Is it expected to leave a tip at bars or restaurants? If so, is there a specific percentage?

In a bar, I usually round it up to the next franc (if the bill is 5.70, I leave 6). It gets trickier at restaurants: I tend to leave 10% of the bill, but my Swiss husband leaves less. I guess it depends on the person, circumstances and mood . Lol, I guess that wasn't very helpful.

Tips in Switzerland are included in the bill in restaurants, this has been the case for many years now. This money is shared out amongst all the staff - that's the idea. We seem to have forgotten the 'Service Inbegriffen' law. Any tip you give as an addition is simply, or is supposed to be, an addition to the basic tip as an acknowledgement of something special.

Agreed. If the service isn't good, I just don't leave anything. But I must admit it has to be appallingly bad for me not to leave a tip.

This seems to be a problem for many Americans of my acquaintance, and not just in Switzerland. The answer is quite simple - it's not 'de rigeur' to leave a tip at all. If you do, then it's seen as a specific thank you to the serving staff, and can be any amount you like. Usually rounding up is the simplest, so, for example, if a restaurant bill is chf95, and the service has been OK, I'd often just leave a chf100 note; for a bill of 99 I might add a coin or two from my pocket, or if it's been particularly good perhaps another ten franc note.

The key point to remember is this - if you leave nothing, you'll still be welcomed back tomorrow, and still receive the same level of service.

Thank you all for your very useful advice!

Agree with J.Marple. Round up the drinks bill and around 10% at restaurants. If the service is really tedious, then I'll not add a cent. On the other hand, if the staff go out of their way to be attentive, then I'll add more. And if she's really cute, then ....

You refuse to pay the bill and demand to speak to the manager (the quickest way to ensure you xxxx her good).

You seem to have got this inside out a bit. Service charge may be what you are talking about as being included. I know no-where that it is shared out between the staff who work for hourly wage/salary, albeit paid monthly.

Tipping is an extra, if the service is diabolical, then give nothing otherwise suggest you give something like 7 to 10% in Switzerland. If you choose never to tip, perhaps you should use self service.
It is still common for waiters to share their tips with other helpers in the service & so problems occur when customers do not tip for the waiter.
Perhaps one should take into account the un-social hours and split shifts the staff work for without other compensation unlike some other industries

Service charge is not added to the bill. This means that the staff get what ever schitt hourly wage that the owner pays, or a little extra if the guests leave them something. It used to be that service staff got a percentage of what they sold but this is no longer the case and hasn't been for years.

If you do pay a service charge this is by no means a guarantee that the staff get it.

Where I work (in a bar that occasionally serves food) almost every customer rounds the bill up by the nearest half franc/franc, and more if its a large group. So for every table, we receive between 50 rappen and 3 francs tip, to be shared between the staff.

I think this is a great way to tip- the customer doesn't miss a franc or two, but it all adds up nicely for the staff

In England I would run around like a headless chicken for some very demanding customers, only to be greeted by their outstretched hand waiting for thier 10p change.....

Another tip for the tips:
It is good practice in Switzerland to actually hand over the tip directly to the waiter when you pay, which is different from other countries like France where you would only leave it behind on the table after having paid.

I tend to be "too American" and I probably overtip by Swiss standards and have been yelled at for it.

My friends usually tip up to the next franc or two.

One thing I still do is "overtip" (by Swiss standards) the waitress in my "local" restaurant, and this for two reasons:
1. she is really, really good at her job
2. i go there often.

I had a Summer holiday Job as a Waiter back in ´94.

When I counted my tips after a working day, I had gotten ca. 6% (the girls got an average of 8%) of what I had sold for on that particular day. If a bill is chf 23, i give them 25, if it is 24, I give them chf 20+5+2 or chf 20+2+2+2 or whatever i have available so that its in the area of 5-10%, but i avoid ending up giving chf 25.20 or other stupid amounts

Doc.

There are already two very long threads on tipping and tipping in Switzerland.

You only give tips if you felt overwhelmed by the supreme service, but normally, there is ZERO tips to be given.

Until the tipping was abolished, it had to be 12,5%, but this is history now

If you in a restaurant were happy with the meal, the beverages and the service, you possibly will show your appreciation by giving some 5%, but rather as a gesture.

Just to reiterate that in restaurants (unless specified I guess) it is not always the case that there is a service charge included. My girlfriend worked in a restaurant in Fribourg and the only tips she got was what was given to her which went into a communal pot.

In the bar that I work I get some tips of around 25-30 on a good night (6-8hr shift) Usually just people rounding up but the odd time you get 2-3 francs. That said I got tipped 4 francs twice the other night from two cute albeit it young girls (women?) and an 8franc tip from an old(er) man. Very generous seeing as the beer itself was only 2 quid, a nice 400% tip

I suspect (might be wrong) that the point being made is that the staff are not paid through the service charge - they get a proper (if low) wage to live off. In plenty of countries, the wage is basically nothing and the tips/service charge are what the staff live on. So service being included in the price is not the same as the price including a set percentage that goes to serving staff.

Not that that means we shouldn't still tip for good service!

Depending on people, I know three rules practiced around me:

- no tip.
- rounding up, your banquier will tell you how much up.
- 1 CHF for a coffee/drinks and 5 CHF for a meal.