Tips on tipping (in Bangkok)

There is no rule for tipping here. No, you do not need to tip 10% or 15% of the bill, although at times that could be a good rule of thumb. However, you will find that sometimes, there is a strange logic to tipping over here.

Tipping in bars

After getting your bill, you can always leave the 10-20% tip if you like. Now, take note of this, if you leave the tip on the tray, this tip will be shared amongst all of the staff. However, if you want a particular waitress to get the tip, take some of the change from the tray and put it in her pocket, then it goes to her only.

Tipping in hotels

Now, most hotels generally charge a service charge of 10% so one would expect that this would be given to the staff at the end of the month. However, there have been reports of unscrupulous hotel owners who do not give that to the staff. Instead they keep it for themselves. Do leave some tip for the waiter if you like their service.

Tipping your freelancer

When you have agreed on a price with your girl, you do not need to give more than that. You can always give them a bit more for the taxi fare if you like, normally 100B would suffice.

Tipping the massage girl

This is the area where the percentage rule would not apply. Now, it can be assumed that most the masseuse would be getting a percentage of the price you are paying for the service. Some establishments may do a 50-50 deal, in some places 60-40 or 40-60. Now, if you are paying 2,000B for the bath massage, the girl is already getting quite a bit. Compare this with 300B for a 2 hour traditional massage. Both the masseuses work the same hours, but the latter gets a lot less. So, it would be nice to tip the latter a bit more in terms of percentage.