How much should I be tipping at restaurants? What is the tipping etiquette in Buenos Aires or Argentina?

[Avocado]

But let's get real. That 100 peso propina is just 10 US cents! I don't think that being generous a few times will create unreasonable expectations for locals! I think all servers expect locals to be very cheap and not tip well and they will be extra appreciative when they get a generous foreigner or expat that is generous. That isn't going to cause them to expect that from everyone as they just assume that hell would freeze over before locals left them 20% tip! If you don't want to tip generously don't.

Yes! People have to get real. 100 pesos in the example is just 10 cents. NO one can argue against tipping a waiter or server 10% or more. If you can't tip a worker at least 10% then do NOT eat out at all. I can't believe how cheap some people are. People that are generous should feel happy to tip locals.

 

[Finance Prof]

Yes! People have to get real. 100 pesos in the example is just 10 cents. NO one can argue against tipping a waiter or server 10% or more. If you can't tip a worker at least 10% then do NOT eat out at all. I can't believe how cheap some people are. People that are generous should feel happy to tip locals.

I went to a Christmas Eve dinner last night with some local friends. It was at the Park Hyatt hotel. When we got the check we all were splitting it and put in our credit cards to split the bill. I asked them how much tip they were going to leave and 3 out of the 5 commented how it was very expensive and they weren't going to leave anything for our server. I asked them if a tip was included and they said yes it was but when I looked on the receipt it wasn't and then when I went to the bathroom I went over and asked the server, she said it was not included.

I felt very bad and I told her my local friends didn't leave anything then I would leave 10% of the entire bill for them. Long story short, I had to end up leaving 10% for the entire bill including theirs as they didn't leave anything. What I was most distraught was these were wealthy people and they could have clearly afforded to leave 10%. The poor waitress.

While I agree with some that 10% is enough. And I do understand the argument that over tipping can cause problems/issues for locals. I think that expats often times think in terms of the cost in Euros or US dollars back home. They think it's such a great deal they over tip. I don't think anyone should judge people that only leave 10% as cheap. Although I agree with you at @Avocado that if you dine out, you should expect to leave 10%.

 

[Cheap Bastard]

I went to eat sushi last night with my wife. Our bill came to 58,000 pesos. My wife wanted to leave 6,000 pesos as a tip as she heard the local custom is at least 10%. We didn't eat too much. A couple of rolls of sushi, some drinks, an appetizer and we argued for a good 15 minutes how much to leave. We come from a non-tipping country and my belief is that a restaurant should add in cost for tip if they want to. My wife called me a cheap bastard. She said if you can't afford to tip with local customs than don't eat out and eat at McDonalds. They also charged a cubierto so I told her they are making money on that!

But she said that has nothing to do with our wonderful server. I admit she was good and attentive but I still don't like to tip. I saw the people next to us which were locals left a small tip and they ate more than we did. No country should tip and if they want to pay a living wage they can. When you add all up, drinks, cubierto, tips then I just want to stay at home. 10% is too much for me.

 

[Avocado]

I went to eat sushi last night with my wife. Our bill came to 58,000 pesos. My wife wanted to leave 6,000 pesos as a tip as she heard the local custom is at least 10%. We didn't eat too much. A couple of rolls of sushi, some drinks, an appetizer and we argued for a good 15 minutes how much to leave. We come from a non-tipping country and my belief is that a restaurant should add in cost for tip if they want to. My wife called me a cheap bastard. She said if you can't afford to tip with local customs than don't eat out and eat at McDonalds. They also charged a cubierto so I told her they are making money on that!

But she said that has nothing to do with our wonderful server. I admit she was good and attentive but I still don't like to tip. I saw the people next to us which were locals left a small tip and they ate more than we did. No country should tip and if they want to pay a living wage they can. When you add all up, drinks, cubierto, tips then I just want to stay at home. 10% is too much for me.

You are an ugly tourist. Don't travel around if you don't expect to accept the local customs. By your measure if you are from Germany and you can drive as fast as you want on the highway you can do the same thing in any country with a local law or norm? You are a cheap bastard as your screen name. Your wife should divorce you. If you can't afford to eat out then stay at home. It doesn't matter what you order 10% is the total amount of the check.

It doesn't matter if you come from a non-tipping country. Argentina is a tipping country and the workers don't make much. Look at the cost of your bill. It's a fraction of the cost in your country. Eat at home next time or better yet stay at home if you're going to be a so cheap.

 

[Pink Panther]

I went to eat sushi last night with my wife. Our bill came to 58,000 pesos. My wife wanted to leave 6,000 pesos as a tip as she heard the local custom is at least 10%. We didn't eat too much. A couple of rolls of sushi, some drinks, an appetizer and we argued for a good 15 minutes how much to leave. We come from a non-tipping country and my belief is that a restaurant should add in cost for tip if they want to. My wife called me a cheap bastard. She said if you can't afford to tip with local customs than don't eat out and eat at McDonalds. They also charged a cubierto so I told her they are making money on that!

But she said that has nothing to do with our wonderful server. I admit she was good and attentive but I still don't like to tip. I saw the people next to us which were locals left a small tip and they ate more than we did. No country should tip and if they want to pay a living wage they can. When you add all up, drinks, cubierto, tips then I just want to stay at home. 10% is too much for me.

Stay home! Restaurant/cafe workers are very hard workers. They have a tough enough job than dealing with jerks like you. You can't afford to pay a 10% then don't go out to eat. It's that simple. Respect the policies in the countries you are traveling in. Enough said.

 

[Fingerless]

Stay home! Restaurant/cafe workers are very hard workers. They have a tough enough job than dealing with jerks like you. You can't afford to pay a 10% then don't go out to eat. It's that simple. Respect the policies in the countries you are traveling in. Enough said.

Totally agree! I have many friends that are service workers. Many are students and some are parents who have young kids to support. They are working hard and not out begging on the street. They are doing an honest days work for an honest day's wages. It's difficult for me to believe that people are actually trying to argue for leaving 10% to 15% propina.

Most meals in BA are very cheap. People are acting as if they are eating out at Osaka every day. Karma is a bitch. Treat people how you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes.

 

[Cheap Bastard]

You are an ugly tourist. Don't travel around if you don't expect to accept the local customs. By your measure if you are from Germany and you can drive as fast as you want on the highway you can do the same thing in any country with a local law or norm? You are a cheap bastard as your screen name. Your wife should divorce you. If you can't afford to eat out then stay at home. It doesn't matter what you order 10% is the total amount of the check.

It doesn't matter if you come from a non-tipping country. Argentina is a tipping country and the workers don't make much. Look at the cost of your bill. It's a fraction of the cost in your country. Eat at home next time or better yet stay at home if you're going to be a so cheap.

Stay home! Restaurant/cafe workers are very hard workers. They have a tough enough job than dealing with jerks like you. You can't afford to pay a 10% then don't go out to eat. It's that simple. Respect the policies in the countries you are traveling in. Enough said.

Workers should totally get fair pay right from the start, you know? Depending on tips just to survive doesn't seem cool. Like, if a job can't pay decently without tips, is it even a real job? Some jobs pay more, some less, but we shouldn't have to feel guilty about not tipping, especially when it's the business owners who should be taking care of their staff.

And seriously, why should I get blamed for not tipping when I have zero control over how much the staff gets paid? It's not my job to set their salary; I'm just here to enjoy my meal or whatever. Plus, it's confusing – does my tip go to everyone working there or just the one person who served me? If it's shared, saying "I got awesome service, so I tipped more" doesn't make sense, right? I only dealt with the waiter, not the whole crew.

Back when I was a teenager, I had this job where some people tipped even though it wasn't a tipping kind of place. It felt weird, you know? I was the last person customers saw, handling payments and saying goodbye. But there were others who barely talked to customers or had an attitude. Who deserved the tip more? Turns out, at that job, tips got shared among everyone at the end of the week, even the not-so-great ones.

Talking about tips is like opening up a can of worms. That's why I'm not a fan of tipping at all. Lots of countries don't even do it, and they seem to do just fine without making a big fuss. The only places making a big deal about tipping are the ones that have this whole tipping system going on. It's like a never-ending drama, and I'd rather just pay a fair price upfront.

 

[Howard Stern]

People should be leaving at least 10% and 15% if the staff was very good. You're free to leave more if you want. I seriously doubt the restaurant staff would demand or expect that from locals. Many locals are very cheap which is too bad.

I think there are several personas of Expats that are living in Argentina. There may be more but here are the personas I have identified:


- Expats that have lived in Argentina a long time and they are on really limited budgets or possibly living off Social security payments or small pensions and live within a limited means and are like locals. Even if they bought a place, they simply have no money. They also be be totally out of touch with how expensive things are back home. Many in this persona haven't been to the USA in a long time and out of touch with reality.

- Expats that spend part of the year here when it's winter in North America or Europe they come here and look at things cheap here as their mind if set on prices back home. They go back enough to know prices in the USA relative to locally.

- Expats that are wealthy and might have a 2nd home here that they may or may not rent out when they aren't here. Either way they are affluent and don't care too much about money and are more generous and probably tip better. They will stay in Argentina as they already own a property and not dependent on finding a rent.

- Expats that can't afford to live in the USA or Europe. They may be unemployees or might be digital nomads but they can't afford to buy a property here and they can't afford to buy a property in their home countries. So they are stuck in this twilight zone of pinching pennies all the time. They came here when it's cheap but they will be the first ones that move out of Argentina once it starts getting expensive. They are in a bad position because things back home are expensive too.

 

[VINO]

I have a lot of friends that are waiters and waitresses. We really depend on these people. I can't stand locals that don't leave at least 10%. I leave 10% to 15% depending on service but even if service isn't that great I leave 10% as they don't make a living wage without it. Just make sure that the tip goes to the server as tips are not shared by most staff workers in most restaurants.

The locals never really tip in taxi either. That kind of bugs me sometimes. Sometimes when it's just small change they will demand it. One time last week it was only maybe 50 pesos change and he didn't have it and my friend argued with him. I just told her I would pay for the taxi. I usually tip in taxis too as i never have smaller bills. And many times they don't either. The taxis are always kind and usually willing to round down but I always just let them keep the change. Best taxis in the world.

 

[Opera Fan]

I think 10% is enough. I don't think people should leave 20%. That creates unreasonable expectations for future tourists or expats. I'm not saying you should never do it but only for really really good service.

 

[Soytoy]

I mostly go alone to eat. I'm kind of a loner. Most of my tabs aren't that much. Maybe I'm an idiot but I don't really look at the % a lot of the times. Most times the service is so slow just to get my check it takes forever so I just round up and I make sure I give them at least 10% but I just will leave it there so I don't have to wait and I think it goes over many times to 20%.

The service here isn't as friendly as the USA. It's almost like they act they already get paid in their salary but everyone says to leave 10%. But most places they don't seem to care much. Just going through the motions which is ok I guess considering the horrible economy.

In many places it seems like the customer is a pain to them. Lots of places there can be a line and the employees are just chatting it up with one another instead of working.

 

[Pobre Luis]

I have mixed emotions about all of you that are leaving so much tip. I guess I wish I was a waiter in these places you are leaving such generous tips! I work hard and barely make any money. We are earning in PESOS and I can barely afford to buy groceries. I can't even afford to eat in a restaurant in 2 years. Don't blame the locals for never tipping. We have a horrible and dire situation and it will get worse.

I don't blame you for tipping and I guess I am grateful that you are helping the economy. My sister works in restaurant but mostly all locals and they also don't tip so well.

 

[Old Geezer]

I have mixed emotions about all of you that are leaving so much tip. I guess I wish I was a waiter in these places you are leaving such generous tips! I work hard and barely make any money. We are earning in PESOS and I can barely afford to buy groceries. I can't even afford to eat in a restaurant in 2 years. Don't blame the locals for never tipping. We have a horrible and dire situation and it will get worse.

I don't blame you for tipping and I guess I am grateful that you are helping the economy. My sister works in restaurant but mostly all locals and they also don't tip so well.

I'm sorry things are so difficult for you. It is a mess here. People should be leaving 10%. I agree with the others if you can't afford to leave 10% then you should stay at home or buy groceries. Your sister should move to another job if the locals aren't tipping anything. That sounds horrible and I'm sure many places are hiring. All my friends that I know locally all leave 10% too.

 

[MIaNicks]

We always try to leave 10% of the dinner as a tip but if the service was really good you can leave 15/20%.