Tipping in the hospitality industry: the Dutch have had enough
The article about the card machine with a tipping function prompted an enormous number of reactions. Those reactions are anything but mild. Many Dutch people do not understand that tipping in the hospitality industry is perfectly normal. People are even talking about ‘American conditions.’
Hospitality staff are very happy with tips, and many people work hard for them too. And yet there is a never-ending discussion about whether or not to tip in the hospitality industry. ‘Why hospitality staff and not people in healthcare?’ Time to list the reasons why people in the Netherlands often give less—or no tip at all—in the hospitality industry anymore.
1. We are stingy and pragmatically minded
Sorry not sorry: the Dutch are internationally known for their down-to-earth, er… thrifty attitude. “Just act normal” also applies to spending money on tips. Besides: a supermarket shelf stacker doesn’t get a tip either, right?
‘Why does it have to be a mandatory little ritual?’
Ana:’ No, I don’t tip. Why would I? Why does it have to be a mandatory little ritual? I really think it’s nonsense. Everyone who works gets their salary, right? My neighbor, who is a bus driver, or my neighbor, who is a nurse, don’t get tips either. But someone serving me does? Nonsense.’
José: ‘I don’t tip the baker because he bakes such good bread, do I? We were farmers and never got tips from the dairy factory; our daughter in healthcare doesn’t get tips either, and our son in demolition doesn’t get tips either, so why in the hospitality industry? And hospitality is expensive enough already.’
Alberdien: ‘There are many professions where people earn no more than the minimum wage. Do all these people now have a right to tips?’
Roel shares this opinion: ‘If I ask a shelf stacker something in the supermarket, I get good help. Yet he doesn’t get a tip. What is the difference between him and serving staff?’
2. Service isn’t always great
And let’s be honest: when the service is disappointing, the Dutch reflex is: no tip. Instead of seeing it as standard practice (as in other countries), it has to be earned.
‘Not worthy of a tip’
Herbert-Jan thinks tipping is completely unnecessary, because he finds the service awful: ‘These days, everywhere in the Netherlands you are served by a grumpy teenager. Usually not worthy of a tip. Abroad, being a waiter is often still simply a profession.’
3. Increase in the minimum (youth) wage
According to Gert, a significant part of the price increases in the hospitality industry over the past few years is due to the increase in the minimum (youth) wage.
‘They earn enough’
‘Are tips still necessary then? And do the tips paid by card really reach the employee, or do they stay with the boss?’
The latter is, incidentally, a concern shared by many hospitality customers. Giving cash, in particular, is a frequently heard tip.
4. No obligation!
Leaving some change after paying cash? Easy. These days you pay by card, and you have to actively enter ‘more’ if you want to give a tip. That extra step means many people simply skip it. Because, contrary as we are, the feeling that we are obliged to tip when faced with a card machine with a tipping function creates enormous resistance.
‘Rude’
Belinda: ‘I don’t participate in mandatory card-machine tipping either! Ridiculous prices these days for a sandwich or a pancake… just to name something…’
Marcel: ‘You give a tip voluntarily to serving staff/kitchen staff. You don’t give a tip to a card machine, where the tip disappears into the owner’s pocket.’
Renske: ‘If there is already an amount or percentage on the card machine, a, I find that rude, and b, I find the amount or percentage too high, and c, it feels like an obligation.’
5. We have a different wage system
This whole discussion about mandatory tipping? It reeks of American conditions! In the Netherlands, hospitality employees generally earn the minimum wage or more. Unlike in, for example, the US, where staff largely live on tips, it isn’t ‘necessary’ here to supplement their wages. As a result, many Dutch people see a tip more as extra appreciation, not an obligation.
‘We don’t live in America’
Koen explains it: ‘In America, wages are low, so everyone knows you have to tip there. Here, service is included in the price, so a tip is only extra for good service.’
Steve: ‘American conditions. If no tip is paid, can you get a knife in your back? Of course not. You work for your money, and that wage comes from the proceeds of sales. If not, you should find another job.’
Gea: ‘We are in the Netherlands; in America, wages are indeed so low that people have to live on tips, and tipping is part of it—it is scandalous if you don’t. Here we have a minimum wage. The fact that they expect it does not mean that their wage without tips is below the minimum. It is appreciation that we usually show this way, but don’t see it as an obligation! If it is presented that way, you can forget it. Always voluntary for ordinary and good service.’
Hugo: ‘A long, long time ago, the waiter, like in America, received little salary/wages, and the tip was part of their income. Now almost every sector has a collective wage agreement, so tips should no longer be necessary. There was also a debate for years about whether the tip belonged personally to the waiter or went into a pot and was divided among the servers. Then the cooks revolted, because they wanted part of the pot too. There have even been court cases to regulate this properly. I was raised to tip, but ultimately they all do their job just like you and I do. I often round up, but as someone from the generation after my parents, and after all those court cases, I also always wonder whether it is actually necessary. And I don’t really think it is, but many people were still raised that way.’
Shana: ‘Of course there are people who tip, and that’s very kind, but let’s not pretend it is the norm in the Netherlands, because it isn’t. This isn’t America, where hospitality workers are severely underpaid and have to live on the tips they receive. And I certainly hope we never follow that country when it comes to tipping.’
6. QR = no tip
Some people are uncompromising when ordering via a QR code (which I personally find an annoying (post-)corona phenomenon).
‘All they do is bring it’
Patries: ‘Give a tip? If I entered my own order via QR? Without speaking to anyone? The ONLY thing they sometimes have to do is bring it, your glass of drink. And on top of that, for one euro more per glass. Byeeeee.’
Karina: ‘Tipping is completely ridiculous when you have to scan the QR code yourself, they only bring it, and you pay at the central cash desk.’
7. Find another job
A hospitality job is a voluntary choice, right? You knew what you were getting into, the comments say.
‘Don’t come asking me’
Chris: ‘Why would I tip if you want extra money? You should talk to your employer or find another job, but don’t come asking me.’
Nazim states bluntly: ‘They’ve never had tips and they’ll never get any from me. You chose your job, right? You get paid for it. It’s not like tradespeople get tips after renovating a roof, or a bus driver gets a tip because he drops you off. You get paid for what you do. Want extra money? Get a second job.’
8. It’s expensive enough
And perhaps the biggest reason why people no longer give tips: eating and drinking out is expensive enough already.
‘With those prices, there is no room for a tip anymore’
Rienee: ‘I believe (given the ridiculously high prices in hospitality) that staff should go to their boss for better pay. The customer pays enough.’
Sijgje: ‘Prices have become so absurdly high that there doesn’t need to be a tip on top anymore.’
Mieke: ‘Prices in the hospitality industry almost no longer invite me to go out..’
Sandra: ‘Are tips still of this time? It is a job and people receive a salary for it; if that is not enough, isn’t that the employer’s responsibility? Dining out or whatever is expensive enough already.’
Ad: ‘At Schiphol, we had to pay the astronomical amount of: YES, €75.00 for 2 asparagus soups, 2 hamburger sandwiches, 2 beers and 2 white wines!!!!! At first I thought she had charged the wrong table, but it really was for us. Naturally, I definitely didn’t leave a tip. Also because we had four different waiters at our table.!!’
Etty: ‘I really have to save up to have a coffee on a terrace once. So I don’t tip. Sorry.’
Stefan: ‘With those prices, there is no room for a tip anymore. Get rid of that outdated nonsense.’
9. Uncertainty: are you supposed to tip or not?
Because there is no clear tipping culture, many people don’t really know what is ‘normal’. 5%? 10%? Rounding up? They would rather not risk an awkward situation, so they don’t give anything at all.
‘In Japan they don’t want it’
Suze: ‘I find it very confusing—are you really supposed to tip for a cup of coffee? I usually leave some change, because I like paying cash.’
Henkie: ‘I lived in Japan for a long time, and there they actually don’t want tips. And the service is much better. I don’t understand why it should be expected here. I also have no idea how much you are supposed to give.’
Read also:
- The most annoying pranks people in the hospitality industry pull
- Eddie’s dining annoyances: restaurants with those damn small tables and chairs
- Bizarre and disgusting behavior by hospitality guests #3
