Tipping in Mexico

It's complicated (but not that complicated)

A common complaint heard from Mexican nationals about U.S. and Canadian tourists and residents is that they tip too much. Foreigners tipping too much creates a couple of problems for Mexican nationals:

• They potentially have to re-adjust and tip at the higher rate, which creates an unwarranted financial burden.

• Foreigners end up getting preferential treatment in places where tipping is customary; for example, staff at a restaurant might give better tables and service to foreigners, knowing that they can expect a better tip from them.

And in many industries, workers who receive tips rely on those tips to make a living wage. And while the minimum wage in Mexico has been increasing fairly regularly over the past few years (to the chagrin of many would-be immigrants from the U.S. and Canada - I'll explain why that is in a future article), it doesn't represent a living wage, really - not nearly enough for a head-of-household in most parts of Mexico.

So it is important to understand the tip culture in Mexico, to tip when tipping is customary, but to do so with an understanding of the current economics in tipping. Here, then, are some general guidelines for tipping: in what contexts should one tip, and how much.

Restaurants

Tipping the wait staff in restaurants is the most common tipping experience for most of us. We are used to tipping at restaurants in the U.S., Canada, and really most places in the world. Mexico is no exception. In the U.S., tipping 15% for good service, 20% for excellent service has long been a culturally agreed-upon standard. People from the U.S. kind of have 15% in their muscle memory when determining the tip amount when the check comes. This muscle memory doesn't diminish when traveling - we take that notion of 15% with us. In Mexico, however, in a sit-down restaurant with wait staff, 10% is the more common tip percentage for good service, 15% for really excellent service.

In very touristy areas where visitors from the U.S. have been throwing around 15% tips for years, new expectations may have arisen in response to the U.S. model for tipping. Often in these environments, restaurant workers will expect a minimum of 15%; indeed, tipping less than 15% may result in your waiter looking at you in a curious way - wondering what they did to deserve a lower than expected tip amount. This type of tip shaming phenomena is not uncommon in touristy areas. How you respond to it is up to you and your comfort level with these types of interactions. Personally, if I feel like I've tipped the appropriate amount for the context and the service, I'm good with that and I move on. I feel like I know enough about tipping culture in Mexico not to fall victim to tip shaming. Nor do I want to contribute to tip inflation, thus contributing to those previously mentioned problems for Mexican nationals.

Watch out for "tip included", or propina incluida

Although it is illegal to do so, some restaurants will tack on a tip to your bill. If they do this and you are ok with it, there is no need to tip any more. If you are not ok with it, you are completely within your rights to ask them to remove the gratuity from your bill, in which case you should then tip the appropriate amount, as mentioned above. What you probably shouldn't do is "punish" establishments that automatically add a gratuity to your bill by asking them to remove it and then not tipping. You are tipping the wait staff, and it isn't their fault that the establishment chooses to add a tip to their bills. Don't sweat the small stuff - tip the wait staff appropriately.

In more casual eating establishments - street carts, coffee shops, hole-in-the-walls, and the like - you'll often find on the cart or the counter a jar labeled propinas. This is the tip jar. Tip for your food or beverage in these contexts as well, anywhere from 5% to 8% is customary.

Taxis

Tipping taxi drivers in Mexico isn't customary or necessary. If you have a lot of bags that the driver is helping you with, or if the driver gives you a bunch of useful local information, you might want to tip 15 or 20 pesos.

Tipping drivers for ride hailing apps like Uber or Didi or inDrive is ok. I usually tip these drivers somewhere between 5 and 10 percent in the app (or in cash if I am using inDrive and paying in cash).

Grocery Stores

In large supermarkets, your groceries will be bagged by either a very young person, or an elderly person. These grocery baggers, as I wrote about previously in my article on buying groceries in Mexico, receive no salary; they work exclusively on tips. Please do tip them - 5 pesos per bag is a good standard.

Hotel and Resort Staff

In hotels and resorts, tipping people who handle your bags is customary. 15 to 20 pesos should suffice for small loads. If a porter is bringing a truckload of suitcases to your room, 40 or 50 pesos might be more appropriate.

Tipping housekeepers is also expected. Housekeepers make very little in wages - try to tip around 20 pesos per night. Leave a note with the tip, so that they know that the money is intended for them.

Gas Station Attendants

Gas stations in Mexico are full service. Your gas will be pumped by the attendant, your windows will usually be washed, your oil level might be checked. It is customary to tip the attendant who is performing this service - again, 15 to 20 pesos should suffice. Watch out for scams at gas stations though (I'll write more about common scams in a future article) - if you feel like you've been cheated at the pump, don't tip 🙂.

Roadside Performers and Window Washers

If you are driving in Mexico, you will no doubt notice a few things going on when you are stopped in traffic or at a light: people will come around wanting to quickly wash your windows, and performers will juggle or balance precariously on sticks or unicycles, often while juggling. You can wave off window washers if you don't want your windows washed. However, if you do get your windows washed, you need to pay for that service - loose change, a few pesos is fine.

The street performers will walk down the line of stopped cars when they complete their performance - tipping in this context is entirely up to you. You didn't request the performance, so there is no guilt in not tipping. However, if you enjoyed it, offering the performer a few pesos is a nice gesture.

Restroom Attendants

Restroom attendants are common in public restrooms throughout Mexico. So is the practice of paying to use a public toilet. Attendants at these public restrooms collect whatever fee is required to use the restroom (usually around 5-10 pesos), and they keep the restrooms clean(ish). When you pay the fee, the attendant will typically hand you a small amount of toilet paper (rarely is there toilet paper in the stalls of public restrooms; pro tip: when you are out and about in Mexico, carry some tissues in your pocket or backpack, they can be life savers when you need to use a public restroom). I usually give a few pesos more than the fee.

In more upscale bars, restaurants and hotels, you may find attendants in the restrooms whose job it is to keep the restroom clean and stocked, and sometimes to hand out hand towels when you finish washing your hands. These attendants, like grocery baggers, are working solely for tips. I will usually tip them 5 to 10 pesos. Note: if you use a any public restroom where there is no charge for its use, but there is an attendant on site, that attendant similarly is working solely for tips, and thus should be tipped as above.

Final Tip

The above is by no means a comprehensive list of contexts in which tipping is customary: other examples include: tour guides, fishing and tour boat staff, performers in town squares, street musicians, etc. These are more situationally dependent - tip at your discretion, but understand that these are customary tipping environments.

I don't consider myself a tipping expert by any means - really, who is a tipping expert? It all seems somewhat personal and discretionary and subjective, it is hard to nail down any hard and fast rules. So if any of the advice above seems way out of line, please feel free to let me know in the comments!