Tipping Question

When they are making change, they make it with the tip added in. So, if your bill was 22€ and you give them a 50€ bill, you can say, 23 or 24€ and you get the appropriate change back. It has nothing to do with you being female, but they don't want you leaving change on the table. People will walk by and take it. This is just how it is done, though it is not normal for them to ask. If they do, I would say zero. It is not appropriate to ask. Though a tip is normal, it is also ok to leave nothing if you were not happy. In this case, you were not happy. Tell them this if you like. I know I would.
Not sure where you are going, but have never had that happen to me and I go out solo all the time.

A service charge in Germany is not the same as a tip. The wait staff do not ever get the service charge. This goes to the restaurant.

What I would do is say "give me my change and then I will decide how much to leave."

Then leave nothing.

And leave a negative review on the restaurants TripAdvisor page.

When I go into a restaurant, I'm always pleasant and respectful. I expect the waiter to be the same or at least professional. I don't let them inimidate me.

Normally, I round up or leave about 10%. But if they were rude like this, I'd leave nothing.

Oh, and I now pay with a credit card. When I do, I will tell them how much extra to add for a tip. But not if they ask.

Oh, and I now pay with a credit card. When I do, I will tell them how much extra to add for a tip. But not if they ask.

I agree with both Ms. Jo and Frank II. It is easier (IMO) to pay with a credit card, and then you just tell them the total amount to add to the card machine. This system is common in many countries (I am in Romania right now, and it's the same system). But as Frank noted, they should not be asking for a tip. And feel free to ask them to wait while you calculate the tip. I've been doing that a lot in Romania, as I am not that familiar with the money here. They will wait. 😊

One other note about Germany. When you do leave a tip, it is considered polite to thank the server at the time you give the tip. It makes it more personal.

Not really familiar with Austria, but in Germany I never had this type of conversation. Definitely not because you’re female - at best, because you are presumed to be from the US.
For CC‘s, the preset tip rates have somewhat swapped over from the US, and since effectively only non-Europeans pay by CC (most Europeans will use cash or EU Debit), no local really notices - and they might be tempted to ask the same question to foreign customers anyway. Or they are just trying to offer you a more familiar experience than the normal one of doing the math yourself.
Say the amount you want to give as tip (service charge is different, as noted, but should already be included in Germany), like 28€ for a 25,90€ bill. If they are rude about it give nothing. Or even better, just ask why they are asking you in advance - it could just be a weird cultural misunderstanding.

Round off to the nearest whole euro. Period.

If they're asking for tips, or don't make change, they know your American and are ripping you off. Tipping is not required. Anywhere. If you want to tip, that's on you. But it's YOUR choice.

KGC: Nothing personal, but rounding up to the nearest whole Euro for a 37,90€ bill is probably worse than doing nothing - a 0,10€ tip is just a deliberate insult. I guess you mean rounding up to the nearest appropriate value (in my example I feel like 40€ would be)?

l-b_m, I have often left 10 cent tips .... but always to make a point. Yes, it is insulting, and I doubt that's what KGC meant or intended.

Mr Ɛ
I was just unsure if KGC was not writing what they actually meant and it could have sparked further confusion or misunderstandings. If you are deliberate about it to make a point - go for it.

In over 40 years of travel to Europe, only once was I ever asked for a tip, and it was in Germany in 2018, at a popular tourist restaurant in Berlin, Dickie Wirtin...I was caught off guard, and I gave the waiter a tip, more generous than I would have otherwise given. And I felt a bit foolish for doing it. FWIW I have always been a tipper in Europe, of the "round up to the nearest euro or two" variety, as long as the waiter assures me that they are allowed to keep the tip. If it goes to the restaurant, I don't tip.

I agree with Frank II completely on how to deal with it.

Thanks all, I feel more confident now and I will follow the advice you have given.

l-b_m, you and I are on the same page about tipping and about what KGC probably meant. I either tip fairly well by European standards or nothing depending on the service. It's a different attitude here, so what I do is common. The 20 cent tips I save for the US where the message is understood. But it's rare that I do it.

I had my first "tip is not included" experience recently. I ate at a Vietnamese restaurant in the Charlottenburg area of Berlin. The server spoke sparse English until delivering the check which was laid on the table with server saying, "Tip is not included." I tipped as I normally would in Berlin -- in the 5-10% range.

It's not an insult, it's not a tip. You just don't want to deal with small change.

You want to leave them more, OK, but if you don't, don't. I don't want to deal with coins less than one euro. I still get them, mostly from shops, but the waiter is not going to be upset if you don't leave a tip. He gets paid a wage that doesn't take into account tips. And he shouldn't be insulted if he doesn't get one.

I had a meal yesterday in a popular tourist destination. The tab was 24.80. I paid 25 euro and nothing was said except, "Thank you, Have a nice day." (Danke, und schoen tag.) That's all that was expected. Nothing more. The .20 euro wasn't a tip, it was a way to prevent the waiter making change and me dealing with it. We both knew that. That's how it works.

I have been to Germany maybe 8 or 9 times over 25 years, the last being a year ago. And to be honest, yes, I noticed the "prompted tip" more the last trip than ever.

Yes, like many others, I used to pay cash, then rounded up or added a couple euro to a dinner bill (never more than 10%, much less if we are talking a 50 euro or more meal). The advent of more credit card usage has put a kink into it, there you need to tell the server what to input for the total amount, if you want to leave a tip. Of course many do this with cash as well, handing them a 50 euro note, and asking for some amount back. I do think this goes against the grain of many Americans, they prefer to make a calculation in private, then either leave money on the table, or write an amount on a credit card slip, discussing the tip with a server, is a bit different.

I can say, that a couple of the servers mentioned it, as if I was not aware I could do that, not really being pushy, just prompting. But yes, some were more direct than others. I do have to say, that most of this was in the more tourist trod towns, but not necessarily just the tourist trap places.

Some experiences that stood out?

My credit card has a PIN and is Pin Priority, meaning even if I tap, if over 50€, I have to input my pin, if I insert my card, also have to input my PIN. One restaurant though, they brought the POS device, not sure if the server did something, but a slip with a tip line printed out, just never have had that happen.

Oktoberfest. In the tents is basically a cash business, especially if you are getting just a beer. Last year, and I hear this year, rather than a simple price, a liter of beer cost some odd amount...so like 15.10€ or 14.60€. Servers are loathe to give small change, so you, or they, or who knows who after 2 or 3 liters, will round your change.

And, like I said, probably 3 places in the month where I was directly asked about the tip.

My advice, it really is somewhat a custom to leave a small tip in Germany. Basically, you need to take the initiative, and either leave the amount you wish, expecting no change; ask only for the amount you want back in change; or tell them directly what amount to put into the POS device for a credit card.

Aside from the insidious "discretionary service charge" automatically added to bills in England, this past Sunday I was asked for a tip for the very first time in Europe, at the Inselbrau restaurant on Fraueninsel. Against my better judgement I left a fair tip, but there was an entertaining fracas going off between a different server and customer which more than my made up for my regret.

In some countries (many, all?), the law requires that the service charge, if any, be printed in an obvious fashion in the menu. That's true in Budapest, for instance, and I have gotten used to looking before I order. Then, the tip screen will come up on the credit card machine and often as not the server will point out that the service charge is already in the bill.

Shanah Tovah U'Metukah
שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה

And a happy and healthy new year to you as well, Mr E and all readers.

Sitting in Stuttgart starting a three week trip. Since I prefer to pay by card, I always tell the waiter to a specific amount "for you" as a was told many years ago to directly hand any tip directly to the waiter. I would love to see more restaurants in the US go paper free and contactless billing where we add any tip before a card is tapped.

We travel to Germany every year and have never been asked about a tip. When we pay with cash,we tell them how much change we want back,thus letting them know what their tip is. We do the same when we pay with the credit card. Very occasionally they give our change back then we give them their tip. I'm amazed that you had someone ask about it.

In Germany, to use the figure quoted already above as the example, 37,90 Euro, I would leave , ie tell the waiter directly 40 Euro or 41 Euro paying him directly in cash. Likewise in France saying Vous faites 40 Euro or 41Euro. (I'll make up my mind then and there.)

This time in Paris I actually did hear a waiter at a restaurant across from Nord who happened to be my waiter too, say to two different British couples , all seniors, with whom he in the course their dinner and his service say to them (he spoke and chatted with them in English), " are you going leave something for me?" as they were paying with the cc.

I was pretty stunned at this guy's temerity, both times. When it was my turn to pay, as I pulled out my cc, he did not ask that question. Maybe because in the course of the dinner, I had engaged in no chatting and I had spoken in French.

Sorry, but the US seems to have arrived in Germany. I fellow traveler arrived in Frankfurt this morning and stopped for a coffee. The pay point presented him with his bill and just like the US asked if he wanted to leave a tip.

jkh: yeah, for CC in particular this has really swapped over - especially since people from the US are more likely to pay by card than locals, and thus encounter a familiar experience
In all honesty, it might be a default setting from the CC reader company - I have already been told by waiters to just skip over it, they found it to be intrusive themselves, apparently.

I tend to agree with the above, ".....it might be a default setting from the CC reader company." But, no matter how it's presented, I simply say, "round up to €xx". Simple, easy and I've never have had any issues doing so. The servers are always appreciative.

Hearing of the strikes against civilians in 🇺🇦 Ukraine the evening before upsets my day and casts a shadow over personal enjoyment. Requests for tips fall into the P.I.A. category (pain in a....). I deal with much more problematic issues several times a day. I also reject the premises that 10% of all the tourists in Europe (Americans) have so much sway over local cultures that they can cause major shifts in local cultures. I really don't think we are that important in such matters. I think Europeans are creative enough, greedy enough and intelligent enough to come up with this stuff with out coaching from across the Atlantic.

Requests for tips fall into the P.I.A. category (pain in a....).

Same for me, a nuisance, but one that must be kept in proper perspective.

If asked for a tip, simply say "no". Pay the bill with a smile, and never return to that establishment.

In Stuttgart food hall at the very good seafood place down the back we had the owner /manager hovering and just being a bit too keen. Waiter was rather more laid back.
Naturally the obsequious manager presented the credit card machine and did a new line ‘Something on top?’ Gave the princely sum of five euros. Did not look impressed.
This was a sit at the bar food hall and it did not take much to serve seafood soup and oysters.
German places don’t usually make any demands like this, maybe he mistook we Australians for US. Rightly or wrongly tipping is not something Aussies do much of and tend to react negatively to such upfront requests. Food was good, nice wine. But there is also a little Spanish place in the hall and young guy has excellent red and a small food selection.

Porsche Museum has better coffee and beer than the MB .

rei.beate Don't you usually tip 10% in Germany and Austria? I was taught that it's unlike what we do in France, Spain, and Italy where tipping is only rounding up or a euro or two? My in-laws who live in Vienna say it's 10% in Germany and Austria. What do you think?

I and all of my German friends tip 5-10% if the service was good. If it wasn't ok, then we don't tip.

I see no reason not to follow Mrs Jo's guidance. She's the expert. I've had this happen at least once in most countries I've visited in last few years. While I dont like it, I notice that when I am seated with other Americans, most times someone in the group will ask the server if gratuity is included. if not already told otherwise. And given that many do not understand the difference between service charge and a tip, it's easy to fall back onto what's "normal" in the US. So I dont always assume it's greed that motivates them to provide that info in advance, just being helpful. Especially since the server may not get the tip themselves.

And for the second year in a row, I violate my New Year's resolution to not engage in a tipping thread.

Stan, bad on you.

Took me a while to figure it out here. Service charges must go to staff so that's good. Service charges have a lower VAT so that's good. Cash tips generally go in the pocket of the server and are legally tax free, that's great.

Tipping was discussed in a WWI era letter from an English man in Budapest to his son back home, so the Americans aren't to blame here

If you want to tip here its appreciated and when its done its generally the bill being rounded up to between 5 anf 10 percent.

I am certain yoi are correct in Germany, but my post began, "Took me a while to figure it out here." "Here" is implied to be Hungary since its under my name. But to be fair I miss the subtle stuff all the time and the topic was about Germany so if I were in your place i probably would have done the same. And yes, cash tips are tax exempt here. I understand they might be in the US too ???

About 2004, I spent a week in Bad Herrenalb, in a Privatzimmer (I was staying there and commuting down to Karlsruhe, to the Baden-Württemberg archives to do genealogy research). Every morning my hostess brought me breakfast in the breakfast room. She spoke no English, but I spoke enough German that we had some very interesting conversations. One was about tipping.

She was very adamant that one should round the bill up to the nearest euro, no more, even if that was only 10 euro-cent (see KGC's post, above). Of course, I have to realize that Bad Herrenalb is part of the region known as Schwaben, and the Schwäbish are very, ah, shall I say "frugal", "thrifty", "tight", so maybe they are extreme. If the final bill is less than x.50€ I will round it up, but if the bill is over x.50€, I'll add a half euro and round it up. If it's more than 10€, I'll probably add a euro to that, 20€, 2 euro, etc.

I always pay cash (Bargeld) in Germany; I'm not familiar with paying by card. I think the whole premise here is that you don't bother with the coins, so it doesn't matter with a card, does it?

I think some of the Germany are annoyed that, when they want to the euro, since there was about 2 Mark to the euro, they were essentially rounding up to the next even Mark, basically 2 Mark.

I was in Germany when they started using euro currency. A few days later, I had dinner on the town square in Rothenburg. The bill was in the lower 20s, maybe 22 or 23 euro. In Germany, the tradition is that the waiter tells you what the bills is, and you tell him how much you will pay, including tip. I gave the waiter 30€ and said, [edited] "Fünf und Zwanzig" (25 euro). He went away with the 30€, like he was getting the change, and never returned. Before I left, I hunted him down and said, "Fünf und Zwanzig". He gave me the 5 euro.

30 euro on a 22,50€ bill would have been a 30% tip! I'm sure he knew from my accent that I was American, but even here, I wouldn't leave a 30% tip, and certainly a German wouldn't.

Lee, your experience from 22 years ago is kind of not very relevant to how things are today. Tipping in a small town is also quite different than in a big city.
Zwei und Zwanzig is 22, not 25. Did you mean to say Funf und Zwanzig? That would be 25.

For those asking about taxes, yes, tips are taxed in Germany as well as in the US. One thing not brought up is that in both countries, the server tips out to the kitchen staff too. Yes, I have worked as a restaurant manager in both countries, so I do know what I am talking about here.
The Service charge in Germany is NOT the tip. This charge goes to the restaurant, not the server.

Yes, sorry. I did mean Fünf und Zwanzig, and that is what I said to him. It's late.

This charge goes to the restaurant, not the server.

Yes, but I think the restaurant is required to pay the worker the standard minimum wage. There's no tipped worker minimum wage.

Actually, in this country, although tipped employees are paid a lower "minimum" wage, by law, their total wages, what they get in tips plus what the restaurant pays them, must be at least the standard minimum wage, so, essentially, the first few dollars you "tip" them goes to the restaurant.

rei-bate i found this, but lets face it, I found it on the internet so its probalby not true. Thats why the forum is so good.

In Germany, cash tips (Trinkgeld) are generally tax-free and exempt
from social security contributions for employees if they are given
voluntarily, directly by the customer, and without legal obligation,
according to §3(51) of the German Income Tax Act (EStG). Tips must be
a personal token of appreciation, not a mandatory service charge, and
are generally not taxed regardless of amount.

But it is pretty much exactly the law here in Hungary so it seemed logical to me that it might be true in Germany.

Cash tips for lower wage earners are exempt from Income Tax in the United States in 2025 expiring in 2028. Thats probably not as great a deal as it sounds, for a lot of reasons.

Cash tips in the United States and in Hungary are not required by law to be shared with the cooks. In some places the staff keeps them, other places the policy is different. Up to store policy. My impression in the US is that the better places pool and distribute the tips but in the Taquieras i use to frequent the waitstaff always got to keep 100% of the tips. But they did have to report the amount to the restaurant for minimum wage reports.

Service Charges "in Europe" has no rule. Its my impression that it is a country by country thing in what it means and where the money goes. Here, Hungary, it must go to staff compensation. I am unclear as if it can be used to satisfy the minimum wage or not. The nice thing for the customer is that it has a lower VAT rate than does the meal. If one were to presume that if there was no service charge the staff cost would be included in the meal cost (cause you still gotta pay the staff) then the Service Charge saves the customer a few forints in the cost of the meal because of the lower VAT.

Only once in Germany have I been asked if I wanted to leave a tip and that was at the bar in the Marriott hotel in Berlin. It wasn't even table service, I simply went to the bar and ordered a beer, paid by card and was asked by the miserable woman serving me if I wanted to leave a tip. I just looked at her, said "no" and sat down to enjoy my beer.

I later gave feedback when I received the e-mail asking for it and I subsequently received an apology from the manager.

I don't tip anyone for simply pouring me a beer, not even in the US.

Only once in Germany have I been asked if I wanted to leave a tip

Asking is rude. And those payment machines that want you to pick a tip number .... very rude. But not the employees fault so if they earned a tip I play along.