How does tipping work in Zurich?
Tipping in Zurich is genuinely optional, not the social obligation it is in North America. Switzerland's service industry pays living wages, so servers are not dependent on gratuities. The standard practice is to round up the bill when paying — if your meal comes to CHF 43, hand over CHF 45 or CHF 50 and tell the server the amount you want to give before they process the card or make change (saying "stimmt so" means "keep the change"). Ten percent is generous and marks you as someone who received exceptional service; anything beyond that is unusual. At coffee bars and casual spots, rounding up a franc or two is common but skipping it entirely draws no reaction. Card payments complicate things slightly — many terminals now prompt for a tip percentage, so you can simply select zero without awkwardness. Taxi drivers and hotel staff follow the same rounding-up convention. There is no cultural shame in paying the exact amount.
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