#92168 - 11/05/11 10:06 AM
Is it true that you don't tip?
|
JoBelle
Junior Member
Registered: 10/19/11
Posts: 21
Loc: Texas USA
|
Everything I've read says that you don't tip in FP, but that will feel really strange to me. I always tip housekeeping every day (because the crews change) and of course I tip foodservers (even "to go" people) and bellhops and taxi drivers and ... just about everybody.
I don't want to offend anybody so please set me straight on this -- no tipping at all? Or just not as much as the 15-20% we're used to?
Thanks,
Jo
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#92169 - 11/05/11 10:39 AM
Re: Is it true that you don't tip?
[Re: JoBelle]
|
Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
|
No tipping. We leave little gifts for the maids with a written note of thanks (usually a gift for their kids--even if they don't have kids, they often have grandkids, nieces and nephews, etc.). I don't know what others do, but I figure leaving toys and candy (or whatever)--they'll go to somebody somehow. I've heard of others leaving liquor (especially if you know what they like--that tends to be for people who travel regularly enough to get to know specific people well). We have tipped at US-run restaurants (like Bloody Mary's) because it just felt like it was expected there. Otherwise, smiling, chatting, and letting people know you appreciate them goes a long way.
I'm assuming things haven't changed since we've been (4 and 8 years ago now). I know there's a bigger US influence there these days and tipping was starting to become a bit more common when we were there last time, but some people were resisting it & others welcoming it (which makes it hard to know who to tip).
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#92170 - 11/05/11 10:47 AM
Re: Is it true that you don't tip?
[Re: Old Wife]
|
holte
Expert Advisor
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 2417
Loc: Duluth, Minnesota
|
It is totally something that I am in love with now, so who knows if anyone else is, but I love those new LED flashlights. I bet they are inexpensive in the US.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#92171 - 11/05/11 05:10 PM
Re: Is it true that you don't tip?
[Re: holte]
|
hamara
Expert Advisor
Registered: 01/07/02
Posts: 2319
Loc: Washington/Moorea
|
Tipping:
"Tips are not part of the Tahitian culture and should not be given on a routine basis.
All the prices quoted on menus, hotels or shops are all inclusive and you need not add anything for service or tax"
This quote is from this web site
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#92172 - 11/06/11 06:18 AM
Re: Is it true that you don't tip?
[Re: hamara]
|
BarbiJKM
Supreme Advisor
Registered: 02/14/07
Posts: 6150
Loc: Mesa, AZ
|
I have actually had an experience where I tried to give a tip to a very attentive housekeeper after a long visit, and she was offended! She said, "I get a paycheck; I am not a prostitute!" So you should be very careful if you decide to tip someone, which a custom that was not historically part of their culture, because you run the risk of offending someone.
That same housekeeper, who was pregnant on a later visit, asked me if I could bring a baby stroller with me next visit, which I did! I also routinely gave her small things for her kids -- M&Ms, kites, bubbles -- over the years. We are now friends...
Food service people and hotel employees, drivers, bellboys, etc., all make a decent minimum wage in FP, unlike such service people in the USA, where often tips are a large part of their income. You do not have to feel guilty about not tipping!
Yes, things have become more Americanized, and that is why you will occasionally see a "tips welcome" sign... Ignore it! Also, be aware that restaurants often use a credit card slip that contains a "gratuity" line -- printed outside FP -- so just write a zero in that line.
The exception for tipping is if someone does something far beyond what they are paid to do, and you do not have something handy to give them as a thank you. For example, a transport driver who drives you all the way back to the airport after you reach your hotel and realize you've left something behind... for something like that, I'd offer a tip with a suggestion that he treat himself to a six pack of Hinano!
If you do give a gift for someone who has given you excellent service during your stay, make it a small one -- a teeshirt, a flashlight, candy, leftover food, liquor, or cosmetics when you leave, small gifts for children -- because you run the risk with a larger gift of imposing an obligation on them to bring you back a gift in return!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#92173 - 11/06/11 06:46 AM
Re: Is it true that you don't tip?
[Re: BarbiJKM]
|
hamara
Expert Advisor
Registered: 01/07/02
Posts: 2319
Loc: Washington/Moorea
|
Years ago a Tahitian neighbor ask me to bring him some small parts for his Coleman lantern so he could fish at night in his canoe and in turn when Fare Hamara needed a source for it's water supply he allowed me to build a dam high on the mountain in a small stream on his property and to this day he won't accept a penny for the water. Barbi's post does
a wonderful job of explaining Tipping in French Polynesia
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#92174 - 11/06/11 08:42 AM
Re: Is it true that you don't tip?
[Re: holte]
|
Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
|
[quote=holte]It is totally something that I am in love with now, so who knows if anyone else is, but I love those new LED flashlights. I bet they are inexpensive in the US.[/quote]
holte, I had to read your post a few times before realizing you were suggesting those flashlights as gifts!
That's a really good idea. I think I'll look for them here. If someone can't use a flashlight, they make a good gift to someone else who can and they're gender/parent-neutral!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#92175 - 11/06/11 08:43 AM
Re: Is it true that you don't tip?
[Re: Old Wife]
|
Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
|
LOL, I guess the "quote" feature doesn't work very well (maybe it's Firefox).
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#92177 - 11/06/11 08:58 AM
Re: Is it true that you don't tip?
[Re: Old Wife]
|
BarbiJKM
Supreme Advisor
Registered: 02/14/07
Posts: 6150
Loc: Mesa, AZ
|
Holte's idea of LED flashlights as gifts is a good one! I've also brought those "shake" flashlights that don't need batteries -- they are very popular on the more remote islands, where it might be difficult or expensive to get replacement batteries.
They look something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Shake-Flashlight-/130586371108?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item1e678de424
Small, light for packing, and sometimes you can get good deals when buying more than one on eBay...
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#92180 - 11/06/11 10:53 AM
Re: Is it true that you don't tip?
[Re: BarbiJKM]
|
DenverJoe
Expert Advisor
Registered: 09/10/02
Posts: 1878
Loc: Denver, Co.
|
Bev takes the little LED lights that velcro on your fingertip. They are very popular as thank you gifts.
_________________________
Nothing better than a Hinano in hand and toes in the sand.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
Moderator: BarbiJKM, hamara, DenverJoe, Poehere
|
6923 Members
15 Forums
10259 Topics
91469 Posts
Max Online: 118 @ 04/08/12 01:59 PM
|
|
0 registered
and 2 anonymous users online.
|
|
|
