Sevice Fee/Tipping

I know this topic has made the rounds previously. Wanted to see what the consensus is on tipping these days. If the bill has a service charge, do you leave an additional tip if the service warrants it. If there is no service charge listed than leave the 15%-20%. Does it make a difference depending on what side of the island your on?

thanks to all in advance

oh no

My take on this is, on the French side no tip but I might leave a few extra dollars if the service was exceptional. On the Dutch side, if the bill has a 15% service charge then that's my tip. After all what is the charge for but being served? If no service charge was added then I leave 20% give or take a dollar.

Tipping can be a bit tricky to tourists. That's because there is nothing called "tipping" in France. It is called "service". And service is included usually in your hotel rate and in your restaurant prices.

In regards to restaurants, if the service is included the menu will have clearly written on it "Service compris" meaning that service is included and it's usually 15% of the tab. But local custom is that if you are very satisfied with your waiter's service then you may leave a few spare change in addition.

The tricky part is when a patron asks the waiter if the tip is included in the total and the waiter will say "no". That's because it's true, there is no tip so he will say "no". Then upon hearing that the patron will leave a tip of 15%.
Recall that the service of 15% is included already in the total so the service plus additional tip will have come up to 30%!

So don't ask if the "tip" is included-ask instead if "service" is included. If yes, then no need to leave anything unless you are very happy and satisified with your server; in that case leave some loose change or so in addition.

Over on the Dutch side if there is a service charge it is added as a line item to the check . Not all restaurants include a service charge.

Oh man. You just opened up that same can of worms that comes up frequently.
My take is if there is already a SC on the Dutch side that is what they get. If not I tip as I do at home. I don't tip on the French side, period.

Below is a link to Fodors and French service / tipping protocol

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/france/experiences/news/how-to-tip-in-france-11320

Dutch side, check the bill to see if service is included and tip accordingly or not.

The fly in the ointment is when a resto on the Fr side puts "service not included" on the bill and the server echo's that comment when presenting the bill. I pay the bill, leave a small tip if the service was good and don't return to that resto as I won't support that practice of preying on a tourist

J&B

Not again

Wasn't it "declared" while that is correct, but St. Martin while French is not mainland France and it doesn't work the same? So they can tell you "service non compris" and it is true? granted i could be totally wrong - i'm on vacation and don't eat enough on the French side to worry about it

You shouldn't be made to feel bad for asking, simply because this can be a confusing issue, and as you see some of the advice you receive may tend to further muddle the issue. My rule of thumb: if a food item is listed on the menu for a certain price (let's say $20), and I'm charged that amount, then I tip as I would at home. If I'm charged $23 for the same item because of a "service" charge, then that is my tip. By definition, a service charge is for service. If that amount is added, and the bill states that the tip is not included, then that is a red flag not to return to that establishment. I follow this same line of thinking on either side of the island.

Bottom line: Do what [color:"red"]you [color:"black"]feel is right, and enjoy [color:"red"]your [color:"black"]vacation.[/color][/color][/color][/color]

While I'm sure you intended your answer to be helpful, it further muddies the issue, in my opinion.

Here's the way I understand, and handle, the service issue:

On the French side, the service is included in the menu price. Therefore, if the item is $20, you will be charged $20 for that item, and there will not be an additional charge added to the bill for service. Period. If the service was exceptional, then it's appropriate to leave a few dollars in cash. The only exception is if the MENU, not the bill, states that service is not included. In that case, it's up to you to leave what you feel is appropriate for the service.

On the Dutch side, the service is not included in the menu price, however, you will still be charged only $20 for a $20 item. The difference is that many Dutch side restaurants are now adding 15% service charge to the bill. This shows up as an additional item and it's easy to see. Again, you can add more if you feel the service warranted it.

What to watch out for is when a Dutch restaurant also adds on the 5% TOT and the 15% SC. I know of one that does. Another one breaks down the 15% to say 5% is TOT and the rest is SC but not tip. Another ploy to get extra out of the tourist.

Since it's illegal to pass the TOT along to the customer, this is any easy one for me. Also, I never ask what the 15% additional is. It's the service. Period. Any place that tries to deceive me is off my list in the future.

It's when the server breaks it down like that is what urks me. Just trying to get more out of you saying that only 10% was SC. That restaurant is off my list unless friends insist on going there. Then we just suck it up.

We generally sit at KonTiki - because we like the food - we like the wine - and it's close to where we stay... we always leave a tip of some sort - in cash - on top of what we spend for the day - The menu very clearly states service non compris...

Having said that, we've also gotten excellent service while there even on the busiest of days - we even had one guy ask us how we got such good service and was less than pleased when we told him how...

Sometimes, you really do get what you pay for - usually, in fact. We enjoy good food and good wine - a front row chair - plenty of shade and comfortable chairs... We get it - not because we're special, but because we're willing to pay for it.

By contrast, we almost never go out in the evening - have a light snack in the condo on the balcony... more than that is not worth it to us.

So when the menu says clearly "service non Compris" are you taking that as the restaurant is ripping you off or not??

Very well explained, Georgia, and this matches my understanding as well.

I've always been told the service (what we would normally think of as the tip or gratuity and is the French equivalent of same...) is actually built into the line item menu prices on the French side unless the restaurant says otherwise (service non-compris) on the menu. Right or wrong, this is what I was told by a French restaurant owner on the Dutch side of the island.

On the Dutch side, if there's a percentage charge added to the bill, it's a tip regardless of what the staff may say.

Best suggestion - don't ask the question in the first place and it took us a while to learn this.

And on either side, if you feel your service was exceptional you are always free to reward an individual staff member accordingly. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

No - not at all - I strongly suspect the wait staff has figured out they make more if left up to patrons (many of whom are from the US and accustomed to tipping) are allowed to decide what the service charge/tip should be.

Frankly, I think it's a privilege to be able to take such a wonderful and relaxing vacation - and the beach servers work their tails off - so I'd tip even if it were included... The servers at KonTiki are top notch - they really make my vacation special - it's why we go back year after year after year...

Since Georgia and a few others have given a very good explanation, I will only add " tip the way it makes you feel good"! Do not let something like tipping cause stress on vacation. Life is too short to worry about"doing it right"! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Sorry, Pat & Georgia, I, in fact have had the 15% service charge added on the French side at several places. Even though no longer there, Le Frigate and Andy & Cheryl's come to mind - and there have been others. I fail to see how my simple explanation further muddles things. It works for me.

The way I understood what you said is that a $20 item would be listed as $23 on the check. Is that what you meant? If it is, that's what I thought muddled things further. If you didn't mean that, then I misunderstood your post, and for that I apologize.

Which current restaurants on the French side add a 15% service charge?

And the 2nd restaurant you mentioned did this for a long time. Hard to decipher at times but it was always there.

I agree totally with Pat and GaKaye--LOOK at the bill. LOOK at the menu. If anything extra is added that is all you need to know. Don't ask the wait staff. If there is anything added and your service was great, do add something extra if you want to. On the Dutch side if there is no additional charge then add your tip.

Best suggestion there is!

That's what I meant. But, you said that this wouldn't happen on the French side - and it still does. We can agree to disagree on this - but to the original poster, the more opinions he or she reads on here, the more confusing it can get, That's why I added to do what one is comfortable doing, and don't let it ruin their vacation worrying.

Well, that's a new one on me! I've never seen the menu price of an item adjusted on the check to add a service charge.

I definitely agree with doing what's comfortable, especially if you're not going to be a repeat visitor. For me, it's not about the money; I don't like being deceived.

"I definitely agree with doing what's comfortable, especially if you're not going to be a repeat visitor."
I don't see the difference in whether your a repeater or not with being comfortable tipping. Not sure of what your saying in regard to not being a repeat customer.

This is all I want answered. We enjoy Frairs Bay Beach Cafe on the menu it clearly states "service non Compris. Is that correct - because based on comments here most are stating service/tip is included in the price on the French side. So are we being duped or not (don't care what people tip, leave behind or whatever) that's your choice. But i'm trying to find out if what they say is correct or not!

What bothers me most is " Are they taking advantage of me?" a tourist supporting their tourism industry.

If in doubt I don't tip.

SXM??? Wendell

On the French side, BY LAW, the service is included in the bill. I was told emphatically by Euros, the service charge must be included in France as that is the law in France (and St. Martin is France).

So I might leave a few coins for good service on the French Side but nothing more.

I agree with islandgem. Life's too short to stress about this on vacation. We leave 10% on both sides of the island. Everybody including us are happy with this. We enjoy their island & the fact that most of them are happy to wait on us makes me smile.

What I meant was, if you're going to visit French side restaurants frequently (meaning year after year), then adding 20% to the cost of your meal will be unnecessarily expensive. So if what makes you comfortable is to add a 20% tip on top of the already included service, then you're overpaying; and in the long term that would be costly.