The rules of tipping vary from country to country. What goes perfect for London restaurants is not always suitable for Minsk ones. How much to tip in Minsk? Should you tip if the service was poor? And how to know whether tips have already been included into your bill or not? In this article we'll answer all these questions. Let's go...
As it turned out lately, when you are abroad the tip etiquette is really hot-burning. In Belarus and especially in Minsk "the tip-question" is still complicated. The problem is not whether to tip or not, the problem is how much money to leave.
In Minsk the average salary of a waiter is about $200, it is below minimum wage because the rest the waiting staff make up in tips. Not tipping a waiter is simply rude (except those cases when your server is a complete jerk). Usually in Minsk restaurants works a good rule of 10%. But whether to follow this rule or not it's up to you to decide.
People rarely tip the barmen in the night clubs, but a small tip is a little thing for a nicely made cocktail. Various fast-food places, self-service places don't expect a client to tip at all. There are very few places in Minsk that include the tips (as you remember it's 10%) in your check sum. The major problem for the waiters in Minsk is that it is not written anywhere that the tips are not included in the check. As a result some foreigners, for whom it is a common practice that tips are included in the sum, don't leave any money. And a competent waiter will never remind you to do that. Comparable generosity is well accepted, but only if you think that the service really deserves to be rewarded.
