The other day the doorbell rang, and the water delivery man came. Most of our readers probably engage in the same recurring activity at least once a week; we are on first name terms, handshake included, and glad that 19 litres of heavy load are carried up to the second floor or perhaps even higher up. Yet before bidding farewell we are confronted with an issue involving monetary matters: shall we round off the amount due and hand over a tip, or rather not? Would it be expected or lead to confusion? And what are rewarding perfect services protocol standards in this fine nation?
From cabbie to hairdresser
My generation was fortunate – not in purchasing power terms but in general – that we grew up during times when the term ‘RTW’ became quite common. It stands for Round the World and this is what many students embarked on – a trip around the world courtesy rather affordable airline tickets, various carriers added up onto one single ticket. But visiting many different countries and cultures included being exposed to a fair number of diplomatic minefields so to speak; we did not want to come across as ‘foreign’ hence did as much preparatory reading as possible and please let us keep in mind that this was a time when libraries were busy places and the term ‘Kindle’ still unheard of. And a small issue turned out to be a big issue – how, and if to tip. Countless articles, even complete books were published about it.
It happened to your friendly columnist on more than one occasion – on a far-off island nation, five friends and myself, visited a restaurant that was suggested by a cab driver who was famous for his flamingo colour automobile. A group of six – yes, it was a big motor – duly dropped off, and later to be collected again. A splendid meal, all well. When the moment to settle our bill arrived, we counted our banknotes and paid. We left a tip or so we thought… the facial expression on our lady host all of a sudden changed, almost to unfriendly. What had happened? We did not hand over 12.5 per cent tips but something between five and six. As she was serving us alone and the bill north of 300 US $, we thought we did well. Back in the gorgeous pink vehicle we asked our driver and he said, well, ten per cent is the absolute minimum but 12.5 per cent standard and as everyone pays anyways no need to print that service charge on the actual bill. Lesson learned.
Settling in or visiting Türkiye is no exception from trying to avoid ‘tip-blunders’. Here are some recommendations, we shall return to the waterman towards the end of this piece.
As a rule of thumb when frequenting a restaurant or coffeeshop with sit-down service one should add a ten per cent tip. As is the case in all nations around the globe incomes in the hospitality sector never resemble those of investment bankers hence tips are often factored in as vital ingredient of ones’ monthly earnings, or shall we better say ones’ weekly wages.
When collecting your own drinks from over the counter which is however rather uncommon in Türkiye the choice is yours – if service levels are exemplary, I think leaving a tip is only fair. Normally there are tip collection boxes discreetly placed near the exit or counter, so it is all up to us, the customers.
Cabbies outside the three metropolises Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir seldom demand or even expect a tip but are equally happy should one come their way. Let us say the fare is 74 TL, why not leave 80 TL. But if the fare is 470 TL, think airport transfers, it is really tricky; shall we automatically leave 47 Liras? Since the driver is in full employment anyways again the decision is yours. What I would do is in the case of for example 482 TL rounding it off to 500.
Hairdressers certainly appreciate a tip and so do beauty salons. The pizza delivery boy would, too. You do not always make a precise calculation, just keep two Fivers at the ready so you could hand over one, or both, of them. But a tip should reflect upon very good levels of service. Then again neither overland coach captains nor local minibus chauffeurs would ever expect any tips and giving one is probably filed under the above- mentioned diplomatic no-no.
Contactless makes matter’s more complicated
We just mentioned the two Fivers – system. I would advise you to carry some change when you go out for a meal or intend to use a yellow cab. In a post-pandemic world paying contactless has become the new norm and let us be fair – it is practical except for if we lose control of how much virtual money is left in our maxed-out credit card account. Very often staff can not access the tip added to the contactless bill hence would prefer we settle ‘the big one’ by plastic yet then put our little appreciation into the tip box.
So: what about the 19 litres delivery?
Simply Red once famously came up with the lyrics to ‘Money’s too tight to mention’ talking about economic hardship up North. Still true until this very day – neither the water delivery man nor we are millionaires. Hence the delivery man knows that 19 litres of fabulous still water cost quite a bit these days so he would not really expect in addition being financially rewarded from his customers. But to overcome this potential blunder there is a little trick: if you ask him to kindly replace the empty with the full and heavy container you would have obtained extra service; this in turn allows you to hand over a tip you would not normally do. Situation saved; everyone has a win-win.
The level of services obtained in Türkiye is normally absolutely fantastic – please consider going the extra financial mile so to speak once truly satisfied.
