Tipping in Asia

baba,

I was making rather general comments, so my reply was not aimed directly at you. Im sure you know this.

"Didn't strike a nerve in me." you say, 哈哈, now theres a challenge. But I did get you to use the word "Jeepers", and you are correct. It is not that big a deal.

RJ, RJ,

What's up mate? Hey, I know you've got a heart of gold. I'm not having a go at you or anything. I know you don't look down on anyone. I also started out by saying that tipping is a lovely idea. I was just giving my view on how I think it can lead to more problems for all parties concerned for a number of reasons. But what would I know? I was just throwing in my 2 fen.

"So far it seems that everyone is indeed pretty strongly influenced by the system they are used to at home"

..well I guess there's no escaping that to some extent but I feel I have my own opinions that can often be at odds with what the culture is. But anyway, who cares? I saw the article you [ I think it was you] linked to about tipping in Australia, and I also noted what bodawei and other Aussies said, but I was a little surprised because I thought there was plenty of tipping here, particularly in restaurants. But I'm sure it's not as entrenched as it sounds like it is in the US and perhaps it works better there because there's less uncertainty.

"ended up being a philosophical geopolitical"

..jeepers, I didn't think it was that serious or that big a deal.

"strike a nerve in many"

..really? Didn't strike a nerve in me. Sorry if my tone came off wrong. I thought we just liked to debate things, go for an interesting convo. Anyhow, sorry if I touched a nerve in you mate. It was not intended, I assure you.

baba,

first of all, this thread started as a question based on the following premise from the attached article:

China:

"At one time, tipping in China was frowned upon, but that changed as the country catapulted into the 21st Century and rapidly assimilated many Western customs. In larger international cities like Beijing, Macau and Shanghai, it’s now common for travellers to tip skycaps and bellhops. For taxi drivers, it’s usually appropriate to round the fare up to the nearest dollar. Tipping is much more common in Hong Kong; most hotel porters expect it and a 10% service charge is added to restaurant bills, but it’s customary to leave even more for outstanding service."

The question posed was in regard to tipping in hotels based on this article. I started out by being a bit facetious to draw a response from my favorite adversary and friend (bodawei) and ended up being labeled ethnocentric and accused of looking down on folks, non-tippers and the Chinese alike. I was trying to have a little fun and to gather some info for a short look in the mirror regarding the practice . I tip at hotels and reserve the right to do so, if it feels right. I even said more than once, I dont tip in many situations in China. This is because I am culturally aware and sensitive to the things that can go wrong or be misinterpreted. I dont look down on anyone. You also said:

"we should be respecting others cultures. Let's not aim for a homogenous world and think our culture has the right way"

So far it seems that everyone is indeed pretty strongly influenced by the system they are used to at home. Me included. No big surprise there. Anyway I learned a lot about China and Australia, so its all good, and I have more information with which to make tipping decisions, but I was surprised by how this topic seemed to strike a nerve in many. It was originally a question about tipping at large Hotels where it had already been established that things were changing, and ended up being a philosophical geopolitical look at institutional tipping. A difficult thing to debate in a forum such as this. I try to avoid political discussions here. So, to tip or not to tip, that is the question, let good sense and your conscience be your guide. I will be tipping less now, especially in Australia. :-)

"I hear in N America the wages of wait staff are low and thus they rely to a large degree on the tips. So herein is another problem...once tipping becomes part of the culture, it factored in. That I think is a problem. That is their wages are lowered because after all it's going to be propped up with tips."

-my sister the ex-waitress (in America) says, "If you can't afford to pay for service, you shouldn't go out to eat." and that's why there's takeout.

" What if folk don't realise they're meant to tip in a changing culture? Should wait staff really be at the mercy of the customers?"

-my famous sister dreaded hearing British accents in her former line of work. She and the other waitresses would fight over who would not get to serve the notoriously low tippers.

"Should they have to grovel to make up the deficit of this factoring in when they should just get paid for doing a good job?"

-yes, they do grovel. but often, if the nasty customers complain enough, the manager will usually give them free dessert, and they end up tipping anyway.

"Also, on a cultural level, I must say I agree with bweedin, that we should be respecting others cultures. Let's not aim for a homogenous world and think our culture has the right way."

-thanks for the 贊

The tip jar exists in cafes and other places that are similarly run... where you go to the counter and order and then either wait at the counter or sit and the staff brings your drink, but doesn't wait your table any more than that. I remember Starbucks used to have them, but I haven't seen one there in a while. Interestingly, I used to work at a fancy grocery store that had a deli cafe. The cafe used to have a tip jar, but the company decided to ban the practice. We were not allowed to accept tips for any service... a policy I quite agreed with. Sometimes you would help someone out to the car and they would try to tip you. I found that particularly strange, if kind-hearted. One time I wasn't able to kindly refuse, they wouldn't take the money back. I asked my boss what to do and the long and the short of it is I earned an extra $2 that day. (Wonder if I should have declared that on my taxes??)

Anyway, all this interesting discussion just because I wanted to make sure I was being polite! hehe

'I don't want someone fawning over me'

This 'spread' of Western culture in China causes a lot of foreigners here to get excited, no doubt. To a large extent I think that the Western things that get installed here are pretty superficial - I haven't noticed (so far) any fundamental changes. Deep culture won't change quickly at all .. I guess the real interest arises at that level just below 'superficial'. At the superficial level I would give 'trying Western food' as an example. At the somewhat deeper level I would suggest something like attitudes to saving. But anyway, back to tipping:

Last night I had a meal in town at a place part-owned by a European where we were 'fawned over'. :) So the Chinese staff had been trained up to do all the things that happen in a high class restaurant in the West. At first it was surprising, then amusing, then somewhat irritating. I think that the least irritating practice was coming to ask after you start 'is the meal to your liking?' and then at the end 'what did you think of the food?' Totally un-Chinese, but kind of thoughtful nevertheless. But the 'hovering' is too much. and every time they approached the table there were two people - one carries the [eg. salt and pepper] and the other guy takes it from the first guy and places it carefully on the table. And has some chit-chat about 'European history' .. interrupting our flow of conversation .. now where were we? Talking about Rugby League or something.

I asked the guy where his home town is - it is one of the dirty industrial cities that many young people are desperately trying to get out of. So good luck to him, I hope he succeeds.

This might be the kind of place that tipping will be introduced in China - but I think on reflection I would still rate it as fairly superficial in cultural terms. I would probably change my view if it became institutionalised along the lines you discuss above.

I think I should make a declaration though - it just occurs to me that it is fairly common in cafes in Australia to have a 'tipping jar' - you put your change in there usually. At the end of the day the combined tips are divided evenly amongst all the staff - it is not usual for the boss/owner to take a share. Is that tipping, Aussie style?

I can tell you that my American father told me that when he was younger, tips were not expected, unless there was some extraordinary service. So the pre-1949 portion of your question has been answered, but about China, I don't know. Anyway, thank you for the 赞

Funny you should say that about service in Taiwan. After being in Mainland China for a while, I thought the service in Taiwan was as good as in the U.S.

"but China is not classless and I do get the impression not tipping in China is very much related to their attitudes about class"

...yeah, shenme yisi? I had the same uncertainty as to what you meant as bodawei. Reckon you could spell it out a bit for us mate?

RJ

You gotta get out more .. :) I thought that it was general knowledge that tipping as an institution is pretty much a North American phenomenon. It is nothing to do with the free market - there are plenty of well functioning markets that have not adopted this practice. In fact I wonder if tipping indicates a failing market .. (I could make a whole argument around that but that is going to lose your attention.)

Bweedin has a couple of good points. (Be nice if we could direct our comments to 2 or more people at once.) In particular, the idea that if you price things properly (as they tend to do in China - we have much to learn from them) there is no need for tipping.

' I do get the impression not tipping in China is very much related to their attitudes about class.'

Does anyone know if tipping was common practice pre new China, that is, prior to 1949? That could be instructive, or at least may give me some clues to what you mean by class. Do you think that the class structure is different pre and post 1949?

I don't get this: can you spell it out a bit? It doesn't gel with what I thought I knew about class in China. Do you mean that tipping is more likely to occur in a class society because of noblesse oblige? Is that the driver in the US?

I guess there is no tipping in Australia and wait staff are well paid.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g255055-s606/Australia:Tipping.And.Etiquette.html

Australia is a classless society and it is bodawei's egalitarian utopia (almost) but China is not classless and I do get the impression not tipping in China is very much related to their attitudes about class.

This makes me smile.

Interesting discussion. I was talking with a fellow expat in SH over the weekend on this topic. He had another take on the situation - he works with a lot of locals who apparently get very upset when he tips, e.g. rounding up the 18 kuai taxi fare to a flat 20. This is because there is a creeping influence of more and more expats doing this type of thing which then sets expectations for the service provider who then also expects such tipping from all customers, not just expats. Likewise with restaurants, hotels, etc. What may seem an inconsequential amount for some (e.g. rounding up 18 to 20) can be quite significant for others.

Thinking about it more, I guess in my taxi fare example here it's kind of an "inverted tip", i.e. it's more for my benefit than the driver's - i.e. not having to wait for the driver to dig around for 2 coins and also I'm not a big fan of carrying around heavy shrapnel anyway ;-) The fact the driver gets an additional 2 kuai out of it is more a side effect than a conscious act of tipping for good service... Probably comes across as very arrogant. Easy solution is to just buy one of the travelcards which always swipes the exact amount!

you dont tip in Australia? How did I miss that?

yes that thought has crossed my mind as well.

'Actually I am waiting for Bodawei to convince me I dont have to tip and save me a lot of money'

Oh, while trying to be witty, and failing miserably, I forgot about making a case for you RJ>

It is really about face here, as Calkins says. (In Australia we don't tip because we are egalitarian. Dammit - there I go again.)

Actually it is not only China - anthropologists have pointed out that many societies have this system of controlling people: you give them something and they are indebted to you. You give the poor bellhop a tip and he is your servant. Give him a big tip and he is your slave. It should work well in China you would think, but maybe someone went and enlightened the masses?

I know as far as you're concerned you're being nice, but I can't help to get the impression that it's as if you almost pity these "poor people" of China who are "ignorant of this custom" and you're trying to spread your American ways to supposedly better their lives, and possibly change their minds? It comes off as a little ethnocentric.

I didn't need to "tip" the rickshaw driver who gave me and my friend from England a ride. He told me that he charged me more, because it was a hot day and he had to sweat a lot.

I can't say if it's "bad“ or not, because like calkins, I don't really know how all Chinese feel about it. What I can say is that after hanging out with the locals for a while, I never see them tip. The one exception was when we hired a guy on a tricycle to give us a lift somewhere. The two of us were considerably heavier than the other couple we were with (who were on a separate bike), so the guy I was with ended up tipping a yuan or two because he felt the driver was extra 辛苦.

As far as being a nice guy, I think you can look to Chinese for good examples. But when tipping isn't the standard, I don't see it as being much different that randomly handing out money to people you want to be nice to, and I certainly wouldn't look down on other foreigners who choose not to tip.

B.E.P,

I agree that assimilating oneself into the culture in which you find yourself is also important. In fact I think I do so more than most, but this is one area in which I am conflicted. I like people, I like to be nice, and here its a bad thing?

I don't think it's about saving money or being "cheap." I don't tip because I try to assimilate myself into the culture and follow the norms there.

Hi Brent,

Face is indeed the hardest part of the equation to understand. Actually I am waiting for Bodawei to convince me I dont have to tip and save me a lot of money. :-)

Ah I see thanks Chris.

Hi zhen, sorry I missed your comments of a couple of days ago, but I think you worked it out. I think I was trying to say that most of the planet's people operate in an environment where tipping is not expected. That's all..

Actually we have reverse tipping here .. after you buy stuff at the fruit and veg market, the seller often stuffs in more things, after the price has been announced. A tip for the customer.

' You are in a rural area after all.'

I live in a city of about 6.5 million people where Maseratis and Ferraris roam the streets. In a few months time we will have the fourth largest airport in China (we are all so proud.) Would you believe that we even have Starbucks now ??? Yeeeeeeeach!

Is this is 'rural', it's all happening. :)

PS. It's okay, I know you're ribbing me..

I've often had the experience, when staying in a hotel for more than one night, of my tip for the maids still being there when I've got back in the evening! Unless you leave a note, I think the best practice is just to leave the tip at the end of your stay. The maids know who has and who hasn't checked out - so it would be a bit more obvious what the money was for.

'I care little about the affect on the local economy.'

Actually, you give me something to think about too. I doubt that the actions of a few N Americans tipping in China (if they can manage it) will change Chinese society. :)

Oh yeah - I read the original article. Big white dogs, Holidays in Aspen. Audis and tipping, where will it end?

BTW... What are 'bellhops'?? Just kidding. I have a mental image of Tin Tin on a pogo stick for some reason.

So all things considered, and giving full consideration to your views, I think maybe tipping just offends my egalitarian myth. Makes me want to mount a revolution.

no Zhen, I think its fine, clever even.

Could be it's something some Japanese learned like 50 years ago that I heard somewhere, I don't know. It works! But so now you and Orangina are telling me the people for whom I thought the tip was so obviously left might be thinking it strange, even as they did recognize what it was. What is the most common, accepted way to do it? I'd rather be just a very regular if boring tipper. The nice thing to do of course would be to leave the tip with a little note, but say you didn't. Then where do you leave the bills?

bodawei,

btw did you read the article that started this thread?

http://www.bbc.com/travel/blog/20110630-tipping-is-not-a-city-in-china

It may answer some of your questions. You are in a rural area after all. I tend to tip much less in Foshan than SH because the culture is different. Admittedly, I initially responded to you in a somewhat exaggerated semi tongue in cheek fashion to draw you back out, but I am surprised at how strongly folks feel about this. I do respect your opinions and your observations have been noted, but I still think it will be an "as the individual situation warrants" decision for me.

hehe, and this works - under the pillow I mean? I would be afraid they might not understand it was for them, maybe I just hide money under my pillow. :-) I have even left money on the counter that didnt disappear. Sometimes I have to leave a note saying "thank you" and maybe ask for an extra couple bottles of water. (ah my real motives are showing).

It is. I said it's the exception, where I will tip even in non-tipping societies.

Bodawei

now surely you know you didnt offend me. There is nothing here that could offend, Im just trying to offer up the other side of the argument. I care little about the affect on the local economy. I am thinking on a more personal level but you have given me some things to ponder, and I will.

And thats not tipping? I do the same (only not under the pillow). And for exactly the same reasons you state. I have always considered that tipping and it probably makes up most of the tipping I do in a hotel as I never accept the offer to carry my bags. Somehow I dont appreciate that offer and it always seems like an annoying intrusion to me as I am quite capable of carrying my own bag. I prefer to maintain control of my own things. If I eat at one of the hotel restaurants, I may leave a tip if the service is good since in the large cities, at major hotels, it is no longer so rare and they have come to expect it from foreigners at least. It has never been returned to me. In a cab I round up to make the transaction change free unless its a long ride, for which I may tip a little more. If he overcharges me I dont tip. I complain. In a small restaurant, in a small city It depends on a lot of things, but I dont rule it out just because Im in China. Being nice is universal. Empathizing with the situation of another and showing appreciation for good service is universal. There are places in which I dont tip. How I make that call is complicated. Lets just say if I feel that the culture of the place is dont tip, I dont tip.

ah sorry think I get your meaning now.

Oh duh. How could I forget! There IS tipping in Japan, in the kind of nightclubs where hostesses in low-cut dresses sit and drink with the patrons, and probably establishments with strippers and near-naked pole dancers (with these though, it's just an excuse to go up to the dancers and slip bills under their tiny garments). It's obviously not for "good service". With the "host clubs" it seems the female patrons tend to show their appreciation with gifts like wristwatches and sometimes cars, rather than tips. But I'm not too knowledgeable on this. Haha. Clean forgot about all that.

Is this the kind of thing you meant Bodawei? I wasn't too sure what you meant by "On a global scale tipping is practiced in a relatively small number of markets, affecting a relatively small number of people. Does it happen in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea?"

'Are the staff at major hotels in China not getting paid well?'

I know there may be arguments about what constitutes 'well' but I would think that in the Chinese economy these are relatively sought after jobs - bringing security, regular pay, and a nice environment. There is a very large part of the Chinese economy where the conditions and pay are not so good.

RJ - didn't mean to pull any whiskers. Sorry if my post offended in any way. I have to say I am surprised about your general points, not so much about what you said about China. On the latter, it is clear (as we have agreed before) we move in different circles.) In more than three years in China now I have not SEEN anyone tipping at all. Like zhen's Japan, I think it just does not exist, except maybe in that tiny part of China that is becoming indistinguishable from the West. I have stayed in a couple of five star hotels in China (not foreign chains but expensive and high quality service) where I saw no tipping. On occasions when giving too much in payment Chinese people seem to go to great lengths to give you back the right change, so how you go about tipping in my China is another question. Actually when I come to think of it I have made dozens of transactions in high class hotels in China - I have never been made aware of tipping.

The thing that really surprised me was your approach that if it is your general practice elsewhere then you would do it in China. I don't tip in China because it is not in the culture; I tip in the US because it is in the culture. But tipping in the US is not an argument in favour of tipping in China.

I'd be interested to know how much of the world has incorporated this behaviour into their economies in the way you describe - I thought it was a largely a N American phenomenon. On a global scale tipping is practiced in a relatively small number of markets, affecting a relatively small number of people. Does it happen in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea?

I am also concerned that you are seeing tipping as a 'good deal' - I look at this as far as I can from the point of view of others, or the average consumer, (most who can't afford goods and services to the same extent as I can) - in other words how does this practice impact on the local economy. Read consumer.

Ah, see, even to those who have a clear stand on the issue, there is room for interpretation... I don't stay in hotels frequently, but the one person I was taught you MUST tip is the hotel maid. (Though I always leave it on the counter, somewhere where it is hopefully obviously for the cleaning staff and not something I just overlooked. I suppose under the pillow fits this requirement, but it never crossed my mind to leave it covered in any way.) Even restaurants are negotiable depending on the type of establishment.

Even if the room isn't cleaned well one day, I was taught to tip the next day because it might be a different person the next shift.

As babyeggplant expressed, my goal is to follow the customs of the place I live. This does not mean however that I will start spitting in public.

It's not frowned upon in Japan, the concept and custom just don't exist. There are times we give certain people small money envelopes, in certain situations. We don't consider those as tips.

Obviously our cultures and societies are different. Of course Japan has disparity and uneven distribution of wealth too but it's nothing like in other countries including China and the US. We don't really have immigrants working as housekeeping staff, bellhops or valets and our society is classless. When I went to LA on business most of the people who received my tips at hotels were immigrant workers from Central and South America. It's different. So I don't feel guilt about not tipping when in countries with no tipping custom.

Are the staff at major hotels in China not getting paid well?

The other exception to my non-tipping rule when in non-tipping societies--at a nice hotel I will leave a dollar bill or two under the pillow for the housekeeping staff who come in to clean my room. I do it because that's just so personal as well as hard work, and I want the message to be clear that I appreciate my personal belongings being handled with care. I would do that at a nice hotel anywhere in the world except Japan and probably also Korea. In Korea I think the staff in a major western-style hotel would find it insulting if I tried to give them a tip, because I'm Japanese and they would know we don't have that custom.

OK I have to amend "based on my very limited experience in SH, I would expect in a big city in China the same unsolicited extra hour of massage that was given free in Seoul to simply end up as a random extra hundred RMB slapped onto my bill", which is taking it way too far. I have had 10 RMB added to my hairdresser charge making the grand total 30 RMB for something I expect in Japan to be price inclusive. What I do expect is maybe to be offered a massage then only afterward being clearly shown it wasn't free, but again not "a couple of hundred RMB" and not that an hour-long leg massage by two people would be offered as if it were free of charge in the first place, outside of the most suspect sorts of shops. I realize also that my inability to communicate in Chinese probably meant that the people were discouraged from attempting to banter with me and they just skipped the process (still makes me mad though, that they do that). I apologize if anyone found my comment offensive.

The extra massage in Seoul was not something I would expect anywhere, I considered it way above and beyond just "nice service". That it was extended at all though said something to me about the way Koreans think of hospitality, and maybe also the way they think we think of hospitality, because that shop gets a lot of business from Japanese travelers.

Hi Zhen,

Thanks for your perspective. I understand that tipping is universally frowned upon and not practiced in Japan. If I found myself in Japan, I would respect that, and not cause issues by tipping. I would also expect that in an advanced economy such as yours that wages have developed and equilibrated themselves "properly" in the absence of tipping. Maybe as it should be everywhere, but it is not. I sometimes do tip street vendors and I am still paying less than I would at home. I am not shy about withholding tips when service is poor, regardless of where I am. I feel a bit guilty not tipping in China, especially at major hotels. Actually it bothers me more to tip in the US where it has become a form of robbery almost due to excessive expectations. I tip when it feels right. Its a matter of conscience and I suppose that is affected by what one is used to. The idea of a tip is that it is an insignificant amount given by one person, but the sum of many becomes significant to the recipient. When it becomes a burden to the giver, then it is too much.

many foreigners who are well used to tipping take advantage of the fact that they might not be expected to in China and therefore dont. There is a name for that, "cheap". .. I think it is demeaning to say, "Im not going to do for you what I do everywhere else just because I am in China and you are supposed to be ignorant of this custom, knowing full well that wages are low here".

Really RJ? I have to say I find this surprising, and hard to agree with. Here's my perspective on tipping.

I know waitpeople in the US really need our tips to earn a living. If the concern is to improve the livelihood of certain people in China though, then do you also say, add 25-50 percent to the price every time you buy something from a street vendor for instance? Because you could, and the cost of buying breakfast from him or her (yes I'm aware food prices are escalating in China now, this is probably rapidly changing) is about one-fourth or one-fifth what you might pay back home. Why should only people lucky enough to be in the tipee (cool word.) position have their lives improved by foreigners? Apologies if this is a stupid question but do we know for a fact that people working in hotels and restaurants are underpaid everywhere in China and need such help?

There is no tipping in Japan, thank goodness. We had to learn the (mafan, I think many of us see it as) foreign custom when more of us ordinary folk began traveling overseas about 30-40 years ago. In Japan we take nice service for granted I guess. I think most of us when we travel abroad can't believe we have to pay (tip) and still frequently get such sub-par service in so many parts of the world including the US. I never looked at it the way you put it, and when I travel to "non-tipping" countries I don't tip. The one time I did in Seoul was for two girls who gave me an extra hour of leg massage for free after my half-hour treatment was done, just because I'd gone with a friend whose eyebrow work was taking two hours. I tipped them both because I would have felt bad for getting all that work done on me for nothing, and because they were so considerate, had such nice manners and made me feel nice too. Am I cheap?

Remember too we Japanese (foreigners) often are already paying all kinds of extra bits and foreigner prices in China just for arriving some place and being Japanese (not being savvy in the locals ways or language can be cause for penalty). Here I mean "Japanese" in the sense of being a foreigner, and also perceived as a type of traveler who parts relatively easily with his money, either due to naivety or weakness under pressure. Nothing to do with any anti-Japan sentiments just to be clear. You know, based on my very limited experience in SH, I would expect in a big city in China the same unsolicited extra hour of massage that was given free in Seoul to simply end up as a random extra hundred RMB slapped onto my bill--no proposal, no prior indication and acceptance of price, no bantering. To be fair, the owner of that particular place in Seoul was really nice. Perhaps her shop was exceptional.

So in that sense, they ought to just let me tip in China and leave their place feeling good and generous--which I would, if the service and manner caused me to feel like showing appreciation. Or they should learn that customers feel much better about an establishment that is upfront about any service that is going to cost extra and how much. Of course then many will refuse that service. But it doesn't pay in the end to have people leaving your shop unhappy and feeling cheated.

bodawei,

you have gone and pulled my whiskers so I must speak. I have to agree with Orangina, the way the world works doesnt match the way it should. In the US jobs such as waiting tables are permitted to pay an hourly wage well beneath minimum wage law, because of the expectation that tipping will indeed be the largest portion of their income. They are now required however to declare all tips on federal income tax forms and pay taxes on them. How well that works is another subject. Anyway I look at it like this, many foreigners who are well used to tipping take advantage of the fact that they might not be expected to in China and therefore dont. There is a name for that, "cheap". If it doesnt affect the quality of my life but may very well change theirs, I do what I do everywhere, I tip. I can feel good that by giving something that I barely notice, I may be helping someone in a real and significant way. Tipping is a good deal in China. You get more for your money (or someone does). Only if I see that it causes confusion, or the "tipee" just hands it over to the owner of a restaurant for example will I hold back. This happens less and less because I think the genie is out of the bottle now. There is no turning back. I think it is demeaning to say, "Im not going to do for you what I do everywhere else just because I am in China and you are supposed to be ignorant of this custom, knowing full well that wages are low here". I will not tip if I suspect it offends, but mostly tips are met with appreciation and yes, better service.

I usually tip on my trips to Hong Kong (although I only go once every 6 to 8 weeks) and the tipping is usually limited to rounding up the taxi fare to the nearest 10 hkd simply for convenience and tipping the guy that insists on bringing your luggage up to the room (hotels are usually jwm or Sheraton)

Ah, well... the way the world should work and the way the world does work are two different things. I agree tipping is in it's essence not a beneficial thing. However, if that is the system in place I don't think it is moral for my moral objections to affect an innocent person's bottom line.

I have never tipped in China or Hong Kong.... this article just made it seem like the tide was shifting. Not a tide I want to be on the forefront of, but neither do I want to be left out to sea.

Thanks for your input! I value your viewpoint on things such as these.