“I don’t tip because society says I have to. Alright, I tip when somebody really deserves a tip. If they put forth an effort, I’ll give them something extra. But I mean, this tipping automatically, that’s for the birds. As far as I’m concerned they’re just doing their job.” – Mr Pink, Reservoir Dogs

SO after you pull your car up to a hotel, the bellman carries your suitcases to the reception area and, after you check in, brings the luggage to your room. How do you express your appreciation for the service you received? Should you or shouldn’t you tip?

While it is nowhere close to being mandatorily practised in Jamaica as it is in the US, many locals feel compelled to pay gratuity to service providers and are faced with this predicament quite often.

It is alleged that the origin of the word ‘tip’ is from an acronym of ‘To Insure Promptness’. The practice is aptly intended to reward good service but people are increasingly viewing it as standard behaviour and tip no matter the service quality received.

So, do you give ‘the doorman $100 for opening the door… the bartender $100 for keeping the ice cubes cold’? What services require gratuity? Tipping waiters, bartenders and valet parkers is generally expected but there are a host of other service-oriented jobs which tend to lead to uncertainty.

Renowned protocol consultant Merrick Needham tells Sunday Finance that tips are mostly discretionary and varies from consumer to consumer.

“There is a question of how much you give to people who give very rudimentary service,” notes Needham, who advises that persons should only tip for good service.

“For instance, if I’m going to stay at a hotel, and I got out of my car or taxi and the bellman takes my luggage and puts it into a holding area; I certainly wouldn’t give him anything for that, but some people would, particularly if they want to show off,” he explains.

Needham admits that people often tip for the wrong reasons — studies show that the desire for VIP treatment, not wanting to be thought of as cheap and guilt among the socially conscious at just being served by someone, are a few of the common ones.

“There is a big feeling nowadays that people tip because they think they have to… some people tip because they want to create a hell of an impression so when they come around next time, everybody is scraping for them,” states Needham.

There is also no set rule on how much money to tip in Jamaica as there is in North America, but local etiquette experts create guidelines from time to time. For instance, Needham says that event planner Ingrid Peralto had a guide last year which suggested tipping waiters and bartenders 15 per cent in “modest” restaurants and 20 per cent in “expensive” facilities; she also advised providing US$1 to US$2 per bag to airport and hotel porters.

Needham acknowledges that the minimum acceptable tip locally nowadays is around 12 to 15 per cent of the total bill — he revealed that he tips taxis $100 on a $600 bill (16 per cent).

“When that sort of thing was first done in Europe, certainly in Britain, it was considered rather poor form to say how much you should tip because tipping was a little gratuity or gift at your wish for something you thought the worker was qualified for… But now it’s fairly common,” he tells Sunday Finance.

He adds: “I think the idea of 10 per cent minimum is rather gone now; that’s considered low.”

A lot of restaurants include a 10 per cent to 15 per cent gratuity charge into the final bill. Needham suggests that one should not feel obliged to pay extra tip when the gratuity is in the minimum 12 to 15 per cent range.

“Those charges used to be 10 per cent and I would give an additional two per cent but they tend to be higher now,” he notes.

Still, some business places in Jamaica — such as several of the nation’s all-inclusive resorts — forbid the practice of tipping at its facilities. Needham defends the prohibition.

“Club Med came up with the brilliant all-inclusive idea because it was such a nuisance for people to go on holiday and have to carry all those loose cash everywhere — to buy a drink here, buy a drink there, tip this one for that etc,” explains Needham, adding “The thing is, you go to hotels to get away from hustling and hassle generally.”

What’s more is that the master of protocol does not see a need for Jamaica to promote tipping in order to incentivise workers to be more productive and raise the level of customer service in the country.

“From my long knowledge of Jamaica — not so much up to 30 or 40 years ago but since then increasingly — there is a sort of ‘gimmie’ type of culture and I think if we promote tipping the people who would likely be qualified for tip would just say ‘Yeah, damn good thing, I should be getting this’ and that’s not going to improve their productivity at all,” laments Needham.How Much to Tip?RESTAURANTS/BARSTRAVEL

Waiter/waitress:

15% of bill at modest facility;

20% of bill at expensive facility

Headwaiter/captain:

No tip at modest facility;

5% at expensive facility

Wine steward:

No tip at modest facility;

15 per cent of cost of the bottle

at expensive facility

Bartender:

15% at modest facility;

20 per cent at expensive facility

Washroom attendant:

No tip at modest facility;

US$1 to US$2 at expensive facility

Coatroom attendant:

US$1 per garment at modest facility;

US$2 per garment at expensive facility

Doorman:

No tip at modest facility;

US$2 to US$3 per car or taxi

at expensive facility

Airport porters: US$1 to US$2 per bag

Taxis: 15% of fare

Hotel bellman: US$1 to 2 per bag

Hotel room service:

US$ 1 to US$2 at modest facility;

up to US$5 at expensive facility

Hotel maid:

US$1 to $2 at modest facility;

US$3 to US$5 at expensive facility

Source: 2010 guide by Ingrid Peralto (Shared via Merrick Needham)