Tipping customs in Indonesia, Bali, Wakatobi?

[billt4sf]

So they prefer to receive tips in IDR? I need to get this right as I’m headed there in December. Thx.

Yes IDR only.

 

[dirtfarmer]

It's a shame that here in the US that employers can pay waitstaff so little and make them dependent on tips. My wife was a bartender for years so here I tip 20% for good service. My wife will not have it any other way. The minimum wage laws in the states need to be changed, no one who works full time should earn less than a living wage. I pay my employees more than a living wage.

It's also a shame that dive shops and LOB owners all over the world pay staff so little that the staff needs tips to top up thier pay. Ive heard on LOBs dreads a boat full of europeans, and relies on mericans (and maybe a Canadian or 2 to tip well. I've been on boats like that and even though its like that the staff serve the guests the same, I feel for the staff when the tip box is near empty when they have hustled to give everyone the same excellent experience. The staff really hustles and have very long days, I've never seen a slacker on a LOB, I've had boat captains help with my gear, I've seen chefs make delicious food in really small and hot kitchens, I've had dinning room staff waiting to take my empty plate, I've seen guides taking watch at the back of the boat at all hours. They are away from their families for long times, which is really hard on them. They work long hours, have skills, and they should be paid a living wage, tips should be the cherry on top.

I used to tip 10% on LOB's, but got sick of carrying the load for others. I now tip the box about 5% and then my guide about 100k or a bit more per day. Same thing at a resort. If my guide sucks no tip, if the waitstaff are inattentive no tip, I reward excellent service but really wish workers were fairly compensated.

 

[Luko]

I also pointed out that their family depended on tips to supplement their income.

Sorry to say that, but it would be also a good thing if their family depended on more comfortable wages their gringo employers would give them ... (not) funnily enough it seems it's the most expensive operations (not going to say american owned but you read my mind) where the families rely the most on tips.

Since Wisnu is following this conversation, I would like to ask and get a reply coming from an Indonesian member : is tipping customary in the indonesian culture, is it widespread in other industries than diving & tourism (for instance in remoter places like Maluku or easternmost Nusa Tenggara with are not already tainted with mass tourism) ?

 

[Dogbowl]

Taken from Samambaia website:

Tipping is not mandatory and an individual choice to show appreciation for good service. As a rule of thumb we recommend to leave min. 20 USD / per day if you were happy with the quality of service.

Personally, I like a “rule of thumb”. I also think it’s a fair tip for good service, unlike those that recommend15-20% tip for a USD7k liveaboard.

 

[charlier]

In my experience, a generous tip (if deserved) is 10%. A 10 day LoB, $300 USD/person is less than 10% but still a very nice tip. I ask that our customers refrain giving a separate tip to the guides. Usually, money direct to the guides mean that the crew receives a smaller tip at the end. This sometimes promotes an inequity between different guides and with the crew as well. My personal feeling is that the guides do not work as hard as the crew. The boat staff makes everything happen, but the guides receive the largest bounty. If all tips go into a group kitty, everyone is happy and share the tips equally. My two cents

 

[Luko]

In my experience, a generous tip (if deserved) is 10%. A 10 day LoB, $300 USD/person is less than 10% but still a very nice tip.

ok... let's say there are 12 crew on average (sounds decent on a boat for 10 divers on average, isn't it?) at the end of the month this will be roughly 500USD pp for 2 dive trips/month.
Since the minimum wage in Indonesia is something like 200USD/month i am wondering how much the company pay the crew... seems to me not much then.

 

[dirtfarmer]

I ask that our customers refrain giving a separate tip to the guides. Usually, money direct to the guides mean that the crew receives a smaller tip at the end. This sometimes promotes an inequity between different guides and with the crew as well. My personal feeling is that the guides do not work as hard as the crew. The boat staff makes everything happen, but the guides receive the largest bounty. If all tips go into a group kitty, everyone is happy and share the tips equally. My two cents

When I tip my guide I always do this on the sly, I don't want to build hard feelings between the crew or resort staff. I'm not proud of this inequality but I still do it. I have seen cases where resort staff receive training to become dive guides, and this I support immensly. I've even seen resorts providing training to women to help them climb the ladder to better pay.

I really wish boat and resort owners would pay a living wage and do away with the whole tipping thing. It's not a part of most places culture, it creates expectations, it means some people top up workers incomes while others do not. And who suffers? The workers. Leaving it up to customers to bring workers pay up to a decent standard is exploitive even in the US, but having it in a place where customers do not come from a tipping culture is even worse, its economic colonialism to the workers and unfair to customers.I have seen guides wrangling over who gets to guide the americans, Ive seen grumpy crews when the boat is mostly europeans, but i do see the same level of wonderful service no matter wheather the customer is a european or american or a super cheap backpacker.

I dislike it here in the US, I dislike it everywhere I travel. Unfortunately I'm a rare business owner that believes workers deserve fair living wages. Someday I hope I'm in the majority and not a rare case.

I would love to hear from the Indonesian business owners that post here to see their take on the matter.

 

[charlier]

ok... let's say there are 12 crew on average (sounds decent on a boat for 10 divers on average, isn't it?) at the end of the month this will be roughly 500USD pp for 2 dive trips/month.

Good point - perhaps even a $200USD tip is more appropriate, but most divers tip less money.

 

[billt4sf]

To roil the conversation further, we have decided to financially help a certain deserving Indonesian to get further education. We can only do so much, but it seems like our dollars go quite far here in that regard.

- Bill

 

[runsongas]

ok... let's say there are 12 crew on average (sounds decent on a boat for 10 divers on average, isn't it?) at the end of the month this will be roughly 500USD pp for 2 dive trips/month.
Since the minimum wage in Indonesia is something like 200USD/month i am wondering how much the company pay the crew... seems to me not much then.

why should the minimum wage matter? would you be happy if your job paid you only minimum wage?