Whats the tip...?

[Vawner]

Bagging kids at the super
$10 - 25, depending on size of load

Valet drivers at the bar/restaurant
Haven't used

Waiter in a restaurant - just a drink/full meal
Depends. If "la ley" or other form of tip is already included, then it depends on the quality of the service; if the service was good, I'll throw in another $50-100 depending on how much we ate. If "la ley" is not included, then 10-20% of the bill (not including ITBIS), again, depending on the quality of service.

Kid/old man "watching" your car for a few hours
Nothing if it is on a public street. Otherwise, $10-20

The guy who just washed your car
$100 (never had it washed without asking; if someone washes it without my asking, I'd still pay 100 if it needed to be washed)

(for the wife) The salon - washer / stylist / nails
Dunno

The window washers at the street corner - when you ask/when you say no and they do it anyway
$5 if I asked / 0 if not

Regarding eating in a restaurant - I'm still not sure about the charge for "la ley". I've come to assume that it is a tip to be distributed among the entire staff, but if anyone has better info, I'd love to hear it. I tried to do a search on "la ley" but the search engine says "la" does not count as a word "too small"

 

[dv8]

i feel hurt. many others, including HB gave the same quotes as me but only i was called taca?a

 

[Black Dog]

i feel hurt. many others, including HB gave the same quotes as me but only i was called taca?a

I came to your defence dv8, chivalry lives on! LOL

 

[Expat-in-Cabarete]

You're correct. The law says to be distributed among ALL employees (that includes managers even those managers that may not be working on the floor and anyone that's employed by the restaurant (like an administrator, bookkeeper, accountant maybe for some very large restaurants). The law does not state that the 10% should be distributed equally among all the employees. You can reach your own conclusions on where most of the 10% goes.

Regarding eating in a restaurant - I'm still not sure about the charge for "la ley". I've come to assume that it is a tip to be distributed among the entire staff, but if anyone has better info, I'd love to hear it. I tried to do a search on "la ley" but the search engine says "la" does not count as a word "too small"

 

[dv8]

I came to your defence dv8, chivalry lives on! LOL

i know, thank you puertoplate?os unite against capitale?os!

 

[Expat-in-Cabarete]

What about tipping the guy at the gas station?

Always wonder about this one. I argue with my husband that you have to tip at a gas station (common in Latin American countries) but he insists you don't have to. I guess he is used at US gas stations where full-service has an extra charge already in the per gallon price.

Is tipping at gas stations common here? Anyone does it?

 

[jaguarbob]

Ok, I'd like to get a feel for what everyone is tipping these days for different things. We had this conversation last night with a group of friends and well.... the answers were wildly different.

So we have...

Bagging kids as the super

Valet drivers at the bar/restaurant

Waiter in a restaurant - just a drink/full meal

Kid/old man "watching" your car for a few hours

The guy who just washed your car

(for the wife) The salon - washer / stylist / nails

The window washers at the street corner - when you ask/when you say no and they do it anyway


In fact, it seems I give away a hell of a lot of small change, and it mounts up....



So over to the board, opinions people....


(sorry for the title, should read what's the tip...., having a bad day...)

tip no one...dominicans do not tip anyone,why should we.
bob

 

[Black Dog]

Always wonder about this one. I argue with my husband that you have to tip at a gas station (common in Latin American countries) but he insists you don't have to. I guess he is used at US gas stations where full-service has an extra charge already in the per gallon price.

Is tipping at gas stations common here? Anyone does it?

I tip at gas stations, that's why I like driving in the UK, you serve yourself so you get the tip LOL

 

[dv8]

we tank for free so i'd have no idea about tipping at gas stations.

 

[Vawner]

You're correct. The law says to be distributed among ALL employees (that includes managers even those managers that may not be working on the floor and anyone that's employed by the restaurant (like an administrator, bookkeeper, accountant maybe for some very large restaurants). The law does not state that the 10% should be distributed equally among all the employees. You can reach your own conclusions on where most of the 10% goes.

Thanks Expat,
I guess I will amend my restaurant tipping accordingly, to increase the tip when the 10% "la ley" is included in the bill. I don't want to see the waiting personnel short-changed, but at the same time I feel the amount of the tip must have some relation to the quality of service.

 

[DavidZ]

Bagging kids as the super: nothing for bagging, for bringing to the car: 10 pesos or the loose change for the purchase

Valet drivers at the bar/restaurant: try to avoid valets here.

Waiter in a restaurant - just a drink/full meal: for drinks...10-20 pesos, meals, 10-15%, regardless if 10% and/or 16% is added...however based on service and type of restaurant...for example, I don't tip for take-away at a pollo carbon stand...

Kid/old man "watching" your car for a few hours: 10-20 pesos, if he's "legitimate", nothing if he's just begging...

The guy who just washed your car: at the carwash, 20 pesos, on the street, 100 pesos if I ask, 50 if not (and he did a decent job, otherwise 0)

(for the wife) The salon - washer / stylist / nails: no clue

The window washers at the street corner - when you ask/when you say no and they do it anyway: seems pretty standard, 5 pesos if you ask, 0 if not, with wipers used as deterrent

 

[rubio_higuey]

Bagging kids as the super: nothing for bagging, for bringing to passola: 10 pesos; to car: 15-20 pesos; if it is not heavy, I just carry it myself.

Valet drivers at the bar/restaurant: don't use them

Waiter in a restaurant - just a drink/full meal: drinks: round up; meals: 10% for smaller orders, 50-100 pesos for larger orders; don't tip at take-aways or corner stands (chimi, etc.), also I don't tip at "expresos chinos" even for eat in

Kid/old man "watching" your car for a few hours: Nothing if I didn't ask for it or agreed up front, otherwise whatever loose change I have (10-20 pesos)

(for the wife) The salon - washer / stylist / nails: no idea

The window washers at the street corner - when you ask/when you say no and they do it anyway: same as the majority: 5 pesos if ask and they get to wash the front one only, 10 if they wash front and rear, 5 if I ask for washing both and they do a lousy job; 0 if I didn't ask; 0 and some "friendly" talk if the sponge lands on my windshield out of nowhere with a kiddo running behind it

 

[SteveS]

The window washers at the street corner - when you ask/when you say no and they do it anyway: same as the majority: 5 pesos if ask and they get to wash the front one only, 10 if they wash front and rear, 5 if I ask for washing both and they do a lousy job; 0 if I didn't ask; 0 and some "friendly" talk if the sponge lands on my windshield out of nowhere with a kiddo running behind it

I'd like to get out of the car and take money back off them when I've just left the carwash with my pristine car and some kid comes and throws his dirty water on your window. Grr... pet hate.

 

[SteveS]

I appreciate all the responses, and they're in the region of what I tend to give. Its only that we've friends who are tipping much more than amounts on here and we told them they were crazy...!! 50 pesos for the super kid? you're mad.

My problem, always, is I never have any change, and you have to tip all the flaming time.... so you go to the cashier to get some change blah blah...ad anfinitum...

There is always the option of going the same way as the supermarkets/stores with no change..... giving sweets instead of tips.......

 

[Expat-in-Cabarete]

Thanks Expat,
I guess I will amend my restaurant tipping accordingly, to increase the tip when the 10% "la ley" is included in the bill. I don't want to see the waiting personnel short-changed, but at the same time I feel the amount of the tip must have some relation to the quality of service.

I fully agree with your last statement. If I could, I would scrap that law. It just does not promote good service. A while ago, I convinced my employees that it was better for them to provide good service and expect a good tip, than to include the 10%. They agreed and they did a lot better than if I had include it. We have no doubt about it. But now with the recession and people so much more conscious bout their spending, tips were at an all time low. So we went back to the 10% just to make sure that at least they get the minimum. Sure enough, I have to be on top of everything now, else service will suffer. Just lack of willingness to go that extra mile to provide excellent service since with the 10% they know they get a decent amount to take home every week.

 

[Gazz]

I have to say though that them kids who wash the wind screen of the car on the roadide do a good job. I mean its a dangerous job and they will do it hours with little money. But I did make the mistake of waving to one them when I arrived for the 1st time and they came ober and washed the car quicker than you could say no, lol But it is true that even if you tip certain people sometimes they will complain because we are rich grengos. But because we are we need to be a little bit tight so as not to get taken advantage of

 

[BettyDiamond]

Bagging kids as the supermarket - put the heavy stuff at the bottom and the bread at the top

Valet drivers - keep to the right

Waiter in a restaurant - just a drink/full meal - knife on the right fork on the left

Kid/old man "watching" your car for a few hours - if you get a sponge and clean it you can earn twice as much

The guy who just washed your car - use a clean cloth to polish it

(for the wife) The salon - washer / stylist / nails - dont dig your nails in my head when you wash my hair

The window washers at the street corner - when you ask/when you say no and they do it anyway - have you tried selling phone cards

 

[Aspire]

So we have...

Bagging kids as the super - 0 to 5 pesos

Valet drivers at the bar/restaurant - 50 pesos

Waiter in a restaurant - just a drink/full meal - 5 to 15% of bill

Kid/old man "watching" your car for a few hours - 20-50 pesos

The guy who just washed your car - 50 pesos

(for the wife) The salon - washer / stylist / nails - 100 pesos

The window washers at the street corner - when you ask/when you say no and they do it anyway 10-25 pesos/1-5 pesos

Gas station - 25 pesos (expense report paid) or 0 pesos (out-of-pocket paid)


Tipping to me seems a very personal affair, based a lot on your personality, experiences, culture, etc...so, I go with what feels right to me personally, understanding the economics of a developing country, while keeping in mind that in a developed country, your spontaneous charity most likely goes to a person getting their next fix, whereas here, there is a high chance it will go to getting their next meal.

 

[orion]

understanding the economics of a developing country, while keeping in mind that in a developed country, your spontaneous charity most likely goes to a person getting their next fix, whereas here, there is a high chance it will go to getting their next meal.

I completely agree and feel the same way, I am a little more aggressive when it comes to tipping as I feel my tips goto a better use in the DR than back home...