When to tip someone in Egypt

I have never tipped the electrical or gas man. reason being? they are usually ripping me off anyhow :S

Leprechaun the government does the ripping off, or the higher ups .

IrishAlex I always thought that for the parking violation giving money was a bribe not a tip

Well here in Egypt its hard to differentiate between those two

As for the guys directing the cars, a friend of mine just came back from Spain & he met one of those guys there , granted that their numbers outside of Egypt are nowhere near their numbers here may be the egyptians invented this "Menady" job & next thing they'll make up a world wide guild or something

When you hear the customary "Kol sana wenta tayeb" you know its time to pay

You reminded me I just went to clean my car & it was quite expensive & the service was awful they practically left me hanging there for 3 hours, then after that the guy comes up to me & asks "Where is my tip ?", the nerve on this guy

But having a wad of 1 pound coins handy isn't an option anymore its the only kind of change I get these days at any supermarket so I think the official system is supportuing the tipping system in a nonofficial way

well initially when I came to Egypt I did this ...but not anymore regardless Im having my dinner in a local restaurant or five star..I stopped being kind enough

so the 10% tipping rule does not apply to restaurants only in Egypt ?

alimirza wrote:

well initially when I came to Egypt I did this ...but not anymore regardless Im having my dinner in a local restaurant or five star..I stopped being kind enough

HAha .. That's exactly what my husband says. He says he lost all the manners and it doesn't concern him to be kind anymore. Thanks to the bundle ov exp. we had here!

IrishAlexandrian wrote:

To have a parking or traffic violation ignored or canceled you tip the traffic cops who’s uniforms are tattered and almost thread bare. DON’T even try and approach or tip the men who have brass stars on their shoulders. If you do, incarceration will be the gift he gives to you!

THIS ISN'T A TIP THIS IS CALLED A BRIBE and it is not good thing and not accepted

IrishAlexandrian wrote:

The men who come to collect the due amount owed for your electricity and water bill should be tipped for walking around the streets of the city and ringing the hundreds of door bills to bring you your bill instead of you getting lost and trying to find where the companies are tipped for the door to door service.

No need to tip those people cause this is their job to collect money from door steps and they are doing what they get paid their salaries for doing it.

IrishAlexandrian wrote:

In Egypt we don’t just tip the waiter in the restaurant or the bell boy who transports your bags to your room. In Egypt you tip for almost everything!

If you are trying to park your car and can’t find a parking space, you will 9 times out of 10 find a man directing cars in to the tightest spots and for that you tip him. While you are out going about your errand he will be watching over you car and if you ask him to, he will even wash it for you, (just make sure you tip him well, because the next time you park there, he will treat you like a Pacha or a Brincessa (princess))

When you go to the cinema and the usher shows you to your seat, you tip him a pound or two.

When you pull in to the gas station and ask the attendant to fill her up and the other to clean your windows. You tip them for their services.

When you are at Metro or some other super market and the person packing your bags helps you carry it out to your car, you tip them for being so helpful.

When you go to the bathroom at a rest house, mall, and restaurant you will most likely find that there will be a person there handing out paper towels when you go in to the stall and when you come out. You tip them for maintaining the place.

When the porter in your building helps you carry your luggage in to the building and up the stairs to the elevator or right up to the apartment, you tip him for the extra effort he has made.

When a delivery is made to your house by the pharmacy, fast food restaurant, dry cleaners, grocery store and whom ever else provides that service you tip them for risking their lives on their vesper to deliver the goods to you.

To have a parking or traffic violation ignored or canceled you tip the traffic cops who’s uniforms are tattered and almost thread bare. DON’T even try and approach or tip the men who have brass stars on their shoulders. If you do, incarceration will be the gift he gives to you! 

The men who come to collect the due amount owed for your electricity and water bill should be tipped for walking around the streets of the city and ringing the hundreds of door bills to bring you your bill instead of you getting lost and trying to find where the companies are tipped for the door to door service.

By now I think you are getting the idea. I bet your asking yourself the same question that I had been asking myself for many years. Why and what for?

Well, to put it simply they have government jobs and don’t earn enough to live off of. So, to increase their monthly allowance all the tips they make give them a little bit extra to put food on their table. I think of it as me contributing and helping people in need.


Always make sure you have a wad of 1 pound coins handy!

In Egypt we give a tip to live! and alot of times to get your right
sometimes 50 L.E tip may save you 6 months of waiting for a government service...

there's some places ppl are living on tip only and they don't get a salary!! or they get very small salary that they can survive with it, like some waiters in Sharm El Sheikh, they live on the tip which is maybe 3 or 4 times more than their original salary

1 pound coin!!! that was working 3 years ago now days some beggars  will give you a not cool look and some of them told me "1 pound only! what can i do with it, it doesn't buy anything!!"

i think we help in this phenomenon
just do not tip that person who is doing his job and is getting paid for it

just for your info...

workers in gas or fuel station, don't take salaries (in most stations in Egypt)

as the tips given from us to them are their own salary, they share it all together at the end of the day.