Tip or not tip a private driver

If they do an excellent job - then tip them. That is the whole idea behind tips. If you have a driver and a guide then I would tip driver about half of what I tip the guide -- assuming, of course, - that they earned it.

Hi Frank. What percent do you think is appropriate? 10-20 percent?

It depends. Don't know your total but closer to 10. Perhaps 8 to 10.

That's about what I was thinking. I guess what I'm grappling with is that the driver does not work for a company which takes a cut of the negotiated price. In this case, the driver owns the company & gets the entire amount. I'm already paying around 400 euros for the day so a 10% tip would add another 40 euros to the cost. In the past, I have always tipped tour guides in Italy but it's because they worked for the tour company and I felt that the company probably took a large cut. I feel as though this situation with the driver is different. Am I off base & looking at it all wrong? Opinions?

I stand by what I said. Italian culture is different when it comes to tips, even though sometimes someone may try to shake you down for a tip if they know you're American. If this driver thinks he should be paid more than 400 euros, he should set the price higher. It's in his power. It's a pity that the OP isn't getting more than just our two opinions, though. Hardly a representative sampling.

In your scenario, I absolutely would not tip. It's Italy; they just don't expect tips like we do here. He has set the price that he believes to be fair.

Read the original posting
One of the drivers that gave me a quote stated that the cost did not include a gratuity........ It would appear from that comment that a gratuity might be expected. If so, how much? We are discussing that gratuity. My experience with the Italians (or European service people in general) is that they expected a gratuity at the same rate as most American service people. It is just the size or the amount that is different. Unfortunately because of American culture regarding tipping we tend to tip larger amounts and therefore set a poor example for our European cousins.

Michael, my line of thought is similiar to yours. It really rubbed me the wrong way when the driver gave me his quote & stated that it did not include a gratuity. I felt that it was his way of telling me that I had to tip him and after paying so much for the tour in the first place, I felt that this was a bit of a "shake down" as you said. I did not book the tour with that driver however I've actually booked 2 different tours with independent drivers that work for themselves and are not associated with a company who would take a cut of what I'm paying. So, I don't know whether it's necessary to tip both of these drivers or not. I've been to Italy 2 other times and never got a sense while dining for example that a tip was expected or not. I'm sure Italian waiters know that Americans are generous tippers & to a certain extent have come to expect a tip just based on the fact that we do tip (more) in the first place. Thanks again for everyone's input.