Answers: A, C & D

Bargaining

In the souks, bargaining is part of the shopping process. You will be expected to try for a better price for everything except restaurant meals. Here are some tips for bargaining:

• Don't show special interest right away in the item you wish to purchase.
• Browse around.
• Ask the price.
• Offer half.
• Continue negotiating with the merchant until you reach a figure with which you are both comfortable.
• Expect to reach a discount of about one third.
• Never bargain for something you do not really wish to buy.

Tipping

As in many North African countries, Morocco has a culture of baksheesh, the small tips given to the people who assist with cultural experiences, queuing, guides, and other activities, whether requested or not. This can take the form of tipping for genuine help, or scams in tourist areas as the unscrupulous force help on visitors and then demand a payment.

Some guidelines on tipping in Morocco include:

• At a restaurant, if the service is not included in the bill, leave ten percent as a tip. In addition, it is customary to leave a few coins on the table, if the service has been good.
• Tip porters for each bag.
• Museum guides, parking lot attendants, and gas station attendants should be tipped.
• Tip ushers at cinemas.
• Give hairdressers extra dirhams as a tip.
• Leave maids in hotels a tip.
• If you use an official guide while sightseeing, they should receive a tip for a few hours' service.
• Tip taxi drivers who collect you at the airport, but do not tip other taxi drivers. Some drivers, aware of international norms, however, will ask for a tip.

Excerpted from the Living Abroad report on Morocco/Social Customs/Tipping

Written by Michael Cadden, SGMS-T, VP International Operations