| Skycaps | |
|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2007 09:07 |   |
 | Hi Everyone, I am planning to come back to China at the end of September. This will be my third visit, and it seems a little silly for me to ask this question now, but how much money is a reasonable tip for an airport skycap to help me when I arrive in Beijing. I will be transferring to another airline and will fly on to Wuhan. On my previous trips, the skycaps have been very helpful, escorting me directly to all of the places within the airport that I needed to go, ultimately leaving me at my connection flight's security checkpoint. But I had no idea how much money was appropriate to give them, so my dealings with them were always a bit awkward. I don't want to insult or take advantage of anyone, but I also don't want to be cheated. Thanks. |
| Jul 1, 2007 22:54 | #1 |
| As with all tipping in China. Nothing. He is paid to do a job or there is a set fee for the job which you should pay. It is not a Chinese custom and it will only keep wages low. Just say u r an Australian! (We don't tip much). |
| Jul 2, 2007 07:05 | #2 |
| You should have noticed by now that tipping is not the norm. and if you try it everyone is awkward about it..Say no more and we all hope it stays that way. If you appreciate the service, then just be warm and kind to the staff. This will usually be enough as they are often not treated so well by many other travellers. |
| Jul 2, 2007 07:12 | #3 |
| Just remember, they re being paid to do a job just like you and I. Let's put this intp persective shall we. Where do we draw the line on what services should or should not get tipped. I don't get tipped in my job either here or at home. It is assumed or well understood that the work is well paid. I think I deserve extra rewards on occasions too. I also think I give pretty good service over and beyond the call of duty but that's usually because I choose to do it and not because I'm expecting tips or gratitude. My job has other rewards that you cannot put a price on. Do you get tips from your clients?? Lets see how many people get tips in different trades and professions and in which countries they get them. This is an interesting topic. |
| Jul 2, 2007 07:52 | #4 |
| Hello again, Thank you both for the information. Actually, I did not offer a tip the first time, but the young lady who helped me became very angry because I did not, and she called me a bad man. Accordingly, although I had read that tipping is not customary in China, I thought that perhaps it was normal in large airports, owning to the large numbers of foreign travelers who pass through them. Therefore, on my second visit, I offered a tip (I don't remember how much) and the young man who was helping me criticised me, saying that it was not enough for the amount of work he had done. I didn't give him any more, but I decided I would find out more about this before I visited again. Let me say that these are the only two instances in which the people I encountered in China were anything less than friendly. In every other case, every single person I have dealt with in China has been enormously helpful, cheerful, kind, and pleasant without expecting anything in return. And in no other place or circumstance have I offered or felt pressured into offering any sort of gratuity. That is why I was so confused by these two events, and why I thought that perhaps it was different in airports. Again, thanks for the information. I guess I will have to regard these events as anomalies. |
| Jul 2, 2007 07:56 | #5 |
| Hi In Hungary, Doctors definetally get tips. They are underpaid, and people give them money after they are treated, an even before they are treated at times. I am not saying this is good, I am definetally againts it. I wouldnt mind giving a bottle of wine after my wife gives birth to our child, but people here usually give money in advance to get a "better service". In restaurants, Hair dressers, other places where you get a "service" if you are satisfied you pay a tip. This is your way of showing how much you liked the service. I really like tipping cultrue, as I feel it is something the waiter should earn, thus you expect to have a better service. Of course this might only be the case in Hungary, being a post communist country, where people are not very service oriented. I dont know how it is in China, maybe similar? When I was in Japan, people were 200% more polite, and more gentle at places you get services, so I always wanted to tip, but they just looked at me, and said, I made a mistake, and I gave them too much money. Took time for me to get used to this, and to get good service for no extra money. I dont know what I prefer, lets hear other pinions too, Ben |
| Jul 2, 2007 09:03 | #6 |
| I'm surprised to hear that you actually got abused for not tipping or under tipping here in China. I got 'over the top service' at Guangzhou Airport last time I flew International With help checking in my luggage and electric car all over the concorce and the First class waiting lounge and there was now expectation of a tip from any of the staff. I think I paid Y60extra for this it went with my ticket. I really didn't understand at the time and missed out on some of the services I was entitiled too as well. So just be careful who you get help from. There are people floating around looking for the unwary |
| Jul 2, 2007 13:37 | #7 |
| I have had a few jobs where I have been tipped. Working in the U.S. as a bartender and waitress I absolutely expected tips. US minimum wage laws allow exemptions for service professions, so I made less than the half the official minimum wage as a waitress. I love food and people, but too many slow days and ungenerous customers cut that job short for me. Oddly, I also got tipped when I worked as a barista. I did not expect those tips, since I made a decent per-hour wage. Maybe in some places baristas are paid less? I also enjoy tipping, but I know many places do not practice it. I also know that there's a line between tipping for pleasant service and working in a culture that runs on "voluntary" bribes as some of my friends living in other parts of the world have had to deal with. |
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