Tipping Redux

Apparently my fellow Fulbrighters have been as confused about tipping as I have been. Our orientation experts from Bratislava advised us that people generally do not expect tips here – whether waiters, bellhops, or cab drivers. At most, round a bill slightly upward and leave the change.

This explains the bewildering answers I keep getting when I ask how much tip is expected. At the hotel the first week, I asked the desk clerk what to tip the bellboy. “Oh, whatever you think is appropriate,” I was told. I said I did not want to offend anybody and asked what was expected. “20 crowns, I suppose.” Twenty crowns? That’s only $0.80. Can you imagine tipping a bellboy at a Manhattan hotel $.80 for hauling three heavy bags to your room? But the bellboy here seemed pleasantly surprised to get that 20 crown note.