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?
(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.
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.
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.