Most of them are students and I remember being a broke student.
One doesn’t have to tip but in the case of Pizza Person risking life and limb in this traffic because I am too lazy to haul my fat ass off of my velcro sofa to go get it myself, $50 or $100NT is IMHO an appropriate thank you.
If I’m in a nice restaurant with some poor student waiting on me I always tip. I don’t order pizza delivery but I would tip 50-100 bucks. I don’t usually tip if I happen to be eating in a place with a service charge. I don’t usually eat in places that add a service charge. I usually round out cab fares to the next nearest 100 bucks, unless the service is poor (cabbie trying to max out his fare by pretending to be lost and not understanding my directions).
Good service is worth a reward. If they try to give the money back to you, try to explain that you thought the service made your evening or meal enjoyable, and you would like to buy them a snack or something for their efforts.
I realize that it isn’t customary to tip here, but I get a kick out of giving a little bit of money away in a culture where that is probably considered a taboo thing to do.
Bad service is worth every penny in change of your hard earned dollar back to you.
I suppose here it is all about the “face” thing. Even if someone is relatively poor, they dont like someone (especially a foreigner) apparently pitying them. They like to think they are equal. I haven’t really explained that very well, but i am sure you know what i mean. If it isnt normal here, this is why they take it as an insult.
I generally don’t like the idea of paying more than the price that’s displayed or advertised. This is why I oppose “tax not included” pricing (as in the US or Japan), tipping, “hidden fees” and “extra service charges”. If you advertise $30, but it costs $35, just advertise $35, dammit. There otta be a law…
This is a great thing about Taiwan. I go to a noodle shop for a bowl of noodles, the sign says “50”, and I pay 50. I know what I’m paying for without having to whip out a calculator (50, +8.5% tax, +15% tip).
I don’t want to spread the idea of “I must get a tip out of him, and if he doesn’t tip he must be scorned” like you find in many countries. If the waitstaff are getting low wages, the solution is for the restaurant to pay them better wages. Tipping is supposed to be optional, but in the US it’s become so ingrained that it’s essentially mandatory if you ever want to go to the same establishment again. Plus, years ago standard tip in the US was 10%, but now the standard is 15%, apparently by some divine fiat.
That said, I do tip in the US, and I abide by tipping conventions in other countries. I don’t do it here, because it’s not part of the culture and I don’t want to spread the idea. The exception: cab drivers - if the fare is, say, 195, I’ll give him 200 and say “buyong zhao” (“keep the change”).
Most of them are students and I remember being a broke student.
One doesn’t have to tip but in the case of Pizza Person risking life and limb in this traffic because I am too lazy to haul my fat ass off of my velcro sofa to go get it myself, $50 or $100NT is IMHO an appropriate thank you.[/quote]
I totally agree. I’m not telling their boss (who is already paying them very little, regardless of what I give them), so it’s not as if I’m driving up the prices, or inculcating an expectation of tipping.
I disagree with ‘legislated’ tipping, but I honestly don’t see the problem with a gratuity which is purely gratuitous.
I tip the delivery person and I feel no shame. 
bobepine
I never tip in Taiwan. It’s not local custon so why should you. I did feel bad about the Pizza delivery guy on Saturday but I did not have any extra change on me. Pizza guys yes but tipping taxi drivers will make me buy a car! Most of the restaurants that I eat at have service charges so there is no point to tip. In Canada, I tip everyone but in Rome do as Romans do.