Intercultural Conflict - To tip or not to tip

I’m sure many people are familiar with “When in Rome do as the Romans do.” But how many of us are willing to do so when it burns a hole in our pockets. If you are unsure what I’m talking about, I’m talking about the culture of tipping. There is hardly a tipping culture in Singapore and sometimes Singaporeans travelling abroad may find it difficult to accustom to such practices. Such intercultural ignorance may lead to unpleasant consequences which might ruin an otherwise pleasant holiday experience.

In Singapore we do not bother ourselves with tips because a service charge has been automatically included into our bills and we are fully used to it. All we have to do is pay the final amount reflected. However, in other countries this service charge may not be included in the bill and a tip is expected. In those cases it is up to individual discretion as to how much to tip.

How much is the right amount? It varies from place to place and from profession to profession. Therefore one should find out what is the minimum before heading out on a holiday. The amount to tip also depends on how you rate the service and what are you trying to convey to the service staff. An under tip might suggest that you think the service staff’s service was sub-standard.

So what if I do not leave a tip? I would be out of the restaurant before the waiter/waitress knows how much I tipped. You are half right. However some waiters might come after you and call you names which would be unpleasant. Others might form an impression that Singaporeans are cheapskates and do not know the rules and subsequent Singaporeans will be treated with poor service. So if you happen to get bad service overseas, it might be due to Singaporeans who have visited before you. With our country’s name at stake such issues should not be taken lightly.
To tip or not to tip has always been a hotly debated topic. Some reason that some occupations are so under paid that they depended on the tip to make a decent wage. Others feel that the workers wage should be the employer’s responsibility. Whichever side you stand on the decision is entirely up to you.

- Here is a little something I would like to share with all of you
Whenever you sign a credit card do take note at where you sign there is actually a column which says tips and is deliberately left blank. It is for customers to fill in the amount of tips to pay. However in most of Singapore’s context we tend to just sign and continue to leave it blank. There have been incidents where service staff actually fills that in after you signed and in the end that amount was paid. To prevent such incidents from happening remember to cross out the tips part and rewrite the total you want to pay at the final line again.