The Check Includes the Basic Tip, Called Servis Compris

Sitting at the terrace of a
sidewalk cafe in Paris and sipping on a Perrier while watching
passers-by is a pleasure many travelers promise themselves to
experience when they are in Paris. But with the check comes the
question: to tip or not to tip?

Is the restaurant bill all-inclusive?

Unlike
in America, cafes and restaurants in Paris and the rest of France
directly include a 15 percent service charge in your check. This is
required by French law as tips are assessed for taxation purposes.

The 15 percent service charge is clearly
itemized on your check, on top of the VAT tax (a French version of the
sales tax). The words "service compris" (tip included) indicate that
the tip has already been included in the total to be paid.

The good news is that prices rated on the menus
are all-inclusive: they include both the 15 percent tip and the sales
tax.  There is no last-minute unholy surprise when you are given your
check. What you saw on the menu is what you get charged for, no hidden
extras.

So no extra tips then?

Well,
a small extra-tip is always appreciated, of course. It’s the mark you
were satisfied with the way you were served by your waiter (garçon in
French, pronounced ‘Gar-son’ with the ‘on’ sounded like in ‘honking’
not like in ‘son’). It’s a sort of a ‘Thank You’ note. But you are
under no obligation here.

Small extra-tips are also appreciated because
they directly line your waiter’s pockets, unlike the 15 percent tip
charge which is usually tallied up at the end of the day and divided
amongst all waiters. In some bars, the owner may even keep the totality
or part of the tip charge.

French law does not require indeed that service
charges be distributed to waiters. So your waiter might not even see a
dime of it. But once again, you paid your dues when paying your check,
and you are under no obligation to extra tip.

How much should the extra tip be?

Extra
tips may range from just a couple of Euro dimes for a coffee or a soft
drink, to 1-5 euros for a lunch or dinner. A nice "Thank You" is 5 to
10 percent of the total check. But once again, there is no obligation,
and no steadfast rule as far as the percentage goes.

What about tipping in other situations?

A tip is a valuable extra income for their beneficiaries.

Case in point: taxi drivers. The average driver
employed by a cab company earns about €1,400 a month – which is roughly
equivalent to $2,500 in New York City. This is for 10 hours of hard
work per day. A few years ago, cab drivers used to work 14-15 hours a
day, 6 days a week to pad up their wages. French law now forbids it. So
tipping them 5-10 percent of your fare is generous.

It is customary to tip the usherette at the
Opera house. A couple of euros are fine (the usherettes get also paid
on sales of evening programs). Give 50 centimes to the ushers at the
movies. There was a time, not so long ago, when usherettes at movie
theaters were not paid at all by theater operators. They lived on tips
only. This is no more the case today and they are on salary, but
usually no more than the minimum wage.

One euro per bag to your hotel porter should make him smile.

In some expensive restaurants, at classical
concerts halls or at the discos, ladies in the lobby usually take care
of your coats. It is customary to tip one euro for every large item
when you come back to pick up your belongings.

If you take a guided tour at the museum, you
might leave one or two euros to your guide to thank him for imparting
his knowledge to you.

Summing up

These
are guidelines based on custom and experience. Yet they are not
strictly followed. These advices apply as well in other parts of
France, where your tips will be considered a mark of generosity on your
part as the standards of living there are not as high as in Paris.

This is what tipping really is: a demonstration
of generosity, and a way to express satisfaction for the service you
were just provided.

———-

(Written in collaboration with Vincent Ramelli,
a Paris-born expert of the city and a regular contributor to
Paris-Eiffel-Tower-News.com)

Phil Chavanne and his team of Parisian experts
give English-speaking travelers scores of advices and information bits
on Paris, and how best to visit the French capital at http://www.Paris-Eiffel-Tower-News.com.