Singaporeans:Are Singaporeans rich or just showing off?

Question

I notice that alot of Singaporeans that went overseas especially Asia countries, either SG dollars is strong or they are trying to show that they are rich by tipping the local ppl unnecessary without understanding their culture and standard of living.These actions will cause your fellowmembers to pay more in future.Do u agree?

Answer 1

I agree Singaporeans are show-offs and arrogant in many cases.

I personally hate the way most Singaporeans behave out of the country and (not just once) several bad experiences.

But I disagree about the tipping part, cos in many cases we are being forced to tip or we would not receive the service or will be putting our own safety at risk. If you disagree to that,I suggest you make a trip to China and especially ShenZhen.

I would have to say a lot of the Singaporeans are ignorant that the fact about tipping is being done in appreciation of the service received. They have abused the system to achieve what they want. That is called "Bribery", whether it's in small amount or big.

To many men here who have been to the Night Clubs,they have also been tipping generously to the Hostesses in the clubs. That would definitely fit into your topic about showing off. But then again,that's not tipping as well. It's called "Sales Transaction".

In conclusion,I noticed that the ones who tipped the most are in fact the Caucasians and not the Asians, in other parts of Asia when travelling. Perhaps you should talk to them to lower their "fees" first.

I am a Singaporean by the way.

Cheers!

Answer 2

I beg to differ. Personally, I think that most people who are able to travel out are relatively well to do. They may not be rich, but earn and save just enough for that trip to another country in southeast Asia. Tipping is a way of helping the people in a less well off country. Since Singaporeans have a stronger economy and higher standard of living than the other countries in southeast Asia, they may feel that by tipping, they are helping the locals there. It's their way to help, and I'm sure the person who has been tipped won't be angry. After all, if one has provided great service and receives recognition for it, why not? Recently, I've been to Pnomh Pehn. Anyone who has been to Cambodia will be able to articulate how the situation is like - lots of beggars on the streets, many of them are children. Wages are low and people find it hard to get by, no thanks to a corrupted government. We had a taxi driver who doubled up as the tour guide for a day, and at the end of the day, we felt that he had been really helpful and taught us a lot about the country and the way Cambodians live. He shared with us his aspirations, and we took away part of the Khmer spirit. For that, we decided to give him just couple US dollars more to show our appreciation. He was very happy, and so were we.
Don't treat tipping as an act of showing off. If you are unwilling to tip, that's fine, just don't find excuses and blame those who tip.

Answer 3

Singaporeans survive in a practical society. In Singapore, people brought up in a social norm that shows money equates to power and respect. From young, they are taught that a lot of things can be done or bought with money. Thus, they try to gain respect by flaunting their wealth...not only locally but overseas.

Singaporeans are also generally quite generous. So when overseas, they try to show their appreciation by tipping.

In a self-centered point of view, these Singaporeans do not care about "fellow members to pay more in the future" as they most likely will only visit these countries once...the most important thing is that they gain the respect now....

Cheers...

Answer 4

I am with Geogre C.I also want to highlight,when I was a retail salesman during the 90s the tourists esp from Japan or America
We love to deal with them because they are willing to spend at that time,cause our dollars was not so strong at that time.Remember Newton Circus Hawker Centre at one occasion the food there was very expensive even we Singaporeans complains.Why was it so,because Tourists overpaid them,they are so used to it even Singaporeans they also ripped.But now Tourists coming to Singapore , they dont spend the way like before,they are smarter now,they know what price they are supposed to pay.Why?Now they dont overpay us?Singaporeans wake up!! Dont act as if you are very rich?
Some , they like to compare Singapore standard.(Eg A meal of 3 person maybe let say RM 22,most of them will so "CHEAP AR" in Singapore is about.............worth it!

Answer 5

You have noticed. So may I know which countries Singaporeans have tipped unnecessarily and have offended other people's culture and standard of living?

Tipping is necessary to show your appreciation unless stated in the ocassion that it is not allowed. As a thumb of rules, tip when you are being served exclusively. Like, the porter who helps you to carry many luggages into your hotel room, in restaurants where you are fed with excellent food and services.

Singaporeans are not showing off. If going by your standard,
Americans who give big tips are big show-offs too.

Answer 6

I dont think so, isn't tipping a way to show appreciation? but if we dont tip we will be called selfish, and who would not want to be tip? And not all singaporean will want to show off when come to $ but maybe the richer ones so actually singaporean are not what you think and as to why we tip, cause when we go travelling, often in tour guides will ask us to tip and so thats why when we travel we will always tend to tip and since we are not from that country, how do we understanding their culture and standard of living?

Answer 7

Is not showing off, just because we (Singaporeans) are richer than the people over there. As a Singaporean, if I am not rich, why should I travel out to spend ? I'll must well stay and save for my rainy days. In the eyes of other Asian countries, Singapore is always branded as a rich country. Thus, they must be rich, in order to make the travel, agree ?

Answer 8

Like you said, maybe they are just ignorant of the local culture and think it's the norm to tip people over there. Sometimes it may be better to tip the people than to have the local people think: hmm, Singaporeans are so stingy...

Yes, tipping too much can raise expectations of the service providers in future, as they will tend to have an expectation of the amount that Singaporeans tip.

Answer 9

ok... based on our way of life and from my own opinion, i firstly feel that tipping a person is showned in a way that we appreciate what he/she has done for us. most of the time, like at the hotels where the bellboy had done a good job and all. we basically have this in Singapore where the Europeans do the same thing for us. like in hotels we get tipped for a good job done. furthermore, all of us here are making a living. so sometimes customers do tip the taxi drivers, like say sometimes its only a dollar, not like we cannot live without that one dollar, it could help make the taxi driver feel that, oh its not a bad job after all. this is harmony i suppose... we are not showing off at all, and we are just trying to be nice.
cheers

Answer 10

neither.

we show appreciation by tipping. it might not be necessarily because we are unaware of the local culture. one reason is possibly we are usually more relaxed while overseas so we tend to more lax with $$. or we could be hoping for some good service so we use tipping.

i do agree to a certain extent that it might raise future expectations but everyone has a right to the amount we want to tip...lol