A driver refused my gratuity -- what's up with that?

People say tipping isn’t Taiwan’s culture.
My tour guide also said that. But he did ask us about the gratuities, and it was totally up to us.
I did not have much cash so I gave him and the driver $200.
However, he later returned $200 to me as he said he would pay for my taxi.
Please advise me if he was ‘mad’ of my tipping amount. Please just comment what you really think.

FYI *We didn’t have any issues during the trip. We discussed a lot.
**The tour was like $20,000.

NT$200 tip for a NT$20,000 tour?

If it’s U$200 for NT$20,000, you’re confusing a lot of readers.

Was the NT$20,000 (I’ll presume NT$) for a whole tour that was driven personally by just 1 taxi driver?

If all your numbers above are in NT$, then that NT$200 was kind of insult (1% of the NT$20,000, don’t you think?

Do you tip 1% elsewhere?

It’s the polite fight culture. U lost.

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Yes it is in NT$.
I really think that I should tip 10% or something like that but I only had $300 cash at that moment so…
I felt bad right now.

Oh well,
Go out to a bar and watch the 2 WC games tonight. One’s starting in like 2 minutes.

You can always put more money in a red envelope and mail it to the tour guide (in care of his office) with a short note of thanks. That way, you had the last say in tipping him.

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i agree

If this is what you are worrying about I congratulate you on having no actual problems to focus on. Lucky bastard.

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Tipping happens to be racist too🤔

[Racist History of Tipping]
(https://youtu.be/fRWALpbS1Po)

I don’t think he was mad. The culture here seems for most people not to tip at all, but if a tip is going to be given it goes to the driver. I think he appreciated the offer and tried to do you a solid.

*source, my sister in law is a tour guide who I have been on tours abroad with who I noted would tip the driver and not the tour guide.

I often tip. It confuses the crap out of them. A hundred NT to the pizza delivery guy and while you tight boys are waiting for your pizza on a Friday night I’ve already finished mine.

the tip for the driver and the tour guide is actually seperated. It seems like they only decided to return the tip to me. I think it was because my tip was too low which might mean an insult…

you mean you made your own pizza?
hmm

I am capable of that, but I usually don’t.

I used to view tip the same way the video said but as time goes by, I have started to tip like other “normal” people.
I don’t know what’s wrong with U.S. Because of the tip, waiters, waitresses, bartenders,… are viewed as less attractive jobs in life.

wait so what do you mean by “A hundred NT to the pizza delivery guy and while you tight boys are waiting for your pizza on a Friday night I’ve already finished mine” ??

Because I tip I feel that my pizzas are delivered faster. Might be true, might not.

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Normally, there is an established «tip» for the driver and tour guide when in group trips. Someone local should have informed atoga or it would have been written in the information given - probably in Chinese.

Yep 200 was really bad, from any angle.

I tip taxi drivers a bit more, like keep the change, if they let me on with my pets. It is their right to say no and I appreciate if they choose yes.

Most Taiwanese or Chinese won’t take tip money cause they think it’s insulting. They work for the money, not beg for the money.

It’s the culture thing, tipping usually works in strip bars, in Taiwan, there’s no strip bars, only special KTV’s with naked girls.

I’ve never had anyone in Taiwan decline a tip.

yep.
Taxi drivers quite happy for the extra money, even if NT$5