Guide to tipping

Take a taxi anywhere in South America, and rounding the fare up to the next dollar amount is sufficient as a tip. If you’re in an African city such as Cape Town or Nairobi, however, you need to tip 10% for a cab ride. Going to India? Taking a taxi here means there is no need for gratuity at all.
While even the savviest globetrotter might be in the know about the best places to dine and the hippest hotels to stay at, knowing what to tip and when can be downright confounding. At a luxury hotel in Japan, for example, if you try to tip anyone, your gesture will be perceived as a rude and flagrant show of wealth. On the other hand, if you skimp on tipping at any restaurant in the US or to a concierge who has helped fulfill multiple requests, you probably won’t be welcome again.
While these conventions can leave travellers scratching their heads, experts say that there are a few basic rules of thumb to following about tipping. “In most places around the world, it’s better to give something than nothing—so if you’re ever in doubt, tip,” says Erica Duecy, editor of restaurants and hotels at Fodor’s travel publications. “And in many cases, tipping customs can be broken down by area of the world, so what you’re supposed to tip isn’t going to vary too much from country to country in that region.”
In most countries in Europe, for instance, the service charge is included in the meal; it’s customary to add another 5% to 10% for gratuity, especially in highend restaurants. If no service charge is included, add 15% to the total bill. For taxis, 10% is the right amount to tip, and for hotel porters, give the equivalent of $2 per bag.
Experts agree that when it comes to the concierge at your hotel anywhere in the world, you don’t need to tip for advice such as what sights to see; but you should always acknowledge service. In Europe, $2 is enough for each simple request the concierge fulfills, such as arranging airport pickup or making restaurant reservations. If your concierge is performing special tasks, such as arranging an after-hours tour of the Louvre, it’s appropriate to tip $30 or more, depending on the difficulty of your request.
Asia is one part of the world that has slightly different tipping customs for each country. In Japan, tipping is an insult in any situation; but in China, giving 3% is expected at restaurants, while in Hong Kong, 10% to 15% is the norm if the gratuity isn’t included in the bill. For taxis, you don’t need to tip in China, but in Hong Kong, you should round the fare up to the next dollar amount. In both China and Hong Kong, you should give hotel porters $2 to $3 per bag, especially at luxury properties, while $3 to $5 is a good amount for basic requests you ask of the concierge. You should incrementally increase this amount based on the complexity of your request.
It’s not always obvious what you need to tip in the US. While it’s standard to tip 15% at restaurants, if you’re enjoying a meal at an upscale spot such as the French Laundry in Napa Valley, it’s expected that you’ll tip at least 20%.
For taxis in cities such as New York City or Chicago, you should tip 15%, but in smaller cities or towns, you simply need to round up the fare to the next dollar amount. When you check into a hotel, you should give the porter $1 for each of your bags, but if you’re staying at an upscale property such as the Four Seasons or the Ritz-Carlton, $2 to $5 per bag is more appropriate. Give on the higher end for especially heavy bags.
When it comes to the hotel concierge, give $3 to $5 for a basic service, such as arranging airport transportation. If the concierge fulfills a more difficult request, like getting you a last-minute 8 pm table at a restaurant that is typically booked weeks in advance, it’s not uncommon to shell out $20 and up.
Follow these rules, and chances are you’ll be less likely to be tripped up while traipsing around. FORBES

Below the Line

IF AGEis just a number, the numbers have just come of age. Perplexing numbers rule lives nowadays as the Alpha-numerico Sapiens awaken in the newest evolution of mankind. As if the brain is a crunching machine, assigned to alphanumeric applications where numbers and passwords are key. Phone numbers, mobile numbers, credit card numbers, PAN, CIN, TIN, login, and the list goes on. We jog our memory to keep them top-of-mind all the time. Nobody’s complaining and marketers are circulating more of that, the latest being ‘toll free’ numbers.
That’s not all. Fineprints and footnotes in every marketing communication are straining millions of eyeballs and eardrums. Bank agreements, car loan documents, insurance schemes, and what have you, are littered with fineprints — jargons, asterix and numerous tit-bits for the brand-new Alpha-numerico Sapiens. Maybe, Gen Z and beyond fall in this category, but that again is a general observation. I, for one, is loathe to play the numbers game as I find it too tedious.
For once, try going through the Red Herring prospectus before applying for shares in the next IPO you come across. Baffled is not the word. It’s ridiculous at an age and time when obsolescence is already obsolete. We live in the NOW and we’ve got to do a job. The fineprints should do just fine when people like us retire.
Ask anyone if he ever bothered to go through them seriously. My belief is, mostly not. Nobody has the time or inclination to read through all those footnotes and conditions in those agreements. So all you do is copiously sign all the pages and cheques and get done with it. No questions asked and nobody insisting you to go through that exercise. Euphoria of asset acquisition keeps you too
much on a high to worry about anything else. Over the years, it has been rendered a tame formality at the hands of marketers that saves them a lot of time and marketing efforts. They are happy keeping it that way.
The new age communication is giving rise to new genre of audio onslaughts these days. While driving to office, I heard this mutual fund ad on FM radio. At the end of the ad, a funny voice breathlessly rattled out something like from a cassette tape gone bad: “Mutual fund is subject to the market risks. Please read the offer document carefully before investing”. Ask any of these marketers if they have as sharp a hearing to comprehend a gibberish sentence spoken in fast forward mode? Thanks to our prudent lawmakers, who made it mandatory that the marketers of financial products serve such a message without bothering to find out how is it being adhered to.
Last month, I wanted to get my damaged ATM card replaced. It seemed so easy to call up, but that call led me into a hosts of options one after other where I had to punch in several identification numbers before I could place my request. How many numbers can you remember and I am supposed to keep this numbers secure lest they fall in unscrupulous hands! Don’t forget these are the days of multiple credit cards and banks accounts. “Why don’t you use net banking,” my friend once quipped. “I do all my transactions on the Net.” Now that adds another user name and password to the list. It looked so much simpler when my father got such jobs done in one trip to his bank branch, although he would wait in a long queue. He never seemed to mind that. Most youngsters today would sneer at any such option.
However, plastic money has its convenience. I don’t have to visit my bank just to deposit cheques or withdraw money. I can do that at any ATM around the corner and that keeps me happy till the day when I absent-mindedly leave my card in the machine posttransaction. That has, on two occasions, left me jittery and desperately punching numbers on cell phone to get the card blocked. The same process of recollecting TIN and CIN begins till finally I reach the phone-banking executive. Phew!
An average person today is loaded with numbers or passwords to keep him going. Want to check your mail? Log in with your username and password, online investors have to keep their demat login ready, online railway booking requires your identity proof (PAN or passport number) apart from credit card number and password. And I find it funny that how alphanumeric language and fineprints are increasingly invading our lives even though we are light years away from Mars.