Reader Question: How Much Should I Tip in Thailand?

That is great nonsense that you go off like a watering can for the Thai. My experience is that the Thai don't tip very much, if at all, and they almost always prevent me from doing so when in Thai company. Personally, I keep it at most a note of 20 baht with possibly those few satang coins that are included with the change after paying the bill.
I take out the 10 baht coins because they are always handy for the skytrain or the baht buses, I always have a handful of them in my pocket.

Moreover (not that it is not awarded) but everything in proportion because 100 baht is not really much for us, but for many Thai it is soon 1/3 of a daily salary. Know that it is not entirely comparable to the Netherlands and do not know the height of the Dutch minimum wage, but there is really no tip given in that ratio.
We all want an extra 1/3 of the daily salary.

I see, when we go somewhere to eat/drink with Thai friends/family, a tip is always given to the person who served us that evening.
The amount depends on how many we are and how long we stayed there, but
for an entire evening and about 10 people I have already seen 100 Bath (in total then and not person) although these are really exceptions. But maybe the whiskey has also done its job….
When we just go to eat somewhere and then leave it is usually 20 Bath. So it is not that unusual for a Thai to give a tip. Maybe because it's BKK and it's less common in other regions. Could be an explanation.

In any case, we tip when we are at a hotel. My wife usually leaves a 20 Bath note for the chambermaid, and often a little extra when we leave. It all depends on the length of time we stayed there and of course if everything was in order. She will not soon forget this, but that may be because she used to work as a chambermaid. So she knows very well that this small appreciation for their work is greatly appreciated by the chambermaids.

Of course it is also crazy that you give a 20 Bath tip if you are going to drink a beer for 60 Bath somewhere. Although I have seen it done by farangs in Pattaya. Afterwards you complain that beer is expensive in Thailand. Well......

In the Netherlands, the eager sloeberts put their heads together years ago and turned the tip into a mandatory service of 155 or more. This has its origin in getting less tip as the bill gets higher. For example, a meal with 6 people, say 600 euros. Of course, no sensible person gives a 90 euro tip. For me a choice that I am forced to participate in. So in Holland no tipping over, nothing, nadah, self-willed.

Dear Raymond,
Do not worry. What you say was said 35 years ago. Then “the system” must have been broken long ago, don't you think?
Everyone gives at their own discretion. Are you rich, eat expensive or do you think 500 baht is not much, it is up to you what you give.
I usually don't give anything. Because I believe that the wait staff should just do their job.
If something special had happened, I would also give more.
As I wrote before, I worked as a flight attendant for 30 years. I also served people and sometimes people thought that they should give me a tip. For what? I was just doing my job right? Didn't I get my salary for that?
Yes yes, can't compare me to a Thai. 300 baht for a whole day's work is not much. But you can easily live on it.
I give people a tip. But again… there are no rules. We are not in Europe where we want rules for everything.
Do what you think is right…

Tourists are more generous because they are on leave.
People are away from the daily working atmosphere for a while, they drink and eat a little more and they feel good.
In that atmosphere, the pennies are sometimes treated more loosely and that is to the advantage of those who live on it.
The fact that it is also more expensive in the tourist places and that more is paid is typical of those places. The local population and hospitality industry simply live off those tourists. This is the case all over the world, including in Belgium.
That the tourist then has to take into account the Westerners who live or stay here permanently is far fetched.
You can also turn it around. Too little digestion is at the expense of the local catering industry and population. They not only live here but also have to make a living from it.
It is an exaggeration that the system is being wiped out throughout Thailand as a result. Anyway, I don't notice it.

I think it is a remarkable way of thinking that a Thai should see that you are a “Fa-rang Thai” (whatever that word means) by looking at your Buddha necklace. Especially after living there for 15 years. If you speak to them in Thai, they will immediately notice that you have been staying here longer and will make more of an impression than any chain.

I have not yet seen a service fee/tax in Thailand. Maybe because we eat in Thai places, (often simple) restaurants (or places that absolutely do not resemble what a Westerner sees as a “real restaurant”). Usually they just write the bill on a piece of paper and use a calculator, or sometimes/rarely a simple cash register receipt. Such an automatic service fee is of course ridiculous. Let the guest decide for himself whether, and if so, how much to give/leave as a tip or round-off.

I also don't quite understand Marcus's post with his 15% tip in the Netherlands (seems very generous to me, when I worked in a restaurant as a student the tip was between 5% and 10%) and the US (18% tip, automatically deducted does he mean? Just don't understand the difference between 1×8 and 2×4 people? The more people, the higher the automatic tip that is charged? I wouldn't eat in such a place).

Keep it simple, just give a 0-10% tip at your own discretion and completely voluntarily - if you are with a few people - if you dine extensively somewhere. Even simpler: leave the change.

Don't believe any of that at all. Is only a story that frugal expats keep telling to excuse not giving a tip. If they were to raise their prices in response to high tips, they would most likely get fewer customers (price elasticity) and a competitor would jump in with normal prices. Nevertheless, a tip of 100 baht in a taxi is normally a lot, most taxi rides cost less than that.