I am relatively new to the Cayman Islands and have what I hope is a simple question. What is the accepted practice when it comes to tipping for various services in places like restaurants, hairdressers, hotels and taxis? I am also curious about whether you should be giving something to the boys and girls who bag your groceries in the supermarket. Any advice?

Auntie’s answer: Your question is simple but I can’t give you a simple answer. I will start with tipping servers in restaurants. One of my pet peeves is seeing the automatic 15% gratuity added onto my bill at the end of a meal. It doesn’t happen in all restaurants but it does in many. I hate the assumption that the service deserved that extra amount. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t. But there it is anyway and you pay it.

I am sure that restaurants cannot legally force you to pay that gratuity, especially if the service actually didn’t justify it. However, I am very confident that most, if not all, patrons will “put up and shut up” rather than complain.

Having that said, I have no issue with paying the 15% for good service. Waiters and waitresses work hard and should be recognised with something extra for doing a good job. In fact, I often add a bit more to the 15% if I really liked the service (and there is a separate section on the bill marked “tip” just for that). I believe the automatic gratuity goes into a pool for all the wait staff to share and that anything extra will be given to the person who served your table. If the 15% isn’t part of the bill, though, I would suggest that amount as your tip if you liked the service, or more, if it were excellent.

As for hair salons and spas, a 15% tip will keep the staff happy, as long as you are satisfied with the level of service. Taxis do not have metres here; the fare is set according to the distance travelled and also the time of day (expect to pay more late at night). But feel free to add in a tip of at least 10%.

Hotels have no issue with including gratuities on any and all services, usually at least 15%. As annoying as that may be, if you take a room at the hotel, say for a staycation, you should make sure to have dollar bills in your pockets – for porters and bellhops, for example. It also doesn’t hurt to leave a little something for your maid every day.

And, lastly, to your question about the kids who bag your groceries. That would be a definite “yes”. Hand them a dollar for their efforts. It is so nice to see young people working that I feel very strongly you should reward their diligence.