The Itty Bitty Guide to Tipping

The Itty Bitty Guide to Tipping is perfect and thoroughly thought through. It is the perfect-sized book to slip into your luggage or even purse or coat pocket. (In fact, I just leave it in my everyday carry bag so I'll always have it when I travel.) It is concise and specific and tells you *exactly* what to do in each tipping situation you might encounter.

"The Itty Bitty Guide to Tipping " is a fairly comprehensive reference for gratuity customs in the United States. If you've ever wondered when a tip is expected or worried that you have embarrassed yourself by leaving too much or too little, the information in this little book will put your mind at ease. Following a brief Introduction and "History of Tipping", the tipping advice is divided into 9 chapters, each for a different situation in which you will be expected to tip: Dining Out, Transportation, Lodging, Personal Care, House Calls, Weddings & Other Special Events, Casinos & Cruise Ships, Going Abroad, and Off the Beaten Path (which discusses tips for more exotic service providers, such as tattoo artists and lap dancers). Each chapter begins by describing the topic and "the players", those service persons whom you will encounter and possibly need to tip. This is followed by an explanation of the job each service provider does for you, accompanied by the appropriate tip. At the end of each chapter, there is a "tipping chart", which allows you to see whom and how much to tip at a glance. Also included throughout the book are bits of tipping trivia, advice on when not to tip, and ideas for how to plan and organize your tipping expenses. The "Going Abroad" chapter differs from the others in that it is organized by continent, and then by country, and its tipping guidelines are more general in nature. There are tip tables in the back of the book for calculating 15 and 20 per cent gratuities. In consulting several books and web sites for guidance, I've noticed that tipping is often subjective. Even "experts" don't always agree on what is appropriate. But, all in all, "The Itty Bitty Guide to Tipping" is a useful, well-organized book. It's only 3 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches in size and will easily fit in a briefcase, the corner of a suitcase, or even a handbag. There is one issue, however, that may or may not bother you: The type in this book is dark green on a white background. The introductory pages to each chapter are written in white on a green background. Some of the sidebar-type information is even green on green. The green print is dark and easy to read when against a white background, which it is for most of the book. But if you have trouble reading all colored print, it could be a problem.