15

I care, oh yes I do - that's why I give restaurant/hotel staff/taxi drivers what they deserve,
Nothing more, nothing less.
Oh - and yes, I've been to Japan - and my tipping theory works just the same there.
It has to be said - I tipped many times in Japan, as the service was second to pretty well none.

16

So, Billy, you went to Japan, ignored local customs & etiquette and probably caused embarrassment to those people who you tipped who were too polite to say anything. Nice one.

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Hey battybilly

For such a prolific poster how come you have not posted on any Japan threads?

just a bitta curiosity - though.

scoodly

18

Hi guys, thank you so much for sharing with me your opinions on this. I really appreciate it. To be honest with you, I think knowing tip etiquette or not does not matter much while you travel since local people in a lot of places are quite forgiving toward foreigners, where they sympathize as not understanding their culture well. However, as a frequent traveler, I feel like learning tipping etiquette is a good way for me to pay respect to the local and to show them that I care about their culture. I think it's a good learning experience for me and I hope many other travelers would feel the same way. Hence, I created the app.

I would like to share some of my experiences or should I say some awkward moments while traveling without knowing the tip etiquette of the destinations. For instance, when I was in Japan for business 2 years ago, I didn't know that you don't need to tip in Japan. I dined at a decent restaurant in Ginza and I gave 500 yen for tip. Little did I know that Japanese do not accept tipping. So the end result is that after I left the restaurant, the poor waitress was running around looking for me to return me the tip money. Luckily I went to the toilet on that same floor and ran into her on the way out. It really surprised me to see how the Japanese get so worked up over such a small money, which they could have easily kept and not bother looking for me. After that incident, I have decided to be more prepared to learn about the tipping etiquette of any destination I will go.

If you guys have any similar experience, please feel free to share !! :). More of all, I hope for those of you who care about tipping etiquette, hope you can enjoy my app. I have dedicated a lot of time into it so I hope that you like it :).

19

For such a prolific poster how come you have not posted on any Japan threads

Prolific poster.... 13,000 or so posts.... Hardly prolific.

Is there a Japan Branch? I've made many comments about my experiences in the country.
I didn't enjoy it very much - as with posts about other locations I don't like, that often get slammed.
I've posted very little about my adventures in Australia - too, perhaps you'd care to read them as well.
Another place I wasn't too fussed about.
There are a quite few other places as well I've been to, that I've not posted about.
Is there a T.T.rule - that if you've been there, you have to say so?

So, Billy, you went to Japan, ignored local customs & etiquette

Did I?.... That's news to me. Who told you that?

20

BiDuSoft - interesting to read about your experience in Japan; detail is always helpful and more convincing than bare assertion. Thanks, I'll have a look at the app.

battybillyv - like I say, just wondering;keep hold of the teddy! Your explanation was reasonable, I've had experiences that I don't care to write about too much. So, what's the deal with not posting about the "endlessly incredible" Costa Rica?

As I said "Just Wondering"...

scoodly

21

So, what's the deal
I've no idea.

22

Hi Scoodly,
Thank you so much for your kind support. My app is free to download and try it out. It also comes with a tip calculator. If you don't like it, you can always uninstall it and no commitment needed. I will try to see if I can add more functionality to it in the future to make it a true travel companion for casual to frequent travelers :).

I hope you and many other travelers will find it helpful on your next trip :). Cheers and thanks so much for giving me a chance to share my experiences with you guys :).

Hi Billy,
Thank you very much for your kind inputs as well. I do agree with you that tipping etiquette is not necessary for us to fully enjoy our trips as many locals are very kind and forgiving toward foreigners. However, many travelers do run into some awkward moments sometimes when they don't know the tipping etiquette of the country they arrive. I aim to make my guide more geared toward the people who would like to get the most out of their travel experience and want to immerse themselves in the local culture so that not only will they learn something new but they also get something to take away from their trips. As I said, travelling is all about learning and seeing new things and I feel that tipping etiquette should be one of them. It's not required but clearly very critical in my humbling opinions.

I sincerely thank you guys again for contributing to my thread. You guys have been great !!! Feel free to share your experiences here with me and many other travelers. If you have any feedback regarding the app, please be so kind to let me know as well :). Many thanks !!!

Edited by: BiDuSoft