> "No need to tip the staff at this hotel."
In Japan it is rude to tip, so this opening sentence is completely invalid.
In Japan it is rude to tip, so this opening sentence is completely invalid.
First of all, tipping someone implicitly puts them in a servile position and says you're off better than them. Secondly, and this is probably the killer, it says that you don't think they would manage without your help.
Which just goes to show that everywhere you go, you learn something new which can be different ;)
Also, you could say a form of tipping does exist in Japan (kokorozuke), though it's quite different than what we usually think of tipping. The biggest differences being: 1. It's sort of a way of saying, "Sorry for the trouble" rather than "rating" their service. 2. You give the "tip" beforehand rather than afterwards. And it's likely you'll have to insist that they take it.
You can see this custom in high-end ryokans for example, but even then, it's not required or anything.
So, that was the one taxi ride in Germany I took and didn't tip. (It was not the first taxi ride in Germany.)
Some will even consider it fun to be tipped for first time in their life, others will find it offensive and will think that you are looking down to them. But, in any case, tipping is a faux pas in Japan.
"Do as the Romans do" is always the correct behavior, but in this case the potential for offense is entirely overblown.
I can tell you that most Japanese I know hate the concept of tipping and it makes them uncomfortable. They also hate giving tips. Not because of the money, but because they think that tipping is a way of looking down the other person.
Of course, when I say offensive I don't mean that they will curse and hate you forever. But probably some will think: "I already have a salary, I don't need you give me your coins".
If there's an scale of socially awkward situations, I guess tipping would be slightly under asking ketchup for your sashimi. But definitely not as bad as going into someone's house with your shoes on.
To seriously offend some Japanese people you'll have to do something crazy like stick your chopsticks straight up in your rice bowl. Then you'll see them really wince ;-)
How do you come to this conclusion? When I tip someone I express my gratitude for the good service to the specific employee of some company that did a great job.
I never thought of it as the person receiving a tip is below me or anything like that and I doubt that this is how most people think about it.
It might be true that people in Japan feel this way about tipping, but your statement was very general as if it is an observation about the very nature of tipping itself.
Sometimes it's contextual, e.g. in Greece the traditional norms were that tipping young people working at a restaurant as employees was fine, but tipping an owner-operator of a family-run restaurant could offend them, being taken as an implication that you thought they couldn't manage as an independent businessman, and needed a gift. Instead if you particularly liked their service, the socially acceptable way to show it was to either order more things, or return for another meal later; that way you gave them more money but in the form of more business, rather than an outright gift. (Nowadays this is only really an issue if you're Greek, especially a Greek from the same town, where tips, especially large ones, might be taken as having some kind of odd social implication. If you're a foreigner, tips aren't going to offend anyone, and are perceived basically the way North Americans would expect, as a thank-you for particularly good service.)
Maybe so, but presumably you don't tip your doctor regardless of how well they do their job.
Conventions appear to be changing in some countries: I've seen restaurants and stands in Australia, well-known as a country where tipping is not done, put out tip cups with signs encouraging patrons to tip.