Before Ramadan started he called and said that I hadn’t tipped him yet and that most people on the bus do this. I was rather taken aback because Ramadan had not even started yet, so I hadn’t not tipped yet. It seemed like complaining about not receiving a Christmas present on December 20th. Nonetheless, I tipped him 100LE, or rather my husband did, with a hearty kol sana wenta tayib, and thought that was that.
I wish that were the case. This week he called again a couple of days before Eid and said that it’s the 6th and nothing so far. Apparently, he wants to be tipped every month. This time, I did not accede to his request as I was quite offended. I was planning to tip him on the last day before Eid and he was already assuming that that was not going to happen.
Tipping (baksheesh) in Egypt is an awkward affair for many foreigners and tourists. We never know who to tip and how much and when should we do this and how. It’s uncomfortable to talk about and who would you ask anyway?
So far, I have learned by watching. I see my husband tipping at the grocery store for the person who does the bagging and again at the cinema for the person who seats us. When driving, he tips the person directing him to a parking space and helping him back out. If there’s someone in the elevator pressing the buttons, he gets tipped, too. Even in the public restroom, I see ladies tipping the employees there for toilet paper. In all of these instances, the tip is only 1LE or so and that’s completely acceptable. I feel odd tipping someone just 1LE because it’s only $0.18 at home and that seems so cheap, but here it’s the norm for these situations. These tips, as all tips, must be given with great subtlety in a quick handshake.
But tipping does not end there. If you’re a tourist, you are expected to tip your tour guide, if you have one, and anyone who helps on your tour. If someone shows you something interesting at a sight, they’ll expect a tip. If you have a driver for the day, he must be tipped. The question of how much has never adequately been explained. Sometimes you are expected to tip in dollars, other times in LE. I would recommend just tipping what you feel comfortable about and as the service would demand. I don’t believe in tipping arbitrarily just because someone wants a tip. I think there has to be a reason.
If you live in Egypt, then you have different problems. You won’t have a tour guide, but a bowab. This is the security person in your apartment building. He should be tipped for holidays like Eid and for anything extra he does for you. If there are security or cleaning staff at your workplace, they might expect a tip, too. You will also be expected to tip more just by virtue of being a foreigner.
However, in taxis and restaurants, the places where we know how to tip, tips aren’t really expected. Here, you never tip your taxi driver for a normal journey. In restaurants, there is a 12% service charge already added to your check, so most people don’t tip, or tip very little extra.
If someone thinks that they are owed a tip, they might quietly say, “mattensoosh el baksheesh” as you’re leaving a place. This phrase means don’t forget the tip.
Another danger of tipping is tipping the wrong person. If you tip someone who feels like you’re equal, he will be very offended. Here, I was surprised to see how differently employees of the same place are treated. At the university, the teaching staff is treated much better than everybody else. We get nicer gifts, nicer hours, and have fewer responsibilities. I’ve seen how other teachers expect the cleaning staff or security staff to run personal errands for them and generally treat them like personal maids. They even address all of the teachers as doctors, no matter what your qualification is. I can’t get used to that. So while I see us as equal employees of the same place, the reality is different to most people and tipping is expected.
In the end, I’d advise tipping as you’re comfortable. Unfortunately, foreigners in Egypt can be seen as walking dollar signs. Of course, that’s not true for everyone here, but you will encounter this attitude somewhere along the way. Don’t feel pressured to hand over your money and don’t feel guilty if you choose not to tip. Tip people whose services you appreciated or who made your stay or experience exceptional.