So, off we set.

Now, perhaps I should make clear that bars here are not necessarily the equivalent of Pubs and Bars elsewhere.  Usually they are not just “watering holes” where people go to drink alcohol, although such bars do exist.  Most of them also serve food and so probably equate to “licensed” cafés.

We arrived and the place was reasonably quiet.  When I say that it was quiet I mean that most of the tables were unoccupied.  There was a party of five or six sitting at a table around the corner, a couple of pairs finishing their meal at two more tables and the Manager seemed to have his laptop open on another, (apparently they offer free wireless internet access – I must remember that!)  However, the TV’swere all working, (there were three of them), showing Fashion TV, with the volume turned up and, although not at maximum, it was enough to be distracting and impede conversation.  I don’t think anyone was actually watching them, but I do have to admit that my eyes kept wandering to the screens … the broadcast was in English and so provided yet another distraction.

Later they turned the volume down, and I thought, “Great,” but then I realized that they only did so in order to start the music center … which was turned up even louder.  Please don’t misunderstand me, I don’t mind music … background music.  I have come to a bar/café/restaurant to have lunch and a chat … not to a disco or night club.

As it happens the place was well fitted out.  The decoration was smart, bright, tasteful and, being new, clean and sparkling.  The furniture was comfortable, although I found either the chairs a little too low for the table – or the table a little too high for the seats … I think it was probably the former.

The clientele were a little younger than I would normally feel comfortable with … but not very young, underage drinkers or anything like that.  Please don’t misunderstand me, but I normally feel more comfortable in places where the clientele are a little older, and (although everyone was quiet and the model of decorum), perhaps more subdued.

I also got the impression that they all knew each other.  Possibly friends of the owners or the staff.

Despite these little drawbacks, I was quite impressed and thought that maybe this would make a reasonable alternative to the place where I would normally go in an evening.

We ordered some lunch a pot of tea and a beer.  I’ll be honest, the beer was for me.  The prices weren’t bad, although perhaps a little more expensive than an ordinary café, but the owners have to recoup their investment, (which must have been fairly considerable), and they were going for a little more “up market” crowd than the normal café.   In the bottom corner of each page was a note: “Service Charge 10%”

That’s when the trouble started … well, not trouble exactly, but where I began to have doubts.  The waitress, (yes “the waitress”, there was only one), was pleasant enough, attentive and polite.  She was obviously overworked though – overworked? … there were only four tables occupied!  Well, maybe it was the kitchen that overworked.  Whatever, the service was very slow.  The beer came quite quickly, when compared to the time it took to deliver the pot of tea … I couldn’t help musing over the fact that if it had been the other way around, the tea might well have gone cold whilst we were waiting for the beer.

The meals eventually arrived but were on plates of different styles as if they didn’t have a complete set, but I put that down to the fact that we ordered off different parts of the menu.  The food wasn’t bad – but I am not sure that you can spoil an all-day breakfast.

When we finished our meal the waitress asked if I wanted a repeat of the beer.  I said “No, thank you,” and asked for the bill.

Time passed.  Time passed.  The waitress went to the bar and seemed to be busy calculating the bill, but didn’t bring it.  We asked again, and she opened her notebook and started calculating again.  OK.  Maybe she hadn’t heard, or understood, me when I asked the first time.  The music was playing quite loud and my accent can be difficult when you encounter it for the first time.

She brought us the bill and I looked at it.  Everything seemed in order … except for one thing.  The items were all listed … yes, that’s what we had ordered, and as far as I could tell the prices were correct.  At the bottom, however, there was a note: “Service charge 15%”

Hang on … the menu said 10%.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  My concern wasn’t the money.  The difference was only something like 25 som – about 50 cents, whether you are talking Euro or US dollars.  And, remember that the service charge is basically the wages of the staff – in some places, if there are no customers, then the staff don’t get paid … there was no “service charge” received, so there is no salary to be paid!

It wasn’t even the fact that I didn’t think we had received particularly good service.

It was the principle of the matter – it’s either 10% or it’s 15%.  Normally, I don’t mind paying 15%, that’s pretty standard here and some places even charge 20%  – and put additional charges on the bill if there is live music … or … or …

Anyway, I mentioned this to her when she came to collect the money.  I wasn’t rude – or, at least I don’t think I was … I just said “The menu says 10%.”  Her answer was that all the bills had 15% printed on them.  “So what?” I thought, but simply said  “… but all the menus have 10% printed on them.”

She wasn’t looking for an argument – and neither was I.  I was ready to leave.  However, she said, “Wait here, I’ll get the manager,” and disappeared into what I presume was the kitchen.  She reappeared, alone, and stood at the bar writing something.  I guessed that she was recalculating the bill, so went up to see her.  Sure enough that was what she was doing.

I pointed out that it wasn’t the 25 some that worried me – just the formality that the menu and the bills did not tally.  It could lead to trouble for them and they ought to sort that out.

I turned around and the two of us left.

I hadn’t got round to the fact that I made the total – with 15% – 506 som, not 510.  That’s another little annoyance that you sometimes meet here, some places can’t be bothered with the odd som and round up the bill.

Having said that, you’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned the name of the bar.  That’s deliberate – I think it would be unfair of me to do so.  Hey, even if I did feel that the experience was less than satisfactory, they are new and it was the first time I had been there … it may have been a one off … they may learn from the experience and improve.

This isn’t the first time I have had a problem with the service charge – which is a practice that I don’t agree with anyway – and it probably won’t be the last.  (Maybe, I’ll write about some of the other instances on another occasion.)

Anyway, It wasn’t that bad an experience that I wouldn’t go back and give it a second chance … in fact I’ve arranged to do so, (at least one more time), and then I’ll decide if it’s for me or not.

One of the most difficult questions we get asked by clients is about tipping.  Should they give a tip? And, if so, how much?

Now, back in Britain, when I was growing up we never had a system of service charges imposed on the bill.   In a restaurant, the price on the menu was what you paid.  If you felt that you had received good service then you left a tip.  Often, people would just round up the bill and not expect any change. Then a few places started to include a service charge – a practice adopted from the States or Europe – I am not sure which.  Usually the service charge was 10%, but I have known a few places where it was 15% or even 20%.

Here, during the Soviet period, it was, apparently, not usual to ‘tip’ people like waiters and waitresses.  The official attitude was that tipping was a “capitalist” practice and it was frowned upon …  the salary was thought of as the reward for doing the job and tips were not necessary.  Some people even took the suggestion as not only unnecessary – but even as an insult.  Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, attitudes have changed and nearly everyone likes to receive a gratuity.

We, for example, don’t include a “service charge” at either the Silk Road Lodge or our Guesthouse in Naryn.  In our opinion, whether or not to give someone a “tip” or “gratuity” is a personal decision taken on the basis of wanting to reward someone for particular or exceptional service.

We actually ask clients NOT to put a tip onto the bill when charging to their room or paying by credit card, a common practice in the West.  We prefer people to give the “tip” to the person concerned because:

• it personalizes the gratuity (identifies both the “giver” and the “receiver”;
• identifies it with particular or exceptional service, thereby rewarding and encouraging further good service, (I remember a story about a diner who felt particularly unhappy about the service he had received at one restaurant and so he paid the bill and left without leaving a tip.  He hadn’t got far down the street when the waitress came running after him and said: “You forgot the tip,” to which he replied, “No I didn’t.  I didn’t leave because I didn’t think the service warranted it,” then turned around and walked away leaving the flabbergasted waitress standing, no doubt cursing him under her breath, but hopefully contemplating what needed to be done to improve the level of service so that it did warrant a tip.); and, just as important,
• it means that the person concerned receives the full value of the gratuity (If it is paid to us (e.g. by being charged to the room) then it is counted as our income and tax has to be deducted … VAT, retail tax, profits tax, income tax, social security contributions and others … so that less is available to be distributed).

Unlike the situation in America – where there are guidelines on how much to give when “tipping”, issued by organizations such as the American Society of Travel Agents, there are no “Tips on Tipping” for the Kyrgyz Republic.  Almost any sum will be appreciated – but please remember that the salary levels in the country are generally low, much lower than they are in the West.  For example, a teacher or a doctor may receive as little as 1000 som a month, (i.e. about USD25).  Indeed, a tour guide may well be a teacher working in their summer holidays … in order to supplement their income.

It is not necessary to tip Taxi drivers, although many people round up the fare such as 80 som and hand over a 100 som note.

Many hotels and restaurants, however, will add a Service Charge to the bill.  This can range from 5% to 20% – always check the menu!  If there is a service charge – then there is no need to leave an additional tip.

Now, there are many definitions for the term “service charge” and a number of heated opinions about when and where such charges are justifiable. A standard definition of a service charge is: “a fee for some service rendered that is in addition to fees already paid for that service”.

One type of service charge, in particular, that has many people confused is when a restaurant adds a set percentage of the bill as a service fee.  This is because, in the West, this is usually in lieu of a tip. A fee, of course, is not a tip and belongs to the restaurant owner and not to the waiter or waitress. This means the owner can distribute the fee in any manner he sees fit, or can keep all of it.  The Inland Revenue in both the US and Britain have investigated a number of catering establishments on just this issue and some have faced hefty supplementary tax bills as a result.

Here, the price on the menu is for the goods that you are buying – the food that you eat, and the overheads such as the cost crockery and cutlery, the energy used to cook the meal, the surroundings, (decoration, etc.).  It does not include an element for the waiter/waitress service.  Hence, the service charge in a café or restaurant is not in lieu of a tip.  It actually constitutes the fund from which the wages of the staff are paid.  There may be a formula for dividing it between the different members of staff – so much for the waiters, so much for the cooks and dishwasher, so much for the barman, and so on.  Perhaps more controversial, in my humble opinion, is the practice that several establishments operate whereby if there are no clients then the staff don’t get paid – even if they have been at their place of work for the whole shift.  The logic is simple: No clients, means no service charge, means no salary fund, means no salary.