Indonesia questions about tipping/gratuities

[Scubagermany]

I still do not understand what the whole discussion is about. If you want to tip do so.
If you do not want to, do not tip.
That must always be up to the person tipping, not to anyone else. Especially not up to custom.

 

[berndo]

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.

Where and when did that ever happen?

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'm glad to see responses early in a tipping thread from people who live in or otherwise know well the region of the world that is the target of the question, in this case, Indonesia. In my opinion, what we do in America as far as this peculiarly American custom is not relevant to the rest of the world.

I'm also glad to know what my wife and I have done on our couple of trips to Indonesia is more or less in line with the advice from those in the know. We got a fat stack of rupiah from ATMs (and as someone said, you might have to try a few different machines). We didn't stay at international hotel chains or eat in tourist-centric restaurants, and no service charges were added to our bills. We simply rounded up change for meals at establishments with table service, and if service was exceptional we left a bit more. We considered the liveaboard's recommendation of 10% of the total cost an absolute maximum, and if I recall, we left somewhat less. We tipped our shore-diving guide enough to show our appreciation.

Lastly, kudos to the OP for asking. Doing a little homework like this before a trip is so easy.

 

[lowwall]

I still do not understand what the whole discussion is about. If you want to tip do so.
If you do not want to, do not tip.
That must always be up to the person tipping, not to anyone else. Especially not up to custom.

I almost completely disagree. Local custom sets the base. The service received determined variance on that base.

If you refuse to tip, then do everyone a favor and don't go to places where people's pay is based on tipping. The US minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 per hour.

Tips

A tipped employee engages in an occupation in which he or she customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month in tips. An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount combined with the tips received at least equals the federal...

www.dol.gov

 

[Lorenzoid]

Where and when did that ever happen?

That's what happens in the USA. I believe it's irrelevant to this discussion of Indonesian customs.

 

[berndo]

Local custom sets the base.

I agree, that's what what everyone should do. Best thing is to just ask the locals what to do. Having said that, if anyone of you ever sees me in person, feel free to tip me as much as you want. If you wanna send me money, you can do that too.

That's what happens in the USA. I believe it's irrelevant to this discussion of Indonesian customs.

Tipping has lowered prices in some places in the US? Everthing always only seems to go up in price.

 

[lowwall]

Where and when did that ever happen?

The reality of the independent US restaurant business outside of the very high end is nuts. In order to compete with fast food and the fast casual chains, prices were always too low to run the business legitimately. It only worked because cash payments and cash tips allowed everyone to avoid paying taxes.

The pandemic changed everything. Cash payments disappeared as everything turned into app-based delivery. That's the real reason why so many restaurants went under. And cash has not come back, electronic payments have completely taken over the younger generations. That's why relatively few restaurants reopened after the lockdowns were over and the ones that have opened have substantially higher prices than pre-covid.

 

[drrich2]

That must always be up to the person tipping, not to anyone else. Especially not up to custom.

That's how it ought to be, but in societies where people are routinely underpaid and tipping is (albeit informally) an essential part of server income, things change. I've read of an American restaurant owner trying to change their business model to 'no tipping,' and it didn't go well because so many American consumers are so habituated to throwing extra money at some types of service people.

Where and when did that ever happen?

I'm talking about posted prices. Due to tipping, the ownership can pay employees less and have lower operating costs, so the restaurant business, which from what I understand has tight profit margins (at least the portion of it I'm apt to eat in), they can post lower food prices. By the time you tack on tip and whatever % sale tax (something else many foreigners aren't used to), your actual bill is much higher.

Tipping has lowered prices in some places in the US? Everthing always only seems to go up in price.

Yes. Inflation in recent years has been bad. What's more, in arguments over tipping the plight of servers facing higher costs of living is often put forward, but the plight of customers facing the same seldom is.

And cash has not come back, electronic payments have completely taken over the younger generations.

And with the fixation on %'s, I suspect many customers would rather poke the 18% button on the billing screen than do the math, much less carry around a bunch of cash.

In my opinion, what we do in America as far as this peculiarly American custom is not relevant to the rest of the world.

Places frequented by Americans tend to get 'Americanized' in a variety of ways, some good, some bad. I can spend a week in Cozumel, Mexico knowing practically no Spanish with no significant language trouble. Restaurant food often gets shifted toward American palates.

 

[Twiny]

Hi,
If you check your bill in Indonesia, you will always find a VAT of 10% and sometimes only a service charge of usually 10% as well. In the case there's no mention of service charge (which is an official tip for the employees) you are most welcome to tip.
As far as diving is concerned, most of the time in a DC you are not charged any service charge but have a tip box and in a dive resort even 2 tip boxes : 1 general for all staff and 1 only dedicated for the diving crew.
I often see the customers directly tipping their local dive guides after fun diving but much less students tipping their instructor.
Tip is a big thing for local dive guides, I always do if satisfied.

 

[DreadnoughtNH]

Just returned from 2 weeks in Sulawesi on Sunday.
Tipping for services/meals/etc. not the norm in SE Asia.

Tipping for dive resort-hotel housekeeping/staff, the boat crew, and your DM/DG is generally expected/appreciated.

We typically do $25-$35 per day for housekeeping/staff, same $ pd for the boat crew, and a little extra pd for the DM/DG, particularly if they are more than a safety diver.

If I'm getting instruction, or I learn a new skill or something that benefits my diving experience, I tip even more. I feel that instructors/guides who help create better divers should be well thanked.

When in doubt about tipping, ask the staff. I've found that if you ask an honest question, you'll get an honest answer.

YEMV