Mexican Tipping Protocol, Mexican Gratuities, & Mexican Culture

Tipping in Mexico is also similar to the United States. In Mexico a tip is known as una propina in Spanish. It is usually from 10 to 15%.

Restaurants
Meals have a 10% to 15% tip (this includes fast food deliveries). This tip is usually left by most people in restaurants, although it is not so common in street restaurants or stands, where the tenders usually have a can or box where people deposit coins.

Bars
In Mexican bars and night clubs it is often seen that they charge directly into the bill the 15% of the total amount (taxes included) which is illegal in most cases because of the imposition of the tip and because they calculate the 15% with taxes included.

In large groups, or in night clubs the barmen expect the customers to deposit their tip in a cup left on the table before serving the drinks. This way, the service they give is in function with the tip they received.

Viene vienes ("Car guards")
It is also customary to give a tip to the person who sometimes guard the car as if they were valet parking; in Mexico these people are often called "viene viene" (literally: "comes, comes") and usually people give them from 3 to 20 Mexican pesos depending on the zone, although viene vienes sometimes ask for bigger sums of money when the car is left close to a night life area.

Retail stores (supermarkets)
In medium and large retail stores such as Wal-Mart there are uniformed helpers, usually children or the elderly, who bag the products just after the clerk has scanned them. This role is called cerillo (Spanish for "match"). It is common for these helpers to not have a base salary, so all the money earned is from the tips people give them. Most customers give from 2 to 5 Mexican pesos depending on the quantity of products. Cerillos also put the bags in the cart and if the load is large they can even help bringing it to the car and unloading the bags; in these cases they normally receive more than 15 pesos.

Others
Tipping is not expected in cabs or buses, except when it is a tour. In some populated Mexican restaurants wandering musicians enter, play, and expect the customers to pay something, although this is voluntary. In filling stations, the workers usually get from 2 to 5 pesos for every gasoline load. In stadiums people give a small tip to the person that shows the place where they should sit. Tips are also given to bell-boys, to barbers and people that work in similar services.