Urban tipping guide for Mumbai

"They go a long way in supplementing our salaries." "It’s not compulsory at all ... even a great smile can make our day." "International guests do it more often." "Yes, it would be nice to get one."

People in your hair, mixing your drink, driving you to work, delivering your food and massaging your feet say how much you should be tipping them.

Follow this guide to all that you can and can’t leave behind, in Mumbai.

At the hip hair salon

Tipping senior hairstylists isn’t quite as easy as doling out a couple of 20s to your waxing lady at the corner beauty parlor.

"I don’t end up tipping my stylist not because I’m cheap, but because I feel like it would offend her," says a media professional.

Shimsha Shetty, salon director and senior hairstylist at b:blunt, Bandra clears the air.

"Tipping is a gesture of appreciation, that's all," she says, adding that those who feel uncomfortable with direct transactions can always leave the money at the reception or even just flash a smile.

But how much cash would be appropriate?

“Ideally, 10 percent of the service cost,” says Shetty.

Celebrity stylist and owner of the Mad O Wot chain of salons Sapna Bhavnani says 90 percent of their customers tip, with the average amount being a whopping Rs 500.

At the restaurant and bar

Restaurateurs say that the Mumbai customer usually doesn’t tip if service charge is included in the bill.

This amount is divided among the entire staff from the dishwasher to the manager, following a points system in proportion with their job. If you tip more than the service charge -- and you should, says a frequent fine diner -- a similar distribution pattern is followed.

He explains, “Tipping the manager, doorman and valet isn’t just about you being generous. It’s about not waiting for a table or ensuring a parking spot the next time around.”

At the bar, it's about more than mixing a mean drink, tenders tell us.

Devang Devsaria, supervisor at The Four Seasons’ swish Aer bar says, “Customers tip over and above the service charge if we strike a good rapport with them. Also, international guests tend to pay an extra 10 percent.”

Lobo Arvin, who worked in Dubai for eight years and is presently bar supervisor at Bonobo, drinks to that.

"Individual tips -- around 10 percent is fair -- and makes for a great additional income.”

It probably helps that the potent cocktail they just built you encourages generosity.

At your doorstep

Delivery boys are usually at the bottom of the food chain, battling a host of road blocks (quite literally) to get that steaming box of Thai curry to your doorstep.

Their salaries are skinny, so make sure your tips are meaty, advises Aditi Talreja, founder of Deliverychef.in, an online food delivery portal that works with a network of 250 restaurants in the city.

“In India, most people round up the bill amount and let the delivery boy keep the change. In my opinion, a just tip would be between 10 and 20 percent,” she says.

At the spa

While at city spas, the average tip falls between 10 and 15 percent, additional cash depends entirely on satisfaction.

Swadeep Patil, founder of a new spa on wheels called Citybliss, says they’ve seen a huge range of tips since they started a few months ago.

“One customer paid a hefty Rs 1,000 on a Rs 2,100 service,” he says.

Now don’t let that jasmine oil go to your head.

At home

Diwali may be the festival of lights, but it’s also about celebrating the fact that you have such a huge entourage; a posse of postmen and electricians, milkmen and security guards file up outside your door for Diwali backsheesh, many of who you’ve never seen before.

With employees who serve you directly (maids, cooks, chauffeurs) the norm is to dole out one month’s salary as a bonus. With others the tip can range from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000  while some supplement cash with a new shirt or sari.

On the road

Ask someone in this city to tip a cabbie or autorickshaw wallah and you’ll probably get an indignant reaction.

“Most meters are rigged so it’s like you’re tipping them anyway,” is the reaction we got.

Honk twice if you agree.