Sunday 5 March, 2006
Tipping Dragon
After living in Canada for over a year, tipping the staff in cafeterias, restaurants and taxis has become a second nature to me. In my native Finland tips are virtually unknown, and all the transactions in restaurants and other service establishments are usually very impersonal, cold affairs where goods change hands for exact amount of money without smiles or tips. I’m not saying that there are no exceptions, but as a rule Finns are pretty reserved when it comes to service.
Thus when I made my latest trip back to Finland I was in for a culture shock. First time I ordered a coffee (yes, Vancouver has made me a coffee addict), I frantically looked for a cup or box of some description, desperate to tip the nice girl who made my coffee with smile. But no place for tips was to be found. The girl stood there with my coffee, and probably thought I was a lunatic as I turned my head to and fro like some crazed bird.
But it is not just a habit that drives me to tip the service staff. I have to say, I’ve become a believer in tipping here in North America. People smile at me, and I know that they are not making a great wage, so I think it is only fair that the tipping culture exists. Those who are good people persons tend to get better tips.
I wonder if this will ever change in Finland? Perhaps if tips became commonplace the eternal complaints about bad service in Finland would change, as there would be more of a motivation to reach out to the customers.
Posted by Dragon at 5 March 22:20, 2006I got to thinking about Finnish service culture recently while visiting the UK.
The culprits are the reception and restaurant staff at Holiday Inn Heathrow, who seemed to feel our ~20 person group was there only to annoy and interrupt their otherwise pleasant evening.
It was very difficult to get information or straight answers from the staff or the managers, and each inquiry seemed to irritate them more. Confirming the reservation was cumbersome, paying for the rooms complicated - and paying for the meals ridiculously so. They were charging extra until corrected, they were out of calling cards... you get the drift.
Complications happen, fair enough. What struck me the most, however, was the attitude totally below the par in any service establishment of any kind: condescending, irritable, no-can-do. No kindness, no smiles, no apologies.
I was very surprised, as the Holiday Inn hotels have a good reputation. We didn't feel welcome, quite the contrary. When you're jet lagged, starving and exhausted in the middle of the night - not to mention paying good money! - the last thing you want is having to put your foot down or to beg for service.
Happily, all was not lost: There was a young man in the restaurant staff who with his attentiveness, helpfulness and caring for the customer managed single-handedly to save most of the night and the hotel's reputation. He made an effort when the others wouldn't, and the contrast - especially at that hour and that state of being - was stunning.
It is this contrast, and the fact that I caught myself thinking "this is worse than Finland" on several occasions during our stay, that made me realise how good the service I usually get in Helsinki actually is.
The staff in stores, cafés, restaurants, bars, taxis, libraries, offices etc. is polite, helpful and knowledgeable, and at times even something so uncategorically Finnish as accommodating, warm and cheerful.
I think the Finnish service culture really is changing. I'd like to believe this is not my experience alone.
# 2 - Chu (on March 7, 2006 12:14 AM):
Oh, one more thing: Dragon, the next time you come over, why not try the "keep the change" approach?
That has been known to work :).
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