

Family is not helping because they go from the level of my wife and mother-in-law hardly tipping at all, I mean like 25 centavos, to my father-in-law 10% and of course I'm used to tipping 15-20% based on service.

In the US, if the service is really really good many times I tip more than 20% - drives wife crazy. But if the service is really really bad I do not tip at all, nothing nada zip, they get and deserve nothing. But that is very very rare. Of course if I used the same guidelines here, I would rarely tip at all, because I have yet to experience good service in BsAs other than the pizza delivery guy.

But seriously, assuming service is good what would be customary and fair in various situations such as:

1. Restaurants, coffee shops, etc

2. Deliveries - pizza, empanadas, ice cream, whatever

3. Taxis and Remis

4. Other types of deliveries, stores, DHL etc

5. Other miscellaneous types of tips that are expected?

Thank you for your guidance!
Mark

 

[captdave]

Tipping is NOT part of Argentine culture the way it is in the EEUU.


1. Restaurants, coffee shops, etc

A GOOD tip is 10%, and this only if you were satisfied wth the service


2. Deliveries - pizza, empanadas, ice cream, whatever

2-5 pesos maximum, depending on the size of the order


3. Taxis and Remis

Taxis and remises do NOT expect a tip, other then perhaps rounding the fare up to the next peso


4. Other types of deliveries, stores, DHL etc

No tip is expected


5. Other miscellaneous types of tips that are expected?

There are none!

IMHO, tipping is an obnoxious habit, and you shouldn't promote it. I think tips should be offered ONLY for levels of service above the ordinary!

Saludos,

David

 

[RWS]

. . . . IMHO, tipping is an obnoxious habit, and you shouldn't promote it. I think tips should be offered ONLY for levels of service above the ordinary! . . . .

Agreed. Otherwise, it's a bribe to obtain services that are paid for.

 

[markbsas]

IMHO, tipping is an obnoxious habit, and you shouldn't promote it. I think tips should be offered ONLY for levels of service above the ordinary!

Thanks for the info David. Problem is, the bar for ordinary level of service is pretty darn low here in BsAs isn't it?

I wish more of the waiters income WAS dependent on tips - it evidently isn't here. If it was I bet the service would be much much better than it is. The limited amount of waiters I've seen so far don't really seem to give a rats behind because evidently no one here tips anyway, and they make what they make in their paycheck.

But I'll tell you what "obnoxious" really is, and that is the servicio del mesa or whatever they call it here. Say what??

 

[markbsas]

Agreed. Otherwise, it's a bribe to obtain services that are paid for.

Wow... where in the heck have I moved to? I'm not bribing anyone.

This is strictly performance based. Good waiters/waitresses who offer good service get good tips. Lousy wait staff get very little if anything. Not quite sure I understand how this is bribing anyone.

Sorry, maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying?

 

[jp]

But I'll tell you what "obnoxious" really is, and that is the servicio del mesa or whatever they call it here. Say what??

Lots of places do take away. Servicio de mesa covers the cost of you sitting down to eat, getting bread, dip, tablecloth, waiter etc.

I tip around 10% for restaurants and cafes, round up taxi fares and give delivery people 2-5 depending on how big the order was.

 

[ElQueso]

I will leave 10% as long as the service is reasonable. You guys who don't tip are welcome to your own opinions, but wait staff make shit here. Their salary is supposed to take into account tips, which they don't get from most Argentinos. Which may explain why they're grumpy and give shitty service. I wouldn't want to do what they do for shit.

I find that when I do tip, the wait staff usually remembers me after maybe one or two times returning to a place and they treat me very nicely. To me, it is cultivating a relationship. Many of the smaller places here have been serving the same customers for years and they all have an "in." I'm a foreigner and it takes awhile to get "in" but sometimes a little kindness and understanding help.

And MY GOD! On a hundred peso bill, a ten peso tip is all of $2.62 dollars!!! There is such a thing as becoming TOO acclimatized to the culture!

As far as treating tips like bribes for good service - well, I remember an ex-pat guy in Brasil who got stopped while walking home from a bar, drunk. He left before we did. He got stopped by the local cops and they gave him a real hard time. They just wanted some money, really. But he stood on principles and refused. About an hour later, we walked by on our way home and saw the poor guy being harrassed.

Suffice it to say we paid the cops for him, for which he paid us back the next day and then swore he's be with the program the next time.

They had shaken him down for the equivalent at the time of about $25 dollars. Stand on principle, or figure out the best way to get things done...

 

[markbsas]

ElQueso, thanks very much. I have asked what wait staff made and whether tips were taken into account and my family here was not sure. Nice heads up, thank you for the info.

 

[Napoleon]

Wow... where in the heck have I moved to?

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!