Beauty salon

Don't know who told you that, but they're obviously a true cheapskate.

My ex-wife owns a salon in São Paulo (bairro Pirituba) and all of her clients tip. Even here in Brazil tipping is commonplace when you receive good service.

In fact, I even used to tip my cab drivers when I lived in São Paulo. You never know when doing so will have unexpected benefits. I remember one day when I walked to the local supermarket to do my grocery shopping. When I left home it was a beautiful sunny day. While in the market the skies opened up and the whole area around the supermarket was flooded. I phoned my regular driver and begged for his help to get home with my groceries. He was at home, dropped his lunch and found a back way to the market to come and rescue me. I doubt anyone who doesn't tip wouldn't get such special attention.

Regarding restaurants, some will actually build a 10% 'gratuity' right into the bill. Not obligatory to pay it and I don't because there is no guarantee it actually goes to the server. Instead I leave a tip under my plate or pay the bill to the server and tell them to keep the rest as a tip. In restaurants that don't do that, just remember that waiters and waitresses are just the same here as in any other country. Generally they're at the lowest end of the pay scale and depend on tips to live on. If their service is good I'd always leave them a tip under my plate. I'd do this even if the food wasn't all that great because they are not responsible for the kitchen, just their service. If they do a good job then they merit a tip anyway.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team