Tipping...

[windshieldbug]

who do you tip and why do they deserve it?

Cows while they're asleep. Because they're asking for it.

[Dean]

Barber?--I cut my own hair.

Pet Groomer?--Ya right... Last time (and only time) I took my dog into PetSmart it was $50 for a basic clipper buzz-cut job on my lab. Now just gonna buy her her own clippers and do it myself.

Cleaning lady?--Thats what wives are for.... (HA, forget I said that...)

Cabs--What do they make? I really dont know if they "should" be tipped or not!


By the way if anyone wants their hair cut, I will do it for $4. As long as I am permitted to do it the way I please. It only takes about 3 minutes my way!!

Dean

[Lew]

Seems like everyone these days wants a tip even if they're being compensated for their services. I understand CERTAIN industries count on tips as part of their income as they are not paid much, such as the food industry. So my question is, who do you tip and why do they deserve it?

any others?

Barber - Yes, out of habit. I never really thought about it.

Pet groomer - My wife does, it does seem extreme given the rates the groomer charges, and since she's the shop owner.

Cleaning lady - I would if I used one if only to keep them from ripping me off, but I don't use them.

Cab driver - Yes, if I use them, but I almost never take a cab.

Bellmen (or is it bellpersons) in hotels get $1 per bag, if I don't carry my own.

Valet parking attendants get a couple of bucks in case I come back so that my car will arrive back intact.

[bort]

(Where they exist) bathroom attendants. Quite frankly, I think it's stupid, but too awkward to not tip - especially if you're going to be in there more than once.

[Dan Schultz]

Yes... if you are talking about waiters/waitresses in full-service (not buffet) restaurants. Not the barber, pet-groomer, etc.. I carry my own bags.

My paper carrier has the nerve to give me a little thank-you note each year. The note has a pocket in it the size of a dollar bill. I think that means he/she wants a tip. Are you kidding!

[Dylan King]

I tip anyone who is paid by anyone else and who does me a personal service. Usually 20%+. They deserve it, and next time will treat you well.

[funkcicle]

Why not tip the paper carrier? We tip pizza delivery guys and they don't get up at 4am...7 days a week! I'm admittedly a bit biased..I spent about half of my final year of college rising at 3:30am, 7 days a week, as it was the best source of income that didn't create scheduling nightmares when the Oct/Nov/Dec and March/April/May "gig and/or rehearsal 5 nights a week" seasons came around.

Pay was 12c/paper(35c/ea for the Sunday papers, which I had to assemble myself)as an independent contractor. Plastic bags for the newspapers were deducted from my pay(if/when customers requested that their paper be bagged, or it was raining.. and don't think EVERY carrier had the sense to bag their papers whenever it rained!). 36 miles of stop-and-go driving put on my car every morning..getting a substitute to do my route for a day or two meant paying a few bucks out-of-pocket.

I loved the job though..got to listen to Bob and Tom every day.. got a GREAT runner's high any morning i was running late(drive a block, run up and down, drive to the next block, run up and down, through the entire neighbourhood)..could pick up extra routes for good money any time i needed to, and my body was working the best it ever has in my life. Got to go back to sleep from 7am-9:30 every morning, and did a crossword puzzle every day!

I only ever got 3 tips, and appreciated them VERY much.

funk"now appreciates working indoors VERY much"cicle

[tjs]

What is interesting to me about the whole tipping thing is how it differs from place to place. My wife and I were just in Ireland where apparently tipping isn't that big of a deal. Generally, tips are done on a "round up" kind of system, or 10% if you receive really good service. At the "local" pubs we visited folks didn't seem to tip at all.

Here, I generally tip 20% at restaurants if the service is good, 15% if it is just ok. If the service is downright bad, I've left no tip at times to send a message.

I'll tip a couple of bucks in a hotel room when I travel if I've got singles. I generally avoid the porters.

If you really want the ultimate tipping experience, visit Key West, FL. Since the entire place is based on tourism, there are TONS of jobs that exist simply for the sake of employing people, all of whom expect a tip. A classic example was the beach attendant that you had to see in order to get a lounge chair for the beach. You couldn't get your own, and after you were done he'd promptly grab your chair and return it to the stack. Hmmmm....

[bort]

How about if you're at a restaurant alone, and don't get much (total for the bill is like $5.00). Do you still leave 15% (that's only $0.75!)? I usually leave a minimum of $3.00, because sometimes 15% is just way too low.

[Ricko]

Barber? - Only when they are nice about me and my kids - Yesterday - NO - he went up on his pricing then spent the whole time arguing with another barber. Even after I made a comment to the effect of "why don't you settle this after I'm gone?"

Pet groomer? I've never received a tip for my services... normally I get laughed at.

Cleaning lady? At Christmas or if the house is extra dirty when they come by.

Cab driver? Yes - especially if they get the bags.

any others? - My beef now is the tip jar at the deli or burrito place - they aren't providing a service at that point. Why tip them?

[Dan Schultz]

Why not tip the paper carrier?

I will tip a paper carrier (or anyone for that matter) for a job that is performed beyond the 'normal' (IE... paper on the porch each morning instead of in the shrubs, etc.).... HOWEVER.... the gall of a paper carrier EXPECTING a tip to the extent of even leaving a convenient envelope is a little tough for me to swallow... especially when the service has been questionable. My current carrier hasn't missed the porch in six months and goes to the extra care of putting the paper inside plastic when the weather is bad. He/she WILL receive a nice tip at Christmas time. I'm not mean but often refuse to tip simply because it's expected. Great service... nice tip. Bad or mediocre service... small or no tip.

[windshieldbug]

Aren't waitpersons usually in the minority at a half-decent restaurant?

[Rick Denney]

In big cities, tipping is more a part of the culture than in rural areas. And it's more a part of the culture in the northeast than in other parts of the country.

My rule is this: If someone is working for someone else, such that the share of my payment mostly goes to that someone else and not to the person giving me service, then I tip generously. This rule appllies to waiters, porters (though I always carry my own bags), cab drivers (even when they own their cab, most of their income goes to keeping it filled with gas, especially these days), barbers, and so on. I have also tipped movers, especially if they worked a long day unexpectedly and took special care of my stuff. I expect good service and reduce my tip if the service is not good. But I don't blame the server for the faults of the employer, so if the food is bad but the service is good, I'll tip well and then never go back.

I don't tip if I have to wait in line to order and again to pick up my item, and I never tip before the service is provided. That's why the tip box at Starbucks will never see my money. At a buffet, I might tip a little if the server keeps my drink glass full without having to be asked.

Our cat grooms herself, and near as I can tell, lives an easy life at our expense, heh, heh.

Rick "who never tips if the service is actively bad or the server rude" Denney

[ThomasDodd]

I disagree with the concept of "tipping" as a norm. A tip, or gratuity is for service that exceed the norm. This is in any and all cases. A waiter or waitress should be paid at a reasonable level to begin with. They should perform thier duties as expected, for the pay provided. If somone goes above and beyond, then consider a tip, based on the exceptional performance.

The law should not allow one to be paid below minimum wage* with the expectation that tips will make up the difference.

My understanding was that in Europe, a rather sizable gratuity was added to the check automatically. I remember that still being the case at the Frankfurt airport last year. And many up-scale resturants in the states do the same. Most will add a gratuity for large groups. In all cases this is just wrong. A surcharge for large parties, fixed amount/per-person, is fine, but not one based on the final purchase total. I'm showing my gratitude by choosing your establishment.

Imgine tipping the road crew paving the highway? Or the guys that built your house?
In those cases a price was agreed upon for a particular job. hould the cost of the meal on the menu serve the same purpose? Or the price of th hair cut?

* Assuming you agree with teh minimum wage. I don't but if it's there it should be applied in a more reasonable manner.

[Leland]

I've never had a pet groomer or anything like that, so I've never had to decide whether to tip or not.

I'll tip cab drivers, if for no other reason than to make their night a little less of a pain.

I agree about places like Starbucks, though, with a tip jar sitting on the counter while they never leave their spot. We never used to tip workers who don't really seem to go anywhere, so why should we have to start? We don't tip the workers at McDonald's, either.

Waiters & waitresses will get tips, but they still have to earn it. If the service sucked, I'll leave something like 25 cents; it shows that I know about tipping but think that the quality wasn't any good.

I don't usually go by the 15-20% rule either. I'll try to go by the amount of running around they have to do. Serving a $50 salad-n-steak dinner isn't that different from serving a $12 meal at a Perkins restaurant, so they'll get about the same tip. If someone has to bring me a basket of fries and refill my water five or six times, they'll still get about three bucks, even if it works out to being a 120% tip.

I got paid minimum wage as a pizza driver, but lived off of tips -- my paycheck went right back into my car (gas, high insurance, etc). Every little bit was appreciated, and when some rich yahoo paid in exact change, I was quite annoyed.

[TubaRay]

I disagree with the concept of "tipping" as a norm. A tip, or gratuity is for service that exceed the norm. This is in any and all cases. A waiter or waitress should be paid at a reasonable level to begin with. They should perform thier duties as expected, for the pay provided. If somone goes above and beyond, then consider a tip, based on the exceptional performance.

I rather enthusiastically agree with this. A tip is(or should be) a monetary response to something above the basic service.

[ThomasDodd]

As usual, I agree with Rick. And I agree with what Thomas wrote, quoted below.

I'm pleasantly shocked tha Bill agrees with anything I have said.

I'm waiting to be struck by lightning now...[/quote]

I believe the minimum wage for wait staff is under $3 per hour. ...but someone who makes under $20k per year should get their tips tax free, if you ask me.

Which I find utterly ridiculous. a Waitress should be paid better that somone manning the fry baskets or registers at McDonalds. They do much more work in most places.

Tips should be tax free, at least in the current tax system. A move to a consumption tax would prevent abuses. Tips would then be taxes based on how/when they are spent.

[Dan Schultz]

Just 30 minutes ago, I tipped my barber $4 for an $8 haircut. He did a nice job and didn't piss and moan about how much money he lost at the track last weekend and didn't mention politics once!

[Rick Denney]

I disagree with the concept of "tipping" as a norm.

Thomas, I predict poor service in your future if you try to enforce your underlying theory.

Tipping is a tradition, and like most traditions the regular processes of compensation work around it. Because it is traditional to tip waiters, they are paid little because it is expected their pay will primarily come in the form of tips.

There are lots of traditions we might find it hard to justify on basic principles, but that doesn't make them go away.

The origin of tipping is that at one time you paid separately for the product being sold and the personal service to deliver it to you. That practice is lost in the deeps of time, but then so are the origins of most traditions.

What motivation would there be for a waiter ot provide exceptional service if they are paid only minimum wage? There are lots of jobs that I wish were paid on tips by the person receiving the service, rather than on a flat rate by the store operator. For the provider of a service, a tip is the same thing as a commission. The result is that better servers get paid more, and that's a good thing.

Rick "who realizes he is paying the restaurant and the waiter separately" Denney

[ThomasDodd]

Thomas, I predict poor service in your future if you try to enforce your underlying theory.

What motivation would there be for a waiter ot provide exceptional service if they are paid only minimum wage? There are lots of jobs that I wish were paid on tips by the person receiving the service, rather than on a flat rate by the store operator. For the provider of a service, a tip is the same thing as a commission. The result is that better servers get paid more, and that's a good thing.

The same motivation you or I have for doing a job well. In most case a job done better than the bare minimum is rewarded in some manner. Bonuses, stock option, promotions, raises. If someone work for tips only, that fine. But make it clear and well defined. But where to draw the line, and how do you know it's there? One place might pay $3/hr + tips and another $10/hr + tips. How am I to know that? If they all work for tiops only, fine. But I need to know that.

I worked at one place where the bus-boys got just over minimum and a share of tips, and so did the waitresses. But many people though the tiops went only to that watress. Is that a "fair" way to do it? Is it fair to the customer?

When you find a gas station that has a self-serve pump and a full-service pump, do you tip the guy pumping the gas? Since the price is often double for full-service, I say no, since I'm paying for that sevice already. Now if the price was the same, I could tip, based on the level of service I got.

Rick "who realizes he is paying the restaurant and the waiter separately" Denney

Which is why I seldom eat at such places. When I do, I tip based on the level of service. Bad service in an empty place will not get a tip. Basic service is cover in the wgae already paid. My problem is that I cannot decline the waiter's services. I'd happily go refill my glass, or get bread if I had that option.

But I don't like spending $50+ per person, and getting poor service. I could get the same food for $15 and get poor service. I'm paying that extra $35 for service. Why should I pay another $10-$25 on top of that?