Here's A Tip

How much should you tip in Hong Kong's restaurants?

View large image The answer depends on your habits, the service and whether the restaurant adds a surcharge.

Hong Kong hotels and large restaurants add a 10% service charge to the bill, but who gets it?

Some Chinese-operated restaurants pool service charges to split among staff, but some use it for expenses. Diners can't determine which policy is in place from the menu. The other problem is your table may be looked after by more than one server.

Therein lies the confusion. How should you handle it?

Most Hong Kongers round up the change. If the total for dim sum comes to $368 and is paid by a $500 bill, locals will take back between $100 to $130 of the change. Management often breaks down small bills into coins, in the hope diners will leave more.

Western visitors and expatriates shouldn't assume the service charge in Hong Kong's Western-style restaurants and hotels goes to the server.

Wherever you choose to eat, if concerned about the 10%, you should enquire where it goes. Once you know how it's used, the size of the tip is your choice. You may want to tip in cash, as you can't be certain servers will get the gratuity tacked onto the credit card receipt.

In Hong Kong's neighbourhood eateries, such as a chaan teng, no service charge is added. Most folks pay the bill and take the change. Some leave a buck or two, but it isn't expected.

My practice is to tip well for good service, additional charge or not. My sister used to work in the restaurant business and she's told horror stories of high-maintenance tightwads who left little or no tip, despite her hard work to please them, and she was one of the best servers I've ever seen.

Servers who strive on my behalf deserve to earn more than a minimal wage and a share of a 10% surcharge.

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