Giving tips in Poland

The topic was about POLAND and tipping in Poland. Enough of comparisons with American tips, as it's a different story and completly different system, please.

Good point! Based on the fact that many tip for speedy service, why not tip those who work at the cashier for quickly scanning your goods and letting you get out of there? They perform a service of sorts. Otherwise, you'd have people scanning their own goods whilst being monitored by a big security guard. Can you imagine that state of affairs?

Apparently there are more and more '10% service charge included'. What about that? Not every waiter is kind enough to inform you that they had actually been tipped, and as usual, you tip somemore. I think it shouldn't not add any service charge into your bill, unless it is a closed partly.

By the way, what about Taxi? I have so many experience that the driver was really nasty, rude and driving like an idiot but then they expect that you will not take those couple of zloty change, they don't even borther to try to give you the change? What can you do? I am afraid to ask them for it sometimes...

It's exploring the topic further, just scroll up to read up on the relevance.

olaf wrote:


no it wasn't. maybe try and read page 3 of this thread, most of the conversation moved to the tipping policies/habits in America. i wasn't even part of the conversation at that point. i decided to chime in because it was an area I'm familiar with.

i'm also familiar with tipping in Poland. the waitstaff makes a pittance, and bartenders generally get goose egged nearly every time.

Which is probably why they love me when I come in.

-well, if you and Convex want to talk about tips in the US then start another topic, because this one is about this phenomena in POLAND - as the thread implies ("Giving tips in Poland").

we can compare it with other countries, but it is more relevant to compare with European countries. You just focused too much on the US probably.


- that's a real insight! :))

it's phenomenal alright!

Thanks for steering us back on track. We will talk about only tipping in Poland and possibly include references to tipping in other European countries in order to make your reading experience as comfortable as possible. Tug jobs can be found back on aisle 9.

-Fine! I'll meet you there;)
What's wrong in keeping to the point of the discussion? I didn't want to read too much about wages and regulations in the US as it has got nothing in common with Polish reality. As I said it's good to compare, but I think some guys went (you?) went on to far with digression. Off topic.

But really, thanks for insights on earnings of US servers etc. - still it has little correspondence with tipping in Poland.

Ohhhhh, really?

duh! ;)

They shouldn't have been tipped, should they?

Normal (sharp) practice in Europe - anyone with sense demands a removal of the service charge and asks the waiter what the policy is there on tipping before tipping. The problem is complicated by different countries having different rules - but by and far, service charges are there to exploit the staff, not to reward them. Generally speaking, if you can, the best thing to do is to avoid anywhere that has a compulsory service charge.

Wrong again.

Maybe in the land of fiddle-dee-dum, waiters see the cash. But in most of Europe, in many restaurants, you leave a tip of 20% paid for on the card, the waiter is highly unlikely to see the 20%. Likewise, even cash tips are very often put into a pot - you can see junior staff ending up with a small percentage of what they were actually tipped.

I know one restaurant where the waiters see 100% of the tips left for them. But the prices are high for the food, and the owner (and restaurant manager) makes it clear that he charges high prices in order to pay fairly. It's actually great marketing to be able to clearly say that tips left are for the waiter - people see it as honest, and staff aren't left relying on tips. Funnily enough, the place is always rammed - and he's getting away with charging absolutely ridiculous prices.

The same owner always takes his chequebook everywhere - and writes personal cheques to staff for tips rather than cash (which can be extracted) or service charges. They have to pay tax, but they're at least guaranteed 80% of the tip.

One particularly filthy practice in the UK, and is spreading, is the habit of adding a 12.5% service charge that isn't a service charge at all, but rather a "bump up owners profits" charge. They don't mention it in advance, which means its unenforceable - but they rely on the shame of customers not to create a scene in a restaurant.

Yes it's a filthy practice. I think I've read somewhere that it has to be written in the menu or stated before by the staff if they add the tip (or any additional fees) to the basic price.

Well, you left out some parts of the minimum wage law (I used to wait tables at O'Charlies and deliver pizza at Dominoes to pay the college tuition)

[i]Question: Is it legal for waiters and waitresses to be paid below the minimum wage?
Answer: According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, tipped employees are individuals engaged in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. The employer may consider tips as part of wages, but the employer must pay at least $2.13 an hour in direct wages.

An employer may credit a portion of a tipped employee's tips against the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. An employer must pay at least $2.13 per hour.

However, if an employee's tips combined with the employer's wage of $2.13 per hour do not equal the hourly minimum wage, the employer is required to make up the difference.

Source: Dept of Labor

In plain English your wage plus your tips should equal at least the minimum wage ($7.25 in Hawai'i right now). That's not much for sure but the vast majority of waiters/waitresses earn much more.

Either way, I do agree with you and think their service should be rewarded with tips. I tip 15% regardless of how the service was (aka it was bad) and 25% and up for good service. Hotel pick-up drivers usually get $1 per bag if the driven distance was less than 30 minutes, otherwise we (airline crews) usually tip more.

Same in Asia except Japan where I found out many feel you look down on their profession if you tip them. YMMV


I disagree with you Olaf. When I travel overseas I often hear that the Americans tip the most (don't have anything to back it up with, just what I hear everynow and then).

As someone pointed out, the difference in tipping is based on the pay structure in the States. I think if we compare tipping we should compare "the full picture", or compare apples to apples - don't you think?

I'd imagine I'd tip in Poland the way I tip in the States not knowing the local pay structures.

Thanks for the link, but I have never heard of anyone invoking that law. I wonder if you have to average your earnings over a week, a month, a year, to see if you're getting a minimum wage? If it was for the day, a lot of people would be all over it!

F-stop - we averaged it monthly at Dominoes - there were good months and bad months.

Back to "Poland only" tipping before folks get antsy... ;)

wait, wait! I worked at seasonal place where I killed it in the winter and starved off-season! Dayum!

Minimum wage applies to the pay period. If you get paid daily, weekly, bi weekly, or monthly, it has to work out to minimum wage. Servers are also eligible for overtime, which is calculated daily.

Airline employees are exempt from time and a half overtime pay :)

F-stop Yeah, we used to have 2 maybe 3 months of the year when Domino's had to raise our pay. The disadvantage was that they kept an eye on our tips - IRS :( and every now and then would call a customer to see how much they tipped the driver to make sure we were keeping it honest.


I think we kept it monthly to simplify things. I believe most Domino's stores did although they are all franchises so each owner can change the rules I guess.


Don't follow you here? We get time and a half for JA (junior assignment) trips for example. ...or what am I missing?

There is no federal requirement to pay airline employees time and a half under FLSA.

Ok? This was a tipping (and minimum wage) thread, right? The vast majority of airlines are unionized and use their contracts for pay and benefits guidance. Most airlines pay time and a half for open time, many pay 200% for out of domicile (x-ross domicile) open time.

You're correct that many airline employees are underpaid (especially FAs) if that was the point you were trying to make. However, it'd have to be a really tiny, nearly bancrupt airline for the employees to live on minimum wage... ...and yes, regional airline employees are truly underpaid. Either way, I'm extra slow today so I struggle with the point you're trying to make...

Back to Polish customs of paying gratuity?

Appreciate that;)!
Also I agree with your comment on my last post. Comparing is good. I just don't want to delve into US tipping. And definitely not transfer those habits to Poland.

God forbid people start paying for good service.

good service shouldnt correlate to what type of tip you leave.

in australia, we generally dont tip (as waiting staff are generally paid ok) and only if we did get good service. definitely wouldnt tip a pizza delivery person.

what are the corkage rates like in the states/europe?

People here do pay tips, not all however. But most of us here wonder if service should be subsidissed additionally (tip). Why doesn't anyone give a tip to e.g. a nice shop attendant/check-out lady? Their job is often far worse than servers' and nobody gives them extra money just for being good at their job. It also counts I think, as whenever I forget to weigh vegetables in a supermarket the check-out person goes to do it for me, which is not common in all places (they'd send me to the back of the line) - and I should tip them but I don't think they'd even accept it.

Check out Australia as King Sobieski wrote - US tipping is not probably the pattern to follow as it just spins the vicious circle, that's all. If waiters were paid decent money, the tips would be a reward, as they should be in the first place. In AMerica it went too far, and also the tax system there described above is supporting this. Since there's no such thing in Poland why follow artificial trends? Tipping for good, or even average service I'd say. But not as almost obligatory thing!

It already happens in the form of bonuses, buying a work crew lunch, company cars, and most large contracts are performance based. Honestly, I don't mind because I end up getting great service out of the deal, and don't have a problem paying a bit extra. I also tip decent bar tenders, delivery people, my cleaning lady, and the line workers at the airport. I appreciate their extra effort, and reward them for it. I get great service while only paying a small premium. It's win win.


Waitstaff in the US are paid at least minimum wage. It's a good performance based system which allows people to earn more money if they want to. Obligatory tipping is just a fantasy that most waitstaff have.