Non-Restaurant Tipping

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

AHA!!

It just occurred to me there might be some confusion here.

When at a restaurant or bar and you never actually visit the bar, there’s no need to tip the bartender. The server tips out the bartender own their own after his/her shift.

Which leads to some insight: If your getting anything besides beer, always go to the bar personally. You’ll get a better drink. In the number of places I’ve tended bar at, the servers usually get a weaker drink than the customer who goes directly to the bar.

More insight: When you get your drink at the bar, your first order should be be accompanied by the largest tip. Make sure he/her acknowledges your gracious tip, usually a knocking on the bar, thanks etc… You can tip less after the first and be getting some pretty fast and strong drinks for the night.

My lesson for the day.

22

Right, if you’re sitting at the bar itself, I think the usual custom is to pay with a large bill and leave the change in front of you, which the bartender will take out of as the need arises. When the pile get’s down to a large tip amount for what you’ve ingested I tell them “Better take that for yourself before I drink it!” :wink: Of course last time I did that the bartender closed the bar early and made drinks for my especially attractive friend and I for another two hours, so I guess the real lesson, is to only go out drinking with really good looking women!

23

Holy shit! $1 to the hairstylist???

I usually tip mine about $10 to $20, depending on what I’m having done. I go about every three months, but he sees me at the six week mark for a free cleanup. Also, he is a counselor, friend and confidant as well so…

Also, I know you are supposed to tip tour guides (rafting guides, etc.) But I have no idea how much. I pretty much stick to 15-20% for everything though.

24

My tipping is based on a number of factors combined in a very unscientific (and probably highly inconsistent) way. In no particular order, these are-

  1. Custom/Etiquette/Social Norms
  2. Reward/punishment for good/bad service rendered
  3. To motivate good service (signaling I will be a good tipper for other things as well)
  4. To prevent bad things from happening to me if I’m perceived as a lousy tipper (banged up car, foreign matter in food, etc.)

This generally plays out to be:

Taxi/Limo Drivers: 10-15% as standard. Almost always round up to the next whole dollar.

Porters: $1-$2 per bag, depending on the distance. The skycap who curb checks my extra bag without charging me the “extra luggage fee” (now $75/bag over 2) gets $10-$20. I’m getting off cheap here, if you ask me, and I’ve never (knock wood) been charged that extra fee.

Hotel Bellman: Again, $1-$2 per bag. This is usually one of those situations where you’re tipping early on in your stay, so if you’re going to be there a while or using a lot of services, a great tip early on could be strategic. (Word gets around.) I do get confused in those hotels where one guy takes your bags from the car/taxi/van while you check in and then another guy (usually) brings it to your room. Any advice?

Doorman: $1 for hailing a taxi. Sometimes in Vegas I skip it because it seems like such a racket. (Yeah, go ahead and flame me.) More for other special service. At the Bel Air Hotel, my mom recently tipped the Doorman a $20 on her first day and she got use of one of the hotel’s limos and drivers free (plus tip) for the rest of her stay whenever she needed it. (This perk is solely at the Dooran’s discretion, as I understand it.) Lesson learned!

Hotel Maid: A couple bucks/day for an extended stay, left in the room at the end. If it’s the Travelodge/Motel 6 and/or it’s a one night, quick in-and-out (get your mind out of the gutter) business trip, I’ll skip it.

Parking Attendants: $1-$3 when they take your car (so they are – hopefully! – less likely to purposefully do something nasty to my car). Another $1-#3 when the car is delivered.

Restaurant Waitstaff: 15-20% of the pre-tax check. Never less that $1 even if it’s only a $1.50 check for a cup o’ Joe at a Diner. Keep in mind that most of the time the difference between a fair tip and a good one is less than a buck, which is a small price to pay for a good reputation.
Exception: buffets. Then it’s 10-15% because they do less and generally have more stations. But I don’t do this very often anyway.

Cloakroom Attendants: What Baglady said.

Hairdresser/stylist: 10% of cost of services, unless it’s the owner. Even then, a couple bucks to the shampooer.

Airport Shuttle: Couple bucks, more if I have a lot of luggage.

Bartender: Depends if it’s a one-drink or multiple drink visit. And if it’s the USA or somewhere else. In the US: For one drink, it’s 10-15% or $1, whichever is greater. For a multi-drink visit, paying per drink, a big tip for the first one (CNote’s strategy), perhaps nothing for the second (for same bartender), and then, well by then it’s usually someone else’s turn to pay. If there’s a tab, it’s back to the 10-15% rule. When I lived in the UK, it was different. Tips much smaller, and often in the form of offering to buy the barkeep a round (which they often took in cash and didn’t drink, but that was the customary language).

Maitre’D: I have no idea. Never done this. Always been the guy’s job. (Not that I insist, it’s just always turned out that way.)

Rental Car Van: $1/bag IF the driver helps me with them.

Baristas, lunch counter personnel, etc.: usually ZIP, unless it’s somewhere I visit regularly and they see me a lot. Then leftover change. I have a (minor) problem with all these tip jars on every counter in places (unlike restaurants) where the staff is getting a “standard” wage. When they put a tip jar at the Dunkin’ Donuts (!!) and Burger King, well you know it’s gone too far.

Strippers and Hookers: (No, they don’t automatically go together, I just have the same answer for both.) Had no idea 'til I read the previous posts. Not likely to be useful information to me but one never knows…

I think in the US many of us have, as a rule, a cultural discomfort level with tipping because we don’t like bringing money explicitly into the “relationship”. We’re not comfortable with the service/servant concept.

In South America (and many other parts of the globe), one tips a LOT of people for a LOT of things – the guy who pumps your gas, the guy who watches your car on the street and keeps the meter primed – but its not usually more than small change. In some places, it can almost border on extortion, but I’ve generally got it and they don’t (relatively) and IT’S WORTH IT FOR THE PEACE OF MIND.

25

Like I haven’t said too much already. Anyway…

Movers: At least $20/person (after they’re finished loading on) AND plenty of offers of soda/water/beer (although limited amounts of beer, for obvious reasons) while packing/loading. Mostly because they’re going to have total control - out of my sight - of all my wordly posessions and therefore I’m going to do everything (almost) I can to make them like me (or at least not think I’m a “cheap bastid”).

26

Sorry Cnote. I don’t tip owners.

The reward for good service from an employee is a tip. The reward for good service is from the owner is the increased probability that I will return and hand over more of my money.

If your aunt was not making enough money selling 100 coffees a day then she has too options:

  1. Provide good service and good coffee and hope sales go up to 150 coffees a day; or

  2. Charge more for the coffee.

The basic arguments for tipping are that servers are paid a reduced wage and that tipping ensures good service. If the owner needs incentive other than my business to provide good service then I am not likely to return.

27

Well its almost worthy of an entire thread(and I’m sure somone will find a link to one) but the worst has got to be tipping in casinos.

I’m happy to tip the attendant when I get a jackpot at the slot machine and they bring 500+ dollars.

I have no problem tipping the drink girl, cause it is a normal food service person bringing your drink, except for the fact you didn’t pay, which makes me tip bigger.

I also happily tip when I cash in a large amount (200+) for various small winnings here and there.

But it pisses me off when they expect a tip for making change, or getting back a bill that a slot machine ate.

Then of course you tip the hotel casino maid, the bell boy, the server at lunch, and dinner.

I don’t mind tipping, but when I have to tip 25 times in a day for a total of 200+ bucks, especially when my hotel room and meals were comped and I only gambled about 100 bucks away.

28

Also as far as tipping bartenders go, I always tip them very well. Not only becuase I’m a distinctive looking person who they will remeber if I come back, but it helps tremendously.
For example at a crowded bar/club with getting drinks taking 20+ minutes. I will go up and order a drink, usually about 5 bucks. I will tip the bartender 20 bucks. They are usually really surprised, make sure I didn’t make a mistake, then smile real happily. For the rest of the night when ever you approach the bar, they will take notice of you and ask for your order immediatly, over the heads of the people who have been in line for 20 minutes. Usually it cuts down line time to about 1 minute, and impresses the girl that you were buying the drink for(Hey when your as ugly as me you gotta use everything to your advantage). After the first drink I will tip about 50% on each drink, and occasionally I spend an entire subsequent night for free, cause the BT remembered me.

29

Hmm. I’m in two threads now on this tipping topic and I’m trying to keep this simple and only stay in one.

But: I do have a hard time with this issue. Your argument does makes sense and I have the same reluctance myself. But you even seem to say so yourself that good service deserves a reward. I agree. I never tipped because I felt I had to augment their low salaries. Never once thought about that line of thinking. Besides, I made $10.00 and hour and the servers made somewhere around $7-8.00 (In Minnesota). I think you should tip for service, not what he/she may or may not be making.

For me, I usually get around this by always tipping whether they own the establishment or not.

Real life example: Friends who came to my bar would often tip me heavy. I’d go to their bars and do likewise. Pretty silly, yeah, but it was more the gesture than anything else. Saying, “hey, great service. Thank you!” was the main point of passing that $20-30.00 tip back and forth.

30

Shesh Wolfman. You make me want to get back in the biz again. “Your always welcome here old pal. Now, what would you like?” ignoring everyone else here

31

Ummm… I think you’re supposed to tip clowns too. The ones that make the balloons.

32

CNote: Good service does deserve a reward. For your aunt, that reward is the increased profits associated with having loyal customers. Since the baristas do not share in the profits of the establishment, they get their reward more directly in the form of a tip. But both of them are rewarded for good service.

33

I know, a good point. I go both ways (watch it) on that issue myself.

Another reason not to say you own the biz.

To add to the O.P…

My father, not me, tips the following:

Postal carrier
Paper person
Garbage person
Grocery store carry-out person
Not to mention all of the previous one’s mentioned above.

34

jjjfishe is right, the clowns on the streets that make baloon animals should be tipped if you take a baloon. A lady used to make baloon animals outside the pizza place I used to work, and I think she charged a small amount to cover the price of the baloon, but she also expected a tip to cover her “time”
I must implore you all to tip your maids at hotels. Maids put up with a lot of totally gross things from hotel guests. Not necessarily anybody who has posted on this thread, of course. But maids rarely get tipped, mainly because most people don’t realize they are supposed to. But it makes a maid’s whole day. Not because the small amount of money will make a large monetary difference in her life, but simply because somebody took the time to acknowledge all of her (or his) hard work. And working as a maid is very hard work.

35

I’ve always tipped about 20-30% per drink in clubs–I found that we always got great service, even when the joint was jumpin’. Ditto on the bartender (if we struggled to the bar): after a while, we began to get free rounds quite often, and best of all, got let in the back door instead of having to line up outside like common swineherds.

I hadn’t realized that publicans (bartenders) in the UK could get a little offended if you blatantly offered them a tip, but apparently “…and one for yourself?” is the accepted norm. I’ll look forward to trying that next time I’m over.

If in doubt, I generally tip generously–not that I’m John Jacob Astor, but 9 times out of 10 I get more and better service than some sordid lickpenny who won’t tip. I also generally return to the same place several times, and so build something of a relationship with the server. I’d rather be thought of as a nice guy who’s a bit soft than some tightwad–life’s too short! As they say in Scotland, “there’s nae pockets in a shroud.”

I don’t tip the hairdresser (that I’ve been going to for 13 years now!), but I do take her a very good bottle of wine and some Roger’s Chocolates (no, I don’t get any kickbacks!). Likewise with the girls in my bank, and the staff at the post office I use. They’re very helpful all year, so why not give some recognition?

BTW, another Scottish custom is to always feed your tradesmen: I remember any painters, carpenters, carpet installers, etc. would invariably be offered lunch, or at least tea or coffee with biscuits etc. This very often got extra work done gratis, or at least better quality work from happier workmen. My mother still does this with the kids who do the heavy garden work at her place–lots of cold drinks & snacks, etc. It’s more of a tradition of Scottish hospitality rather than a ploy to get extra work (but it often works out that way!)

I don’t get the local paper (barely fit to wrap fish, IMO), but Mum does, and every Christmas she gives the paperboy/girl $50. This generally blows them away, as most folks might give $20 bucks or so–but as she puts it, it’s less than $1 a week, and her paper is virtually never late, or wet. (I think she just likes the look on the kid’s face!) Lots of people I mention this to here are astonished–but then I have to say that I find my fellow Canadians are generally pretty tight with a buck, to the point of being so tight they squeak.

Of course, you all know about the leper who told the hooker to “keep the tip.”

36

I tip cabbies whether they’re owner operators or not.

37

Holy shit! Every six weeks ?!? :confused: I get my hair cut every other year. And I tip 25%.

Here’s a situation that I’m surprised to see has not been covered yet, especially since there was a thread about it recently. Drunken frat boys in a pasture when Bessie the cow ambles up. Tipping or no?

My question. At our wedding the caterer just reminded us “you’re in charge of tipping the waiters etc…” whereas I have a distinct memory that at first she told us that she would be tipping them. Anyhooo… How much should the waiters be tipped? Four hours reception plus installation and clean-up. Geographical area: Southern California, USA. For a similar situation (to have a bartender at a party for three hours) we are paying the same caterer $100 as a “bartender fee”. I was thinking $20 tip for the bartender, and $30 for the wedding waiters. Too little?

38

I’ve got a comment on Cnotes adding the mailman to the list.
I am a mail carrier and I can tell you we will, in general, make a much larger effort to get your registered letter, or package to your door, and you might just get your National Geographic untorn if you remember us at Christmas. The larger the tip, the farther out of our way we go, just like everybody else. Shoot, I’ll remember you if you’re POLITE.
Keep in mind that we are delivering your stuff (even the junk you don’t want) all summer at 100+ and all winter in the rain. We really can make your life easier and more pleasant, unkess, of course, you LIKE getting those little slips that tell you to go the office and pick up your stuff!
I know we make good money, but alot of us work part time. I’m a single parent working an average of 2 days a week, with at least 5 years before I go full time. Even the regulars talk about good gifts, and remember the people all year.

39

Jeez, Demo-boy – do you use the same hairstyle Bill Clinton spent $200 on during that stopover in California? Sheesh, $20.

… either that, or you get MAJOR work done whenever you go. Dye job? ~PERM~??? CORN ROWS???

[baglady ducks quickly before the pie hits the face]

40

Dragonlady – you ought to transfer to Hawaii. There, mail carriers and trash collectors both are usually liberally gifted with food and beer right before, or on the holidays (although to be honest, moreso for trash collectors. Still…). It’s the only time you’ll see cases of beer (with holiday ribbon decorations, even!) left out for the trash collectors. I haven’t heard of anyone stealing them, so I suspect people are pretty respectable.