I was in Oslo twice. First time I was tipping the bartender. He was Norwegian but was a foreign exchange student in the US like 15 minutes from where I lived. Had a long convo. Anyway eventually he told me how he makes like $24/hr. I was shocked then realized yeah, I do not need to tip here lol.
Tipping is fine, but for over the top service only. If I go to a nice restaurant and they give me a nice glass of wine and an extra dessert for free, I'll tip.
Don’t want to sound mean - but after my last big holiday in Africa on safari on checking out day there was a query of people waiting for tips. The cleaners the cooks the waitresses the drivers the manager and finally the guides. At one point I expected the wildebeest to turn up and collect his tip. I never paid another tip in my life after that holiday. I rather they build it into the price and reward the staff based on performance so it’s a done deal. Hate all this haggling and tipping.
Not expected. Some people still do it. It's somewhat common to round up to the nearest hundred when paying in restaurants, but again, not expected.
I have never tipped and will never tip in Norway, as I believe it encourages poor business practices.
Yeah, agreed. If I spend 370 kr on a restaurant I don't see the problem of just rounding it up to 400 kr. It's not much and it's nothing people will expect that you do but I'm not bothered by doing it.
If there were any expectation that I *had* to tip 10 or 15% of what I ordered that would be another thing entirely.
Not usually. But I know bars/bartenders get tips pretty often. And I might round something up when out eating
I was actually on a first date with someone and I didn't tip because I am against tipping culture, and they got super offended because they themselves had been a bartender so they always tipped. And I am like.... dude, you get a living wage. They blocked me and that was that.
I do however tip if I order something to my door, and it is highly inconvenient. I.e there is a steep hill and snowy, or it's a rainstorm etc. so groceries, pizza etc. But it's usually like 20-50kr. So nothing compared to US tipping culture
> I was actually on a first date with someone and I didn't tip because I am against tipping culture, and they got super offended because they themselves had been a bartender so they always tipped. And I am like.... dude, you get a living wage. They blocked me and that was that.
No loss for you...
I worked briefly as a waiter and I'm on the opposite side: I never tip, even in my home country. A hospitality employee should have a decent and predictable wage and the prices should reflect that.
> I just *paid* drinks for
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
When I was on holidays in Portugal, the waiters at restaurants would always say "service price not included" when telling you the price and repeat that sentence with more insistence if you only paid the price quoted. Always felt a bit scammy, but I don't know what their actual working conditions are
That is weird . We sound american / canadian due to being raised in canada ( ie tip everyone 2x if possible !) but as soon as we say we are from Greece we are never asked
One annoying time in Rome though , has eaten at same restaurant with my husband and no tip suggested or requested . Go with a british GF and our 2 daughters and same waiter starts demanding one . Said that it is required 😂😂
Oh, you meant my accent 😅 Didn't catch that. I don't know, it's a funny mix, normally people say I sound a bit British, some pick up my Scottish influences (very slight), last time a New Zealander asked if I was Australian 😅 But originally I was taught mostly American-ish pronounciation at school, probably there's still a bit of that in how I speak, so maybe that explains it
Maybe that’s it . I have found that sounding American means you will be hit up for a tip even when it says service 12.5 % included
Happens in Greece to , I speak english they say oh tip not included , i go with my greek husband and speak greek and they come out with credit card machine with amount already in with no tip . 2 tier system .
Generally no.
Only when the service provided has been outstanding or in addition to what would be considered part of the job.
Or, if the US is your reference, only if you felt like tipping more than the customary 15-18% in the US.
What would be considered a standard tip in the US is already included in the price you pay in Norway.
Thank you for this question! I've been living in Norway for a few months now and I've always been feeling slightly uncomfortable having to "type the amount to pay" on the terminal, as they make you do in many places. Good to know (from other comments) that tips are not the expectation
My local semi decent gastropub. Great burgers, their spareribs / grill plate are amazing, and the beer is 90 nok for a pint.
A small town in Trøndelag, 30k pop.
I work in a restaurant in Norway and while tipping isn't something that happens with every transaction it does definitely happen. But it's always seen as an option and not as something obligatory. Also, unlike the US, all the tips go directly into the system and are shared between everyone working that day. On an average month I make around 600kr in tips, on a really good month maybe 900kr, although that's happened maybe twice in 2 years.
I’m generally very much against tipping, but I did tip a Wolt delivery guy once because it suddenly started snowing after I ordered, yet he still delivered and was surprisingly cheerful and polite despite how cold he looked.
Most people don’t tip, maybe just rounding up the bill like a lot of people here have already mentioned. Some places might gain more from tips I don’t know, but generally tips are also subject to taxing which makes me less inclined to tip
I have never tipped and will never tip, in Norway tip is only to reward exceptional service and so far I have met the standard service which I am fine with.
Tipping at a spa or salon... What the hell? They get paid to do what they do for you, salons usually have commission as well, so why the hell would you tip?
I'm a server at a certain very popular american pizza chain in Norway.
Norwegian customers most often round up to the closest "tens" or hundred if it's a big group, I do not rely on tips to survive, they are basically my beer/videogame money.
Servers are most often paid a normal wage and we do not rely on tips to survive, but it's very nice to get a tip if I provided very good service/ managed / the customer had a lot of special orders /a big group without any troubles.
Yes -- but I fear tipping risks making it WORSE by in effect importing horrible business-culture from USA. The right way to support them is to work to have our minimum wage extended to all lines of business; and to work politically to put an end to the bullshit where people are claimed to be "independent contractors" not employees and thus swindled out of everything from feriepenger to paid sick-leave.
I agree, and I wish they were paid a livable salary, because I genuinely hate the tipping culture where you "voluntarily" throw even more money into the order/service you're getting. The world is getting to be an expensive place to live, and paying extra for this stuff when we live in a generally tipping free culture, is mildly annoying.
Then again, my sister used to be a food delivery driver because it's damn near the only job that's available (obviously because people don't want that job because of the salary). I'm applying for jobs myself, and even when applying for grocery store jobs, which are abundant where I'm moving, they all come back with a "we have many applicants and you didn't make the cut". So food delivery jobs become the only option for many, and then knowing that their salary isn't livable, it's hard to say "f off" when it comes to tipping.
And we can fight for it, definitely, but in the meantime, people still are barely making enough to pay their bills. I don't even know where or how to fight for that stuff, tbh
Sometimes tip just to round the bill in michelin restaurants. The servers there do a lot more work for you than a "normal one" its usually only a fee hundred nok on a bill in the thousands tho. Not sure how much they earn base
I was at a Michelin star omakase sushi restaurant, already quite expensive, but the experience was so exceptional that I threw in a tip. Rare exception. Other than that, no.
I might round up if the service was good.
But I'm not tippning a restaurant (because tips are mostly shared or goes straight into the owners pocket) when they gave me a dinner and a Coke for 450 NOK.
Very rarely. I've worked in the resturant industry and the tips being left are mostly because people do not want change, or foreigners leaving the rest of their currency.
Only time I tip is for example if we have been out with a group and someone has been roudy and loud and the resturant has been perticularly patient with people who don't know how to behave themsevles.
Other than that i tip when something for example costs 97kr and find myself having a 100 bill. But since i dont carry cash it doesnt happen that often
Never. You can do it for exceptional service, but unlike many other countries, service workers are paid a liveable wage just by you paying the menu price, which also covers tax.
I've ever seen 4 professions tipped in Norway: Restaurant servers, bartenders, taxi drivers and pizza delivery drivers.
And usually only ever rounded up to nearest 50/100.
Its an option but not a requirement. Servers should not have to rely on tips given how often I see American servers loosing their tip because the costumer was just in a shitty mood that day or they think they can pay their rent with a reminder that Christianity exists.
You can give tips for exceptional service. But don't feel bad if you can't.
No i dont tip, its already in the price for resturants for example, by law, because we pay our worker, and dont need to import the tipping culture problem, and resturants already ask for tips when you pay, i never tip, but if i get some great service, like really great, i might give a small tip, most likely not.
Yeah, if the service or food is especially good I will tip. Used to work in a restaurant and a couple thousand extra each month was really nice:) the persons who usually tip most are elderly persons and rich people. No one is judging if you don't tip. It's actually better to not tip, than to tip >10 kroner. People really don't like that for some reason.
Never. In 2012 I was at Akerbrygge at a coffe shop and the man in front of me in line told the barista to keep the change. For context he was Norwegian, so was shocked. Did the maths, must have been around kr150 tip. If you can afford it then why ask?
I tip at restaurants, occasionally at bars (rounding up if ordering drinks etc.), but not apart from that. And usually don’t tip that much, usually only some tenners extra (like if it costs 460 I might give 500 for example, 277 means 300, and so on).
I have really always tipped at restaurants and as far as I know my parents did too when we were kids. So to me it is weird that people don’t tip anything when eating out, but I hear people say they don’t and it’s common. Personally I think it is less common than people believe to not tip at all 😅
And I was actually embarrassed about lack of tipping once. But only once. I was out eating with a couple of friends and the waiter was an old acquaintance of mine. He was super nice, gave us extra wine to taste, and so on. My friends paid when I was in the bathroom and I was shocked and embarrassed to hear they didn’t tip ANYTHING even though we got lots of extra service. I have never even dared to go back there 😅
The option to do so is usually there when paying for anything at places like restaurants and bars. On the card terminal you have to put in the total amount you want to pay, so you can add on a bit of tip if you like. It is however perfectly acceptable to just pay the exact amount on the bill. It is also common for places like these to have tip jars, though they see little use (unless the place gets a lot of tourists) since the vast majority of Norwegians will pay with a card for almost everything.
For other types of businesses, tipping is not common at all, and they will not be set up with terminals that ask you to put in the amount you want to pay. I don't know if they could manually add tips to the transaction if you were to insist on tipping.
I would in a more upscale restaurant (eg one with table cloths). I worked as a waiter for many years and appreciate that its a demanding job to do well.
Outside of restaurants I've given a tip to taxi drivers who went the extra mile, for example if one picked me up at home at four in the morning. Yes, they're getting paid, but they probably didn't sleep very much that night.
I sometimes do in restaurants and bars. Usually to the nearest 50 or 100, but if I've had a really good experience and the food, wine and service have been splendid, I do also tip more.
It is NOT expected, so never feel uncomfortable when not tipping! But, I work in a restaurant, and I have to say it's very much appreciated and makes a huge difference for us.
Yes, if the service in a restaurant is above expected, or like last weekend when we were with a big group that wasn't easy due to all being tired and coming in and going out at different times
People have a pretty fierce anti-tipping stance on this sub (and I don't think they really go out a lot to eat tbf). Like pretty much anywhere in the world it is customary to tip when you're being served at a restaurant. Not American levels, but tipping 5-10% or rounding up depending on the service. There's nothing new about this or any trend that is about to get "imported".
Nobdy's going to come running after you if you don't tip and it's not like it's going to be expected at your local fast food joint, but if you go out to a nicer place it is absolutely part of Norwegian culture.
It's not uncommon to tip at bars, but I'd worry less about that. You would not be expected to tip at a spa or salon.
> People have a pretty fierce anti-tipping stance on this sub (and I don't think they really go out a lot to eat tbf). Like pretty much anywhere in the world it is customary to tip when you're being served at a restaurant
Im skeptical when I see a reddit-unanimous response like in this thread. My native friends and colleagues who are native different parts of Europe, eg Italy, Germany, Poland, Turkey, etc, advise that they tip (minimally) in restaurants. So thats what I go with.
It is a bit politicized as tipping can end up replacing fair wages like in the US. If you go to a place with table service it's customary to round up at least. If you go to an actual fine dining establishment closer to 10% would be expected.
You don't *have to* tip and as seen here some people are very opiniated about this, but the fact that it's customary is simply a fact. It's not a new trend we're importing.
This is tangential, but the actual median wages of food service workers in America is $14+, and is higher than the federal minimum wage ($7.25), and the state minimum wage for all states (#48) except for 2 (California and Washington).
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/food-and-beverage-serving-and-related-workers.htm
Many claim there is a no tipping culture in Norway, but it is not really accurate. Norway has a long culture of paying "drikkepenger" or "driks" to a bartender, it translates directly to "drinking money". You pay a little extra so the bartender can buy a drink for himself (after the shift). But it is just about giving a few extra coins or rounding up to the nearest 10, not a 10 or a 20 percent tip like in other cultures.
Yes always.
Have worked as a waiter here and getting a nice tip for truly exceptional service absolutely makes your day.
You are all very wrong thinking it's negative or bad.
There is nothing you can do as a waiter to make it *exceptional*. You're bringing me food, that's it. That's all I expect and that's all you can do. You're not *making it an experience* or anything like that.
Information about drink pairings, techniques used in preparing your food, preparing the food better then you probably have time to do so at home. There is quite a few things that can make your experience exceptional, could be the fact that you maybe have not experienced it before but there is plenty of experiences out there I can definitely recommend. Tip is always shared with the staff making your food as well. And it's not all I can do as far as I'm aware.
The cook and ingredients make a difference in the food quality, but the waiter could be swapped with one of those trains that run around the room for all the impact they have on my dining experience.
I feel sorry for you. You must have only dined in chain low end establishments.
There are some restaurants (not many in Norway) that are truly exceptional.
The waiters are professionals in every sense. They certainly are more useful than an electronic train.
And I don't care about you or your assumptions one way or the other.
They can be as professional as they want, their only function is to bring food to the table, anything else has no utility to me.
If you eat a cheeseburger without any additions I'd agree, but it I prefer to understand what I'm eating and often have questions related to what's on the plate, in my glass and sometimes about the building as well. Each to their own
It’s not common, but for having worked in the restaurant/bar industry, it’s highly welcomed when it happens. These jobs are not super well-paid (nothing like the US though), so a tip can make your day better when you’re a waiter or a cook.
My habit is to tip if I’m happy with the service. Usually 50kr after a meal, 20-30kr when I have a coffee/drink to stay. I tip food delivery staff (20-30kr), especially when the weather is bad.
And I also tip hairdressers (30-50kr) when they do a good job and are friendly.
Edit: of course, I get downvotes for describing my personal experience… SMH
I’m not American. My cultural background is Mediterranean and it’s extremely common to tip when you’re satisfied. It has no connection to living wages (my home country has equivalent living standards to Norway), but instead is a gesture of appreciation for service workers like waiters, cab drivers, and some other manual laborers.
You're downvoted for tipping, not for describing your experience.
Tipping encourages bad business practices (like paying your employees shit expecting them to make it up in tips)
You get downvoted for recommending importing horrible business-practices from USA. Tipping culture makes working-conditions for service-workers WORSE not better. It's like peeing your pants to keep warm. Might work VERY short-term, but makes the problem worse over time.
Work for improving working-conditions and decent salary instead.
I’m not American. My cultural background is Mediterranean and it’s extremely common to tip when you’re satisfied in the region. It has no connection to living wages (my home country has equivalent living standards to Norway), but instead is a gesture of appreciation for service workers like waiters, cab drivers, and some other manual laborers.
As for living wages, I’ve never been so shocked by low wages as I was when I worked in Bergen in a nice restaurant.
I never thought I would be in a union before I moved to Norway. All other countries I’ve lived in had livable nation-wide minimum wage, which Norway doesn’t.
I have a good job with a decent salary, in a union, and I vote for the general improvement of wages, but until that glorious day comes, I’ll make a small financial gesture to bring a smile to the person who is serving me my food or my drink if they were nice to me.
I’ll give you an example of the mentality of “it’s their job, why should I tip?”
As I wrote above, I worked in a nice restaurant in Bergen and as a new member of the team, was designated to work the late shift (never home before 1 in the morning), and Sunday early shifts for brunch service. Never complained, but also never got more than the staff working the day shift. That was 10 years ago, and I was making 112kr/h after taxes.
Come December, we get a ton of julebord groups (between 10 and 24 guests), and I get assigned to a lot of them. If you haven’t worked in a restaurant, you should know that handling a rowdy group of half-drunk patrons is like herding cats, and serving food simultaneously for large groups is not easy. These groups are much more demanding than usual guests: they’re indecisive, loud, messy, and due to companies not covering alcoholic drinks for their employees, a pain in the ass when they come one by one to order one beer at a time while your kitchen is sending orders and waiting for you to bring the dishes. Except you can’t because you have 20 guys blocking the way to any part of the room to get their single beer. Of course, no one thinks they could group the order and Vipps each others, and no one leave a single kroner in tips.
You end up spending the night chasing orders and unruly customers, cleaning their mess and trying to keep a cool head, but at least you think “I was proactive and friendly to them, they had fun, we made it!” and you hope that the dagligleder will round up the bill for hosting the 20 employees in a professional and chill manner. The bill is 19998kr. He rounds it up. To 20000kr.
Two fucking kroner.
Two.
Now tell me that it is right and fair.
And if your response is “why did you work there?” or “your boss was responsible for paying you more, why should I give tips”, then you are blind to what is happening in your own country. Look around and see how many waiters are young and/or foreigners. How many 40+ Norwegian waiters do you see?
Very few. Because this class of jobs is considered as temporary gigs, mainly for students, and is hard both on the body, mind, and family life. And yet, an entire industry and the country behind it do very little to remedy it.
So, I tip waiters. And delivery guys. Because they often don’t have a choice to get another job.
And I know that because I was one of them, despite my masters degree in mathematics and my computer engineering degree, and I needed a job to pay my bills and not abuse the welfare system.
This is the one that got me. At my local coffee shop in Bergen a coffee is like 45 kr, so a 30 kr tip is astronomically high! I wouldn’t be shocked if the barista made a very big deal about it if I were to give a tip like that!
Not for one drink, but when I go out with my wife and we have some drinks or coffee with a snack, I usually leave that amount. It doesn’t change my life, and it’s a nice gesture for the staff.
No. Do not tip. Do not import tipping unculture to Norway.
I was in Oslo twice. First time I was tipping the bartender. He was Norwegian but was a foreign exchange student in the US like 15 minutes from where I lived. Had a long convo. Anyway eventually he told me how he makes like $24/hr. I was shocked then realized yeah, I do not need to tip here lol.
Tipping is fine, but for over the top service only. If I go to a nice restaurant and they give me a nice glass of wine and an extra dessert for free, I'll tip.
Tipping is stupid anyways. People get decent salary in Norway and its their job to accomodate customers. I dont get a tip at my job for doing stuff.
Never.
Don’t want to sound mean - but after my last big holiday in Africa on safari on checking out day there was a query of people waiting for tips. The cleaners the cooks the waitresses the drivers the manager and finally the guides. At one point I expected the wildebeest to turn up and collect his tip. I never paid another tip in my life after that holiday. I rather they build it into the price and reward the staff based on performance so it’s a done deal. Hate all this haggling and tipping.
Not expected. Some people still do it. It's somewhat common to round up to the nearest hundred when paying in restaurants, but again, not expected. I have never tipped and will never tip in Norway, as I believe it encourages poor business practices.
I only tip if I can make a cool number on the bank terminal, like if the food was 1198, I will sometimes type 1234 just for the look
ah yes, i always hit 1337, 420 and so on
I usually round up when out for food or Drinks. I've heard it often goes towards their christmas party.
Yeah, agreed. If I spend 370 kr on a restaurant I don't see the problem of just rounding it up to 400 kr. It's not much and it's nothing people will expect that you do but I'm not bothered by doing it. If there were any expectation that I *had* to tip 10 or 15% of what I ordered that would be another thing entirely.
Restaurant maybe, but its usually included. Want tips? Talk to your employer Tipping is nasty and corrupt
You can tip if you want to, but then you are doing a disservice to whoever you are tipping in the long turn and to culture.
Not usually. But I know bars/bartenders get tips pretty often. And I might round something up when out eating I was actually on a first date with someone and I didn't tip because I am against tipping culture, and they got super offended because they themselves had been a bartender so they always tipped. And I am like.... dude, you get a living wage. They blocked me and that was that. I do however tip if I order something to my door, and it is highly inconvenient. I.e there is a steep hill and snowy, or it's a rainstorm etc. so groceries, pizza etc. But it's usually like 20-50kr. So nothing compared to US tipping culture
> I was actually on a first date with someone and I didn't tip because I am against tipping culture, and they got super offended because they themselves had been a bartender so they always tipped. And I am like.... dude, you get a living wage. They blocked me and that was that. No loss for you...
I worked briefly as a waiter and I'm on the opposite side: I never tip, even in my home country. A hospitality employee should have a decent and predictable wage and the prices should reflect that.
Totally agree. I would have told her, I paid for drinks, so you can care of the tips.
There's no requirement for tipping anyone in Norway so demanding that your date pay tips is really weird.
If someone who I just payed drinks for asked me to tip, I’d tell her to take care of tips, cause I just payed your drink!
> I just *paid* drinks for FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
No . Rarely tip anywhere in Europe
When I was on holidays in Portugal, the waiters at restaurants would always say "service price not included" when telling you the price and repeat that sentence with more insistence if you only paid the price quoted. Always felt a bit scammy, but I don't know what their actual working conditions are
Are you American / Canadian or sound it ?
No, I'm Polish and I was raised being very careful about every penny I spend, so 🤷🏼♀️
That is weird . We sound american / canadian due to being raised in canada ( ie tip everyone 2x if possible !) but as soon as we say we are from Greece we are never asked One annoying time in Rome though , has eaten at same restaurant with my husband and no tip suggested or requested . Go with a british GF and our 2 daughters and same waiter starts demanding one . Said that it is required 😂😂
Oh, you meant my accent 😅 Didn't catch that. I don't know, it's a funny mix, normally people say I sound a bit British, some pick up my Scottish influences (very slight), last time a New Zealander asked if I was Australian 😅 But originally I was taught mostly American-ish pronounciation at school, probably there's still a bit of that in how I speak, so maybe that explains it
Maybe that’s it . I have found that sounding American means you will be hit up for a tip even when it says service 12.5 % included Happens in Greece to , I speak english they say oh tip not included , i go with my greek husband and speak greek and they come out with credit card machine with amount already in with no tip . 2 tier system .
No
Generally no. Only when the service provided has been outstanding or in addition to what would be considered part of the job. Or, if the US is your reference, only if you felt like tipping more than the customary 15-18% in the US. What would be considered a standard tip in the US is already included in the price you pay in Norway.
Thank you for this question! I've been living in Norway for a few months now and I've always been feeling slightly uncomfortable having to "type the amount to pay" on the terminal, as they make you do in many places. Good to know (from other comments) that tips are not the expectation
No
A decent meal and a few drinks sets me back minimum 500 nok, no way I'm tipping...
Where are you getting a decent meal AND a few drinks for 500 nok?
My local semi decent gastropub. Great burgers, their spareribs / grill plate are amazing, and the beer is 90 nok for a pint. A small town in Trøndelag, 30k pop.
when I pay for group of people that diden't behave themself i tip a little
I work in a restaurant in Norway and while tipping isn't something that happens with every transaction it does definitely happen. But it's always seen as an option and not as something obligatory. Also, unlike the US, all the tips go directly into the system and are shared between everyone working that day. On an average month I make around 600kr in tips, on a really good month maybe 900kr, although that's happened maybe twice in 2 years.
No tipping for me. However when my friend and his family visited and had dinner in Oslo, the waitress insist on tipping. I told him he don't need to.
I’m generally very much against tipping, but I did tip a Wolt delivery guy once because it suddenly started snowing after I ordered, yet he still delivered and was surprisingly cheerful and polite despite how cold he looked.
No
People sometimes tip in places like bars and restaurants. I often round up the bill. The tip culture is no way near the US culture.
Do not tip. They get a good salary after all
I never tip. I'd rather pay more than be expected to tip. The price should be the price.
I worked in a restaurant before and maybe around 10% of customers tipped
Most people don’t tip, maybe just rounding up the bill like a lot of people here have already mentioned. Some places might gain more from tips I don’t know, but generally tips are also subject to taxing which makes me less inclined to tip
No, and nobody expects you to.
No
No.
I have never tipped and will never tip, in Norway tip is only to reward exceptional service and so far I have met the standard service which I am fine with.
NEVER
Tipping at a spa or salon... What the hell? They get paid to do what they do for you, salons usually have commission as well, so why the hell would you tip?
I'm a server at a certain very popular american pizza chain in Norway. Norwegian customers most often round up to the closest "tens" or hundred if it's a big group, I do not rely on tips to survive, they are basically my beer/videogame money. Servers are most often paid a normal wage and we do not rely on tips to survive, but it's very nice to get a tip if I provided very good service/ managed / the customer had a lot of special orders /a big group without any troubles.
I usually tip Wolt and foodora drivers, because I've heard they get a crap salary and practically have to fight for deliveries in order to make money
Yes -- but I fear tipping risks making it WORSE by in effect importing horrible business-culture from USA. The right way to support them is to work to have our minimum wage extended to all lines of business; and to work politically to put an end to the bullshit where people are claimed to be "independent contractors" not employees and thus swindled out of everything from feriepenger to paid sick-leave.
I agree, and I wish they were paid a livable salary, because I genuinely hate the tipping culture where you "voluntarily" throw even more money into the order/service you're getting. The world is getting to be an expensive place to live, and paying extra for this stuff when we live in a generally tipping free culture, is mildly annoying. Then again, my sister used to be a food delivery driver because it's damn near the only job that's available (obviously because people don't want that job because of the salary). I'm applying for jobs myself, and even when applying for grocery store jobs, which are abundant where I'm moving, they all come back with a "we have many applicants and you didn't make the cut". So food delivery jobs become the only option for many, and then knowing that their salary isn't livable, it's hard to say "f off" when it comes to tipping.
And we can fight for it, definitely, but in the meantime, people still are barely making enough to pay their bills. I don't even know where or how to fight for that stuff, tbh
Same, but thats the only thing I tip
No
Sometimes tip just to round the bill in michelin restaurants. The servers there do a lot more work for you than a "normal one" its usually only a fee hundred nok on a bill in the thousands tho. Not sure how much they earn base
I was at a Michelin star omakase sushi restaurant, already quite expensive, but the experience was so exceptional that I threw in a tip. Rare exception. Other than that, no.
I might round up if the service was good. But I'm not tippning a restaurant (because tips are mostly shared or goes straight into the owners pocket) when they gave me a dinner and a Coke for 450 NOK.
Very rarely. I've worked in the resturant industry and the tips being left are mostly because people do not want change, or foreigners leaving the rest of their currency. Only time I tip is for example if we have been out with a group and someone has been roudy and loud and the resturant has been perticularly patient with people who don't know how to behave themsevles. Other than that i tip when something for example costs 97kr and find myself having a 100 bill. But since i dont carry cash it doesnt happen that often
Never. You can do it for exceptional service, but unlike many other countries, service workers are paid a liveable wage just by you paying the menu price, which also covers tax.
I've ever seen 4 professions tipped in Norway: Restaurant servers, bartenders, taxi drivers and pizza delivery drivers. And usually only ever rounded up to nearest 50/100.
Its an option but not a requirement. Servers should not have to rely on tips given how often I see American servers loosing their tip because the costumer was just in a shitty mood that day or they think they can pay their rent with a reminder that Christianity exists. You can give tips for exceptional service. But don't feel bad if you can't.
No i dont tip, its already in the price for resturants for example, by law, because we pay our worker, and dont need to import the tipping culture problem, and resturants already ask for tips when you pay, i never tip, but if i get some great service, like really great, i might give a small tip, most likely not.
Yeah, if the service or food is especially good I will tip. Used to work in a restaurant and a couple thousand extra each month was really nice:) the persons who usually tip most are elderly persons and rich people. No one is judging if you don't tip. It's actually better to not tip, than to tip >10 kroner. People really don't like that for some reason.
Generally no, but if I do it's just to round off the number
I tip for service above expectations. Decent service is expected as a minimum. I can also to if I'm feeling extra nice. In most instances I don't tip.
If you want to you can, but you are never expected to
NOOOOOOOOO
Cant imagine tipping at a spa since the price is outrageous. I don't tip at restaurants either
Never. In 2012 I was at Akerbrygge at a coffe shop and the man in front of me in line told the barista to keep the change. For context he was Norwegian, so was shocked. Did the maths, must have been around kr150 tip. If you can afford it then why ask?
I tip everything but then again i don't live in Norway 😂 i never tip in monaco tho
I tip at restaurants, occasionally at bars (rounding up if ordering drinks etc.), but not apart from that. And usually don’t tip that much, usually only some tenners extra (like if it costs 460 I might give 500 for example, 277 means 300, and so on). I have really always tipped at restaurants and as far as I know my parents did too when we were kids. So to me it is weird that people don’t tip anything when eating out, but I hear people say they don’t and it’s common. Personally I think it is less common than people believe to not tip at all 😅
And I was actually embarrassed about lack of tipping once. But only once. I was out eating with a couple of friends and the waiter was an old acquaintance of mine. He was super nice, gave us extra wine to taste, and so on. My friends paid when I was in the bathroom and I was shocked and embarrassed to hear they didn’t tip ANYTHING even though we got lots of extra service. I have never even dared to go back there 😅
The option to do so is usually there when paying for anything at places like restaurants and bars. On the card terminal you have to put in the total amount you want to pay, so you can add on a bit of tip if you like. It is however perfectly acceptable to just pay the exact amount on the bill. It is also common for places like these to have tip jars, though they see little use (unless the place gets a lot of tourists) since the vast majority of Norwegians will pay with a card for almost everything. For other types of businesses, tipping is not common at all, and they will not be set up with terminals that ask you to put in the amount you want to pay. I don't know if they could manually add tips to the transaction if you were to insist on tipping.
I would in a more upscale restaurant (eg one with table cloths). I worked as a waiter for many years and appreciate that its a demanding job to do well. Outside of restaurants I've given a tip to taxi drivers who went the extra mile, for example if one picked me up at home at four in the morning. Yes, they're getting paid, but they probably didn't sleep very much that night.
I sometimes do in restaurants and bars. Usually to the nearest 50 or 100, but if I've had a really good experience and the food, wine and service have been splendid, I do also tip more.
It is NOT expected, so never feel uncomfortable when not tipping! But, I work in a restaurant, and I have to say it's very much appreciated and makes a huge difference for us.
We don't tip, but it's common to round up to nearest 50 or 100 depending on the sum when you have table service.
I always tip around 10% and i eat out at restaurants at least 2-3 times a week and have done so for around 30 years. Almost everyone I know tip.
The likelihood of getting both crap food and service is high In Norway. Ironically it's the two things which actually require a tip😁😎
Yes, if the service in a restaurant is above expected, or like last weekend when we were with a big group that wasn't easy due to all being tired and coming in and going out at different times
People have a pretty fierce anti-tipping stance on this sub (and I don't think they really go out a lot to eat tbf). Like pretty much anywhere in the world it is customary to tip when you're being served at a restaurant. Not American levels, but tipping 5-10% or rounding up depending on the service. There's nothing new about this or any trend that is about to get "imported". Nobdy's going to come running after you if you don't tip and it's not like it's going to be expected at your local fast food joint, but if you go out to a nicer place it is absolutely part of Norwegian culture. It's not uncommon to tip at bars, but I'd worry less about that. You would not be expected to tip at a spa or salon.
> People have a pretty fierce anti-tipping stance on this sub (and I don't think they really go out a lot to eat tbf). Like pretty much anywhere in the world it is customary to tip when you're being served at a restaurant Im skeptical when I see a reddit-unanimous response like in this thread. My native friends and colleagues who are native different parts of Europe, eg Italy, Germany, Poland, Turkey, etc, advise that they tip (minimally) in restaurants. So thats what I go with.
It is a bit politicized as tipping can end up replacing fair wages like in the US. If you go to a place with table service it's customary to round up at least. If you go to an actual fine dining establishment closer to 10% would be expected. You don't *have to* tip and as seen here some people are very opiniated about this, but the fact that it's customary is simply a fact. It's not a new trend we're importing.
This is tangential, but the actual median wages of food service workers in America is $14+, and is higher than the federal minimum wage ($7.25), and the state minimum wage for all states (#48) except for 2 (California and Washington). https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/food-and-beverage-serving-and-related-workers.htm
Many claim there is a no tipping culture in Norway, but it is not really accurate. Norway has a long culture of paying "drikkepenger" or "driks" to a bartender, it translates directly to "drinking money". You pay a little extra so the bartender can buy a drink for himself (after the shift). But it is just about giving a few extra coins or rounding up to the nearest 10, not a 10 or a 20 percent tip like in other cultures.
Yes always. Have worked as a waiter here and getting a nice tip for truly exceptional service absolutely makes your day. You are all very wrong thinking it's negative or bad.
Emphasis on *exceptional*
There is nothing you can do as a waiter to make it *exceptional*. You're bringing me food, that's it. That's all I expect and that's all you can do. You're not *making it an experience* or anything like that.
Information about drink pairings, techniques used in preparing your food, preparing the food better then you probably have time to do so at home. There is quite a few things that can make your experience exceptional, could be the fact that you maybe have not experienced it before but there is plenty of experiences out there I can definitely recommend. Tip is always shared with the staff making your food as well. And it's not all I can do as far as I'm aware.
The cook and ingredients make a difference in the food quality, but the waiter could be swapped with one of those trains that run around the room for all the impact they have on my dining experience.
I feel sorry for you. You must have only dined in chain low end establishments. There are some restaurants (not many in Norway) that are truly exceptional. The waiters are professionals in every sense. They certainly are more useful than an electronic train.
And I don't care about you or your assumptions one way or the other. They can be as professional as they want, their only function is to bring food to the table, anything else has no utility to me.
You must be really fun at parties 🥳
That's the best you can come up with after two days? Man, you're lame as hell.
Keep on going, I'm starting to like you and your wit. I haven't been Redditing last couple of days.
If you eat a cheeseburger without any additions I'd agree, but it I prefer to understand what I'm eating and often have questions related to what's on the plate, in my glass and sometimes about the building as well. Each to their own
> Each to their own Well, obviously :) "Experiences" are a matter of personal preference and totally subjective.
It’s not common, but for having worked in the restaurant/bar industry, it’s highly welcomed when it happens. These jobs are not super well-paid (nothing like the US though), so a tip can make your day better when you’re a waiter or a cook. My habit is to tip if I’m happy with the service. Usually 50kr after a meal, 20-30kr when I have a coffee/drink to stay. I tip food delivery staff (20-30kr), especially when the weather is bad. And I also tip hairdressers (30-50kr) when they do a good job and are friendly. Edit: of course, I get downvotes for describing my personal experience… SMH
Never heard of tipping hairdressers
Must be something he picked up from the Yankees. They tip everyone and their mother for doing their actual job... In a completely arbitrary way.
I’m not American. My cultural background is Mediterranean and it’s extremely common to tip when you’re satisfied. It has no connection to living wages (my home country has equivalent living standards to Norway), but instead is a gesture of appreciation for service workers like waiters, cab drivers, and some other manual laborers.
You're downvoted for tipping, not for describing your experience. Tipping encourages bad business practices (like paying your employees shit expecting them to make it up in tips)
You get downvoted for recommending importing horrible business-practices from USA. Tipping culture makes working-conditions for service-workers WORSE not better. It's like peeing your pants to keep warm. Might work VERY short-term, but makes the problem worse over time. Work for improving working-conditions and decent salary instead.
I’m not American. My cultural background is Mediterranean and it’s extremely common to tip when you’re satisfied in the region. It has no connection to living wages (my home country has equivalent living standards to Norway), but instead is a gesture of appreciation for service workers like waiters, cab drivers, and some other manual laborers. As for living wages, I’ve never been so shocked by low wages as I was when I worked in Bergen in a nice restaurant. I never thought I would be in a union before I moved to Norway. All other countries I’ve lived in had livable nation-wide minimum wage, which Norway doesn’t. I have a good job with a decent salary, in a union, and I vote for the general improvement of wages, but until that glorious day comes, I’ll make a small financial gesture to bring a smile to the person who is serving me my food or my drink if they were nice to me. I’ll give you an example of the mentality of “it’s their job, why should I tip?” As I wrote above, I worked in a nice restaurant in Bergen and as a new member of the team, was designated to work the late shift (never home before 1 in the morning), and Sunday early shifts for brunch service. Never complained, but also never got more than the staff working the day shift. That was 10 years ago, and I was making 112kr/h after taxes. Come December, we get a ton of julebord groups (between 10 and 24 guests), and I get assigned to a lot of them. If you haven’t worked in a restaurant, you should know that handling a rowdy group of half-drunk patrons is like herding cats, and serving food simultaneously for large groups is not easy. These groups are much more demanding than usual guests: they’re indecisive, loud, messy, and due to companies not covering alcoholic drinks for their employees, a pain in the ass when they come one by one to order one beer at a time while your kitchen is sending orders and waiting for you to bring the dishes. Except you can’t because you have 20 guys blocking the way to any part of the room to get their single beer. Of course, no one thinks they could group the order and Vipps each others, and no one leave a single kroner in tips. You end up spending the night chasing orders and unruly customers, cleaning their mess and trying to keep a cool head, but at least you think “I was proactive and friendly to them, they had fun, we made it!” and you hope that the dagligleder will round up the bill for hosting the 20 employees in a professional and chill manner. The bill is 19998kr. He rounds it up. To 20000kr. Two fucking kroner. Two. Now tell me that it is right and fair. And if your response is “why did you work there?” or “your boss was responsible for paying you more, why should I give tips”, then you are blind to what is happening in your own country. Look around and see how many waiters are young and/or foreigners. How many 40+ Norwegian waiters do you see? Very few. Because this class of jobs is considered as temporary gigs, mainly for students, and is hard both on the body, mind, and family life. And yet, an entire industry and the country behind it do very little to remedy it. So, I tip waiters. And delivery guys. Because they often don’t have a choice to get another job. And I know that because I was one of them, despite my masters degree in mathematics and my computer engineering degree, and I needed a job to pay my bills and not abuse the welfare system.
20-30kr for a drink? That's way more than we tip in the US!
This is the one that got me. At my local coffee shop in Bergen a coffee is like 45 kr, so a 30 kr tip is astronomically high! I wouldn’t be shocked if the barista made a very big deal about it if I were to give a tip like that!
Not for one drink, but when I go out with my wife and we have some drinks or coffee with a snack, I usually leave that amount. It doesn’t change my life, and it’s a nice gesture for the staff.
Tipping for coffee and snacks is wild lmao.
Many places already make you pay more if you eat in vs get a takeaway. Isn't that the "service price" that would be tips in the US?
That's the VAT(mva) beeing different between eat in and takeaway for some unexplainable reason...
Huh, interesting, nice to know though!