Freelancers serving the service industry including delivery riders and the likes of the attendants at the fuel stations could previously earn up to Dh1,500 monthly from tips even though it is not compulsory in the UAE.
Nonetheless, due to the shift to undertaking accounts in a cashless manner, this figure has become as low as Dh 200 a month for some employees.
An example here is a delivery rider who has been working in UAE for the last 5 years and he was able to notice the changes in payment systems and customer treatment.
“Nowadays, it is rare to study the customer who paid with cash; this is done with a card and sometimes, the customer could drop the order at the door, which means that I do not even come across the customers… As such, interactions with customers have reduced as well,” he told the media.
‘During the first few years one can earn a decent sum through tipping, but now it is very infrequent,’ revealed the worker.
The driver also added that tourists could tip because in most cases they carry with them the small change of money.
Tipping in the UAE follows no cultural etiquette and thus, there is no visible perfect figure that is expected to be offered to service providers. Some people round off the bill and others pay proactively, 10 to 15 percent.
Even with the adaptation to digital payments, there are residents who go the extra step and practice tipping. Mohammed Bashar, a Nigerian expat in the food and beverage industry is aware of tip culture for workers and usually carries cash around with him.
”I always ensure that I have cash on me always, tips really go a long way in helping riders and waiters,” he added.
According to Nendra Om Kar, the Founder, and Manager of Indian Delights, tipped have been made easier by applications since they are incorporated in the billing system and not cash since customers cannot produce exact change.
He also said that, card swiping machines have a tipping system installed in them, this he said is communicated to the customers who patronize the restaurants.
He fully understood this, however, the time consumer may forget to tip the waiter at the restaurant and only remember as he/she is using the credit card.
In this respect, Kar proposed one possible solution: it is with the help of business entities that tipping could be controlled, by providing clear tipping prompts in payment systems.
Moreover, the business can include information about tipping on the menu or somewhere inside the restaurant as a sort of a suggestion to tip the waiter.
Rohan, a waiter at Indian Delights restaurant, noted: “If there is a decrease, it may be because machines get the customer to tip immediately after paying the bill which is different from the change they get after paying their bills they offer the change as a tip. Earlier the set aside portion that a customer would get as change after paying their bills was usually tipped to the waiter or waitress,” he elaborated.
This was occasioned by a recent technical hitch that saw many individuals in the UAE preferring to go back to using cash for their every day transactions.
The major technology wipe out that took place in the global markets at the end of the business on Friday the 19th of July was wakeup call for not just governments and companies but people as well.
Everyone who was out shopping, refueling, or attending to their various needs could not do so because the power outages affected different aspects.
Some of the residents remarked that the lesson, which was learnt from the occurrence, was the need to always carry cash around.