ADVENTCO
Welcome to the board and CRT. About five months ago there was a long running debate about tipping. Some guys are sick of hearing about it but when a new guy comes to town and asks an honest questions, he deserves an honest answer. My observation is that most guys who have been around a lot don't tip or tip very little.
The friend of every CRT member, the one and only Bang Bang 57 has written extensively on this. I think that some of the other experienced members on this site agree with BB. I certainly do. There is so much data on this subject that it may be overwhelming for a newbie.
My thoughts are posted below; I first posted this last December. I hope it is of value to you. Anyway, it will save a lot of searching and reading.
As Americans we are taught that tips exist to ensure better service รขโฌโ the more you tip, the better the service. If you properly grease the palm of the maitre dรขโฌโข in a fine restaurant in New York, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Los Angeles, etc., you will get better service.
Proper tipping is done in a low key, dignified manner so as not to embarrass the maitre dรขโฌโข. Everyone knows what you are doing, but it is tasteful, and dignified. If you embarrass the maitre dรขโฌโข, if you are loud, ostentatious and flashy, your tip was just wasted. You treated the maitre dรขโฌโข with disrespect and he will ensure that he regains his dignity at your expense and you may or may not even know you got screwed over. Psychologically, the behavior is axiomatic.
In the U.S., we would normally leave a tip after a meal but here in Costa Rica the tip is included in the price of meal. So if you leave a tip you are only double tipping.
Some Americans believe that if they flash a lot of cash and/or tip lavishly they will be given a lot of extra care here in Ticolandia. But it doesnรขโฌโขt work that way. Admittedly, I donรขโฌโขt monger in the places where there seems to be more concern about รขโฌลslam-bam thank you maรขโฌโขamรขโฌย and the quick, heavy cash flow. I monger in the same places that local businessmen frequent.
If you are throwing around cash expecting exceptional service, the workers will gladly take your money but you will not necessarily get extra or better service. They will just think you are another dumb Gringo who has too much money and needs to be separated from it, or you are too drunk to know what you are doing or something else.
Local service workers typically do not relate tips to better service. Rather than getting extra service you will just piss away your money and get the same service. [You might as well throw your money in the toilet.]
Iรขโฌโขve found after 20 years that good service is based more on how you treat the people as opposed to how much cash you flash. I rarely tip and often go back to the same provider. I almost always get a GFE. If I do tip it is around 2000 colones or so and it will be around time Christmas or Semana Santa when the tip is more like a gift to a friend.
For the girls I see regularly, I will pick up some intimate apparel while in the U.S. and give it to them gift wrapped. Purchasing small toys or stuffed animals for the Ch*ldren of the girl you are seeing regularly is also a very good way to show appreciation. Inexpensive costume jewelry presented gift wrapped also works well.
Like everything else, getting good service is about a relationship even if the relationship is extremely short (one hour or so). It is about showing respect and how you treat them, not how much money you throw around. The girls may factually be whores but they do not want to be treated like one. They want to be treated like a queen. It doesnรขโฌโขt work with everyone but it works the majority of the time for me. And I love getting GFE service.
DC