I recently visited some European friends and, since I was nearby, traveled to Spain for a few days afterwards.
I was in Europe for a few weeks and accumulated a bit of pocket change (fewer than 10 coins valued less than 50 cents in total). On the last day, I had a nice meal and with good service, so paid in cash and left an 8-10% tip. Because I had no use for the small coins in my non-EU home country, I also added those to the tip. I was told by an American friend that this was rude.
What does AskEurope think?
33 comments
This is one of the things that don’t matter enough to think about them. It’s like wondering what do cashiers thing about your purchases.
It depends on the country.
We have countries in Europe where tipping is uncommon and might be considered rude. And we have countries in Europe where tipping is welcome and normal.
And honestly, since you’re leaving the country anyway, who cares about being rude (by giving money)? 😉
No it’s not rude. That’s usually what tips in Spain are.
Of course its not rude. Why would your American friend think that?
Usually there are donation boxes at the airport where you can donate change like that.
Tips are usually only a bit of pocket change. If you even choose to tip at all.
Fifty cents as a tip for a coffee or a glass of wine are ok. Fifty cents in very small coins (1, 2, 5 cents) as a tip for a meal is indeed a bit rude.
No worries. In Germany the saying goes ,wer den Pfennig nicht ehrt, ist des Talers nicht wert’. Google it…
I almost never left tips but I think giving an insignificant amount, like below 50 cents, can be seen as rude somehow because you just get rid off useless little coins
When outside of US, you’d better ignore any advice from Americans about tips. The tipping culture in US is considered weird by most of the world.
Money is money. They are going to spend it. They knew you were a foreigner and they probably assumed that you were leaving. If they even thought about it at all.
Some stuck up waiters can be offended by this. But hey, is it really a big deal if you accidentally offend a stuck up idiot? Not in my book.
depends on the country I guess, I can’t speak for all of Europe but in Sweden tipping is definitely not considered rude. It is quite normal actually, but not obligatory. I think the amount of places where it’s considered rude is quite few. I mean why would you be mad for extra money?
I’ve actually always wondered this. We don’t tip in my country, and we don’t use Euros either. So when travelling in Europe, I always kinda leave all my euro coins in the hotel room as a tip for the cleaning lady, but I always wondered if it was rude to leave small coins or not..
Leaving lots of small coins can be seen maybe as annoying but not really as much as rude.
Yes it is. I’d rather you don’t leave a single coin. In Italy tipping is not part of our culture and no one expects you to tip nor demand you do. Tipping is a sign of appreciation. Leaving spare coins will only result in you being lazy to carry them around or forgot them on the table.
Sometimes we would work endless shifts as waiters, especially during peak months in july-august, when a lot of foreigners come here. Seeing them paying like 100€ for dinner and then leave like 50 cents on the table (it did happen and they were left with the receipt, no mistake they left there on purpose) made me incredibly upset.
If you feel like tipping, leave as much money as you want but make it worth something. It could be a 5€ bill but at least I know you really enjoyed my work, otherwise your spare coins are totally useless.
I’ve rolled into petrol stations og the border between Germany and Denmark and paid my fuel with a sizable handful of eurocents. They were happy for the small change since they tend to run out of smaller denominations anyway.
No.
If you leave a 8-10% tip in Spain you are being more generous than almost everyone.
Those leftovers will not annoy anybody.
European here and we do not have the same tipping culture here as you do in the US so any tip given, big or small, whether small change or notes is just a little happy bonus and we are well aware that Americans or anyone outside the EU might be generous with the small change they have left from the trip and it’s always welcomed as are your stay here. You are helping our economy so tourists are always welcome, it generates jobs. There is nothing rude about giving change as we do not expect to be tipped like Americans are expecting to be tipped in the US and salary here is more generous so we do not have to rely on tips like some workers in the US, so to us a tip is welcomed no matter size
Money is money. Nothing wrong with what you did. You just gave a bigger tip.
Yeah people usually consider that like you are leaving trash at table as they dont have use of it if its 1, 2, or 5 cents. I myself consider those people who think like that dumb but that is what ive heard from waiters in my country
do not take tipping advice from an american- unless you are specifically in America, lol!
Don’t worry, nothing happened and you’re not being rude, in Europe tips are always welcome in any form and if you don’t give them no one will say anything to you
Usually on a holiday in Europe the only tip I would give is some spare change to leave to the room cleaners at the hotel.
Europe is many countries and in some you tip, in some you don’t, and in other again it is a nice gesture but not expected.
I don’t normally tip at home, but when I go on holiday to other European countries I often round up the amount and don’t take the change. Especially if I’m splitting the bill with someone else, because it makes it easier to split when the numbers are rounded!
We are starting to import this stupid tip culture from the US, but for now, no.
You are not expected to tip AT ALL And if you do, that’s exactly what you’re expected to tip. Or whatever is needed to round to the nearest 5.
Leaving a handful of coppers and nothing else is considered insulting in the UK. It’s better not to tip in that case and just explain to the server you don’t have change. Most people pay by card now anyway which allows you to add a tip if you want to.
In my experience, most businesses are happy to get additional coins to give change, but then again, I do live in a country where cash is still widely used. However, I feel like this is an extreme non-issue. Who is going to complain about some coins? And if they are, for some strange reason why should you care about their unreasonable behavior?
European tipping culture is “tip if you feel like it and tip literally any amount”
So no, it’s not “rude” to give people free money.
Europeans find American tipping extremely weird (percentage based??? Makes no sense whatsoever) and tipping is not necessary in most European countries. Rounding up / “keep the change” based tipping would be the norm. If you spent €92 on a meal, leaving an €8 tip makes complete sense. Same goes for if you spent €143 and left a €7 tip.
The other normal form of tipping is just leaving a note. It’s a round number and it’s cash. So leaving a 5, 10 or 20 euro note as a tip, regardless of your spend, is also normal. Pocket change, as you did, is also fine.
We don’t have tipping “rules” here, and, again, percentage based tipping is an absurd concept. If I bought a €35 steak or a €15 burger, the waiter did the _exact same job_ so tipping different amounts just makes absolutely no sense.
Not rude at all. That’s just Americans being Americans I guess!
If the establishments in the USA actually paid their staff a proper wage then they would rely on tips and it wouldn’t be such a big deal. That’s a debate for another day though!
It’s your money, you do whatever you want with it.
People not loving small coin tips may try hunting you and shoving it up your *** – well, that’s now THEIR money, and THEY can do whatever they want with it.
‘visited some European friends’
‘i was in Europe for a couple of weeks’
Im presuming you’re not American but if it wasn’t for the last line, id put my life savings on you being American.
Europe contains lots of countries, all with different customs, including tipping.
You’re going to get lots of different opinions based on what country you are in AND what country the people replying on here are from.
Im from England and putting a few sheckles down as a tip is always a welcome gesture no matter how small an amount. With the decline of cash usage, tipping is also dying out over here, which is shit for waiting staff.