In Greece the French word “pourboire” is used to denote the word “tip”. A usual tip is 10-20% of the bill.

Tipping practices

In Greece it’s not customary to leave tips to all service personnel: waiters, head waiters, barmen, maids, porters, doormen, taxi drivers, guides, toilets workers. In the Near East, for example, in Egypt, employees do not consider shameful to ask for a tip (baksheesh), whereas in Greece no one can even imagine it.

Following rules are adopted in restaurants of Greece. The waiter usually brings the bill on a plate or in a booklet. It should be carefully reviewed. If you see below a column “Υπηρεσία” (service) and figures, then the service charge is already included in the bill. In this case it’s worth leaving a minimal tip on the table: several coins from your change. By the way, the total sum is denoted in Greek by the symbol Σ, which is familiar to many of us, or by written word ΣΥΝΟΛΟ.

If there is no such column, then it’s worth leaving 10-20% of the bill as a tip: of course, if you are satisfied with the service. The same as in Russia – you pay by putting money on the plate. The waiter takes it and returns with the change or empty: if you paid the bill without surrender. You put on the plate the amount you want to leave as a tip, thank for delicious food, say goodbye and leave.

What if you are not too happy with the service? It’s believed that in this case, too, it’s worthwhile to leave a tip, but only a few small coins instead of 10%, showing that you know the rules, but the service wasn’t satisfied.

In bars, the situation is somewhat different. If you order at the counter, prices never include here service costs. A generous tip for barman is not customary in many countries, although it’s possible to leave up to 10% of the order amount, or you can limit yourself to the trifle from the change.

Tipping in hotels

In a hotel it’s customary to give tips to almost everyone: maids, waiters, porters and others. Owners of hotels traditionally pay service staff very little. They consider that employees should get tips as the main part of their earnings: this motivates them to improve the service. Therefore, if you want to get a really good service, give tips in hotels. In rooms of some high-class hotels there are even envelopes for tips.

A doorman, he welcomes you every time you enter the hotel and usually helps to unload your luggage from transport. Often he calls you a taxi. The usual tip is 2 Euros for calling a taxi and 1 Euro for help with luggage.

Valets, they park you car and can help with luggage or loading into the car. You can also requests them, for example, to put car near, so it can be quickly reached if you know that you need your car soon after parking by the time you return. The usual tip is 2 Euros for each car parking and 1 Euro for help with luggage.

Porter’s main task is to take care of your luggage. He will take care of it if you arrive earlier than you room is ready, or in the event that you must vacate the room before you leave the hotel. He takes your bags from the moment you arrive, waits while you register at the hotel and escorts you to the room. The porter will check the room before you go in, show its equipment (where are light switches, how to use remote-controlled devices and phone), ensure that you are satisfied and satisfy your additional needs, such as ice or an extra pillow. In addition, he delivers all you need to the room. Usual tips are from 1 to 2 Euros per bag or 5 Euros for storing luggage + from 1 to 2 Euros per bag for delivering to the room; an additional tip is for an excellent overview of possibilities for recreation at the hotel.

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Room service staff, they are people who deliver your order from the kitchen to the room and set the table. “Extra fee for services” is usually charged in hotel bill, so check your bill before leave a tip. Some people prefer to give 2-3 Euros extra. Ordinary tip is 15% or at least 2 Euros if the service fee isn’t included in the bill, if it’s included – at your discretion.

Tips for maids: most people don’t give them if they stay at the hotel for 1-2 days on general terms. If you stay for a longer period, you may need additional services. The maid can fix up your personal belongings, bring coffee or pillow. In some hotels the rooms are cleaned several times a day; and some rooms are difficult to clean, especially in top-class hotels, i.e. you may have to pay extra in any of these cases. A usual tip is 2 Euros per night or more, if you leave the room in a terrible mess, and 2 Euros each time for bringing you something to the room. If you did not get a tip personally, leave it on the bed or on the table pressing with something like a glass, so she will understand that the money is intended for her. Don’t put it simply on the table: the faithful maid will not touch them, as it is not clear whether it’s a tip or simply a forgotten surrender. In many hotels there are special envelopes or bowls for tips.

Concierge cares literally about everything that you might need: booking a table for lunch, tours, transport or walking your dogs – this list is endless. The usual tip is 5 Euros and above depending on your commission and 10% of the ticket price which was difficult to get.

Tipping guides

It’s a difficult question. Guides can not be taken to low-skilled maintenance personnel. But practice shows that guides readily accept usually not only oral but also monetary gratitude. A small amount, that you are going to hand in the guide, is better to put in an envelope or, in extreme cases, in a folded sheet of paper. Usually, in the buses, there is so-called “tip box” next to the driver’s seat: a box, a basket or a plate, where you can put a tip after the tour; the guide and the driver will share them equally, as it’s customary to leave tips for drivers of sightseeing buses.

As for giving tips to other attendants, for example, you can put a coin directly into hand of the porter carrying your suitcase. If you don’t reward the staff on principle, you risk waiting for ordered mineral water for hours or tolerating absence of a towel in your bathroom almost until the time you go to sleep.

A different situation is on the beaches. Knowledgeable people clearly advise don’t waste money on tips where sun beds and umbrellas are issued for fees. On private beaches you can also not sponsor boys dragging mattresses and towels. The decision is yours: if you give, no one will refuse. But when sun beds are in short supply (this often happens in high season in large hotels), you will provide yourself for the same Euro a “reservation” of a place under the sun.

Others to be tipped:

a cloakroom attendant (1 Euro per each item, and you can be calm for it; this is a common practice abroad, which we, alas, have limited to the inscription “The wardrobe does not bear responsibility”);

a porter at the station;

a taxi driver, who presents your cash receipt (if you round up this amount, it will include the tip);

a guard in a train will get you a corkscrew, a needle and a threat, a plaid for your dog, will agree on a delivery from the dining car for you (by the way, tea and coffee are included in the ticket price in branded trains, so if the guard sold them to you, he already received his tips);

a DJ and musicians;

a dancer;

a croupier (1-2 tokens for each win);

any employee of service (stylist, masseur, beautician…), who showed you due participation and helped in a difficult situation.

Why you give tips?

Why one leave a tip indeed? The aim is only to get quality services, and these costs are well paid for.

In general, you will be surrounded by attention of those who actually create the service. But after all, quality service is the key to a good mood on your vacation. In this case, you should not be afraid to expect from the servants in Greece ugly pranks like, for example, those in the US, described by travelers.

By the way, tips in Greece are tax-free only for the reason that no one declares them.

 

Based on an article by Pavel Oinoiko

https://rua.gr/tur/poleznye-sovetyl

October 2017