Urns labelled “To Insure Promptness” placed in English pubs in the 18th century is believed to be a possible origin of the term tipping. Today, it is almost imperative to tip for the service one receives at hotels, restaurants, spas, cabs and many more service establishments especially when travelling. While the concept of tipping may appear fairly simple and commonplace on the outset, it is in fact a far more complex ritual with a number of rules, expectations and motivations. The India Tipping Survey conducted by TripAdvisor unravels some of these insights on tipping practices by Indian travellers.
The survey conducted among 1400 respondents found a staggering 97% respondents tip for services while on holiday, which includes 50% who said they ‘always’ tip on such occasions. On the other hand, 65% of those who never tip said they don't understand why they need to pay extra since they are already paying for the service.
Deciding on the Deserving
Top 3 reasons to Tip: 47% respondents said they tip if staff have met their basic expectations, while another 40% seem harder to please and only tip if they think staff have gone the extra mile in their service. It also seems that people feel obliged to tip as a social norm or courtesy as 35% respondents agreed they tipped simply because they think it’s expected.
While tipping hotel personnel, helpfulness of service is the most important factor while in case of restaurant service, the top reason for tipping waiters is politeness of service.
The Tipping Ritual
- While it seems to be common practice while vacationing, 92% respondents said they don’t really plan a tipping budget before going on holiday. However, the 3 services most commonly at the receiving end of tipping generosity by Indian holidaymakers are waiters (87%), hotel porters (76%) and room service (59%).
- Though for a majority of 47% respondents the current economic situation has not impacted tipping habits, an almost equally large 45% accepted they have reduced their tips as a result of the same.
- While a tip is most often given at the end of a service, it isn’t uncommon for people to pay tips at the beginning instead to try and ensure a great experience. In fact 48% respondents in the survey confessed to tipping hotel staff at the beginning of their holiday in order to receive better service for the duration of their stay. However waiters have to be at their best, keep their fingers crossed and wait until after serving a patron to see the green, with 90% respondents saying they don’t tip waiters at the beginning of a meal.
- A sizeable 71% of respondents also denied tipping if a service charge has already been included in the bill or cost of service. Despite this the opinion is quite equally divided on whether tipping should be abolished and included in the bill with 40% in favour and 44% against the change.
Tipping Diversity
Tipping habits seem to be consistent for most Indians as 56% said they tip more or less the same while travelling within India or abroad. However, 27% said they tip more when they holiday abroad.
- The biggest reason cited by people for tipping more abroad is that they believe the tipping culture is stronger internationally. Interestingly, the next biggest reason for tipping more abroad seems to be that vacationers don’t want Indians to appear as cheap travellers.
- Tipping norms vary across cultures and countries and Indian travellers don’t seem to be ignorant to the fact and want to be aware and clued in on social expectations as 68% respondents said they take the trouble to find out tipping norms and expectations when travelling to another country.
- The survey shows that majority of holiday goers tip whatever amount they consider appropriate at a hotel, restaurant or for a cab. For the next largest group of respondents, the most popular tip amount for a restaurant is 10% of the bill whereas for cab and hotels Indians said their tips vary depending on expectation for the country.
- The survey also unveils that Indians feel the most pressure or compelled to tip when travelling within Asia (32%) followed by North America (28%).
- The survey reveals that Indians consider Americans (56%) followed by the English (31%) to be the most generous travellers when it comes to tips, based on travel experience and common perception. However, the scales tip against the Indian traveller as survey respondents vote Indians as the least generous of tippers (35%) followed by the Chinese (28%). Further, when asked specifically if they believed Indians were generous tippers, only 15% responded in the affirmative.
Anything for a tip
While a tip is largely at the discretion of the customer, service providers do go the extra mile sometimes to ensure they secure the extra buck. From their tipping experiences, 71% respondents have had a service provider hint indirectly for a tip whereas 41% have been asked directly or specifically to part with a tip. Though accounting for a small share, 10% even said they have experienced a situation where the provider of a service returned their tip indicating it was too low.
Women more cautious tippers
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