Is the guidance still to “round up”, and to maybe give a tip for exceptional service or have things changed since I was here 3 years ago? We are not in big cities. Are there regions where tipping is expected, as in the village of Dessau-Roßlau?
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2357 posts
(1) Is the guidance still to “round up”, and to maybe give a tip for exceptional service or have things changed since I was here 3 years ago?
(2) Are there regions where tipping is expected, as in the village of Dessau-Roßlau?
(1) Yes.
(2) No. BTW, Dessau and Roßlau together have a population of 80.000+, so may be it's a village only in American eyes. The town was almost complety destroyed in WWII and rebuild in the sovjet style, so it's downright unattractive. But there is the famous Bauhaus (the new museum will open soon) and the Meisterhäuser and the lovely nearby Wörlitzer Gartenreich.
I like the Inn "Zum alten Dessauer" (no tipping expected, rounding up welcome). And they have a suprisingly good opera.
Posted by
Berlin
2345 posts
All waiters are paid already but every waiter is happy to receive tip.
All prices on menus inlclude VAT.
Feel free to tip if you were happy with the total service. Rounding up is and was never a stand-alone rule. So paying 10 EUR for an amount of 9.90 can end up that the waiter gives you 20 Cents back - maybe. So around 10% plus round up is a base rule, give more if you like to make the waiter a good day.
On the other hand give nothing if you were not satisfied at all. It is communication. No tip means that you were not satisfied - so do not be surprised of a wondering waiter if you made a happy impression but do not leave a tip.
In small villages be careful because waiters may work for 2 or 3 restaurants ;-)
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8961 posts
What Mark said.
In addition, do not leave the tip on the table. Have your server make change for you that will then include the tip. Example: your bill was 24€, you give your server 30€ and tell them 26€ and they give you 4 € back in change.
If things are not ok, it is always a good idea to tell management. If you don't tell them they may never know that there was a problem.
Servers are all paid a set minimum wage, but they may be tipping out to the kitchen too, so they do appreciate those tips.
Posted by
Asheville, NC
30 posts
I've had German waitresses try to refuse a tip...I tell them it's Trinkgeld, (drinks money) and they laugh and accept it. I love Germany.