3966  Tipping in Buenos Aires

Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 18:49:22 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: Tipping in Buenos Aires

Restrooms at Milongas
There are milongas which have an attendant working in the restrooms. They
stock items for purchase (mints, cigarettes, etc.), keep the place tidy, and
supply the toilet paper and towels. These attendants are working for tips.
An appropriate tip is a peso (about 35 cents) which you can leave in the
basket/plate for this purpose. One attendant told me that a tourist left
her 5 centavos which is almost nothing. These attendants work from the time
the milonga opens until it closes--up to 8 hours--and often end up with no
more than 10 pesos.

Waiters in Milongas
When you know that many Argentines work 50 hours a week for a monthly salary
of 400 pesos, you may give more thought to leaving a good tip for service.
A bottle of water or soft drink is only 3+ pesos in a milonga. If you
receive good service, leave a peso tip. The waiters where I dance
regularly come to my table to ask what I want to drink, before I need to
wave them down. I show my appreciation.

Theaters:
It is customary to tip the usher who escorts you to your seat and gives you
a program.

Taxis/Remises:
A 10% tip is standard to taxi and remise drivers.

For taxi service with a milonguero, call Osvaldo Centeno at 15-5752-7188.
He doesn't speak English, but you'll get friendly service around the city.
He works 8am-noon; 4pm-10pm. Then he goes to milonguear.

Janis Kenyon

Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2005 11:24:29 +0100
From: Christian Lüthen <christian.luethen@GMX.NET>
Subject: Re: Tipping in Buenos Aires

Not that I do not leave tips myself, but Janis' posting requires comments!


On 6 Nov 2005 at 18:49, Janis Kenyon wrote:

> Restrooms at Milongas
> There are milongas which have an attendant working in the restrooms. They
> stock items for purchase (mints, cigarettes, etc.),

They also have the right phonecards you'll need for your oversea calls. Generally they are
quite friendly, enjoy a short chat (even if you're just a beginner in castellano/spanish)

> keep the place tidy, and supply the toilet paper and towels.

The days when there's no toilet(wo)man paper is provided for free from the general paper
dispenders (which are empty the days a toilet(wo)man is installed.

> These attendants are working for tips.
> An appropriate tip is a peso (about 35 cents) which you can leave in the
> basket/plate for this purpose. One attendant told me that a tourist left
> her 5 centavos which is almost nothing. These attendants work from the time
> the milonga opens until it closes--up to 8 hours--and often end up with no
> more than 10 pesos.

Hmm, reading this and remembering a bit of my maths classes at school this would imply
that the toilets do not get visited very often: only 10 persons giving the tip Janis
recommended appropriate would make up their nights income. Each time I was passing a
toilet in a Bs.As. milonga people were coming in and out ... they must have much more
costumers. Asuming that still 90 percent of the visitors of a milonga a local people and further
asuming that the percantage of toilet visits is about the same in the local and the tourist
group I ask myself if locals leave a tip as well to the toilet(wo)man?! But also thinking that the
locals actually do leave a tip (as part of their culture) the recommended amount for a tip
could not reflect the tip a local is leaving behind (and therefore would be the appropriate
amout of money).

> Waiters in Milongas
> When you know that many Argentines work 50 hours a week for a monthly salary
> of 400 pesos, you may give more thought to leaving a good tip for service.
> A bottle of water or soft drink is only 3+ pesos in a milonga. If you
> receive good service, leave a peso tip.

This is a tip of 33%, please realize that!

> The waiters where I dance
> regularly come to my table to ask what I want to drink, before I need to
> wave them down. I show my appreciation.

A waiter at any place of the world where service is a high value will come to the table to
check wether a custoumer want's a drink: a waiter wants to sell.
Of course tiping a waiter is a general coustom, but I think one should stay reasonable.
If service is *extraordinary* the value of the tip will rise, of course.

> Taxis/Remises:
> A 10% tip is standard to taxi and remise drivers.

Hmm ... tradionally taxi drivers in Bs.As. even round *down*, ie. if the meter showed 6,20
Pesos they only asked for 6 Pesos.

Also: tipping is voluntary ... more and more taxi drivers in Bs.As. in the last one / two years
even wait until you ask for your change if you'd had handled over 7 Pesos because you did
not have smaller change! :

Also: the last two years saw a remarkable rise of detour driving by taxi drivers ... and the
teller keeps counting ... and then they even expect a tip!

[I admit that during my last stays twice a taxi driver had driven a detour: one which did not
knew the way right (who stoped the taximeter and immediately announced a price lower than
the one currently on the meter): of cource I tipped him. The other one was a driver who had
been driving us a big detour but when we "informed" him that we realize "the trick" he
immediately (without any discussion) cut down the price: of course we gave an aextra for his
immediate honesty.




Remember: it's an understandable sentiment to leave money 'to help' the locals ... but tipping
too high is evoking the opposite: also the locals then will be expected to pay these higher tips
... those locals who actually do not have the money.


Also: leaving exagerated tips by tourist from so called 'richer' countries also provokes a the
impression of arrogance ... a reason why tourists from those countries who regulary tip
exageratedly are not really well regarded in a lot of countries! {just ask yourself honestly
folks: are your landsmen really welcomed everywhere or do your landsmen have a certain
reputation of money-leaving arrogance ...}



I prefer coming back to place and to be friendly welcomed by a
waiter/driver/restroom(wo)man because of my general friendly behaviour and respect for
their culture ... and not because of the extra money I leave as an exagerated tip.


Christian