Indonesia questions about tipping/gratuities

[mattvish]

I've been living in Indonesia for 12 years, and I agree with many comments that in SE-Asia and China, tipping is not common and can sometimes be considered offensive. However, in all tourist areas, tips are generally welcome and often expected.
Here's how I typically handle it: I give the bellboy 10,000 Rp; for shorter taxi rides, I round up and ensure a minimum of 5,000 Rp and avoid change hassles. In restaurants, I usually don't tip but often leave the change (tipping isn't expected unless you're at a touristy place, but then they often have a service charge anyway). As a general rule on liveaboards, a 10% tip is standard if you follow the tour organizer's recommendations; I consider this the maximum.

 

[Luko]

1- ATMs in Indonesia are not reliable, some won't give you money for mysterious reasons (even at intrenational airports like Manado Sam Ratulangi), others won't let you withdraw more than 100$ for the best case. Bring some cash, I always change cash and hardly ever use my Credit Card in Indo.
2- Tips are not expected in eveyday life. You can leave the change at a restaurant or to a taxi driver. Car driver in Sorong can be hired for 100kIDR per hour without any bargain (you could have less, but it's no use for sparing on 7$).
3- even though an american manager tells you so (like many in Manado), tipping shoudln't be expected. since you're a nice guy 15-20$/day for a land operation would be great. Here is what a well managed operation in Raja Ampat displays on their FAQ (FYI 200k to 1,5MIDR is equivalent to a max of a 100$ for a WEEK STAY).

Do I have to bring cash for tips ?​

- No you do not have to bring cash for tips.
- Tips are not required, we are making sure that you are having the best time with us and it does not require any tips.
- If you feel you would like to give some gratuity, our team will accept anything that comes from the heart. Either in the common tip box if you would like everyone to share it, or you can offer it directly to the person of your choice.
- 200K-1.5M IDR for the overall team is considered really great if you wish to offer tips, but again, it is not required at all.

Personally I usually do 100kIDR/day for my guide plus 100 kIDR per day for the tipping box when there is one. I would do that as well for a liveaboard.
Now you can follow the tipping hints of some of the high market operations (some usually catering to american customers) who'll advise you anything like 10-15% of your trip but then after you might ask yourself where is all that tipping money going. (for the record the Raja Ampat operation guidelines I copied represent less than 5% of the cost of a week stay)
FWIW I stopped going to a specific dive operation in N/Sulawesi when the US management suddenly put flyers in the rooms advising for tipping 10%. So, yes pls : spare the world from the US tipping culture and pay the employees accordingly.

 

[rayaa3]

I would politely suggest Americans to stop exporting and imposing their crap and unjust "tipping culture" to other countries.
In many places in Asia tipping is quite offensive, and should be entirely avoided!
In most places it is expected that you contract for paying LESS than the initial request, not that you add a tip...
So it is good to ask in advance, it is wrong to assume that tipping is expected everywhere, being so only in US and in touristic places where a lot of American tourists imposed this bad habit.

I would politely suggest that wrapping a helpful response in criticism of what you assume is someone's culture or beliefs undercuts the helpful message by putting the recipient on the defensive.

In the America's (North South Central and Caribbean) the hospitality industry is largely tipped. The reasons are multifaceted.

The nature of tipping is not the social issue I was attempting to debate. However the most American habit I am aware of is to invite an open debate on a topic which you disagree with but no one was seeking a discussion on. We like to do it a lot...take any american in a non us nation and mention guns, covid, socialized healthcare, any number of topics .we will go out of our way to invite debate and slight other cultures and customs..I would prefer not to engage in it. It is the most American of habits...it seems we have exported it.

If you would like to have a discussion on the social issues related to tipping and the positive or negative effects it has on society send me a message and I'm open to it. I suspect our views are more similar than different. However I'm really just seeking specific answers to specific questions here.

 

[Scubagermany]

most of Europe is a non-tipping culture.

It really is not. I always give a nice tip if I was happy with whatever service I got.
If the service was crappy or the taxi dirty I do not tip at all.
I think that is how it should be everywhere.

 

[Joneill]

Ok then, a good percentage get paid crap hoping for great tips

So it's a crap employer employee culture

Sorry for Ange

The Op was not asking for opinions on US tipping - he was smartly researching what to expect for his upcoming trip so he’d be prepared. What you or others think about tipping in the US is irrelevant to the topic at hand…

BTW - who or what is Ange?

 

[berndo]

It really is not. I always give a nice tip if I was happy with whatever service I got.
If the service was crappy or the taxi dirty I do not tip at all.

That's not what they mean by tipping-culture. In the States and Canada, a 15%-18% or even 20% tip is expected and some restaurants they even put it on the bill as 'gratuity' or 'service charge'. Some bars expect you to put a dollar on the bar for every beer.
Many people in these jobs make so little money that they need that money and they're essentially working for tips. In Europe it's more like 10% (if that) and only if you were happy with the service. As you know, some people just round up and give a couple of Euros even on larger bills.

What do you mean by 'nice tip'? If you hear an American say 'nice tip' they probably mean 20% or more. Some Germans might call 5 bucks on a 80 bill a 'nice tip'.

 

[berndo]

I would politely suggest that wrapping a helpful response in criticism of what you assume is someone's culture or beliefs undercuts the helpful message by putting the recipient on the defensive.

I think some people get annoyed at Americans tipping abroad because in some places it's seen as you over paying and causes people to raise prices.

 

[also_anon_dc]

I also try to avoid ATMs when traveling. I just got back from Indonesia and went to a currency exchange place before I left and changed $300 into rupiah to bring with me. My bank also told me that they could get rupiah (and many other currencies) with just a few days notice. There is a small fee but likely comparable to what you would pay at an ATM.

 

[Scubagermany]

That's not what they mean by tipping-culture. In the States and Canada, a 15%-18% or even 20% tip is expected

I know.... Still for me an non Tipping culture would be one in which you habitually do not tip because it is not customary or maybe even offensive.

Personally I greatly dislike forced tipping such as happens in the US.

A nice tip can vary a lot. If I order a Bottle of wine for 80Euros and the waiter just brings the bottle and 2 glasses 5 Euros are sufficient in my opinion.

If I had a 7 course dinner and excellent service all night 5 Euros would be really miserly....

 

[drrich2]

I think some people get annoyed at Americans tipping abroad because in some places it's seen as you over paying and causes people to raise prices.

It can be the opposite; employees are paid less and prices may thus be a bit lower as management assumes they'll make up the short fall (vs. a decent wage) in tips. What had been a discretionary generous bonus instead becomes a technically discretionary but informally mandatory pay supplement, annoying some guests (undermining good service), making the tip more an entitlement (undermining generosity/gratitude) and causing ambiguity. Over time it can defeat the original purpose.

Which leads to 3 types of people - those who ask about tipping because they don't want to be stingy (a noble intention), those who aim to discern and articulate for us what customary practices are (which splits into being helpful, a noble intention, versus the 'tip police') and finally the virtue signalers who push the narrative that x customary tipping amount is the minimum and isn't generous, and good people like themselves tip x + y unless the service is awful. That can be well-intentioned (more debatable), but it leads to tip inflation as people try to keep up with and outdo each other. In the U.S., 10% used to be fine and 15% was nice, now the pre-offered listings on some credit card billing screens start at 18%, and some people are pushing 20% like it's the 'real' minimum (to which I say hold the line at 15%). The Law of Unintended Consequences is alive and well here.

While an earlier post set off some argument, here's what I suspect is a reasonable middle ground:

1.) Inquire about what the regional and operator standards are. Places used to an American clientele often get hooked on tipping like it's cigarettes and that's baked into the compensation system, so for a liveaboard it might well be 10% of base trip rate ignoring any discount specials you booked under.

2.) Touristy hotels/resorts might be similar.

3.) Please when you eat out and such elsewhere in places where it's not yet customary, either don't or be very minimalist so it doesn't become so. It's not clear the employees are better off in the long-run.

The tipping debate breaks out repeatedly on ScubaBoard threads and elsewhere. For the benefit of others who may encounter this thread researching their trip planning, the discussion may be useful.