Although there was an SMDB Staff Report about tipping earlier this week, I’m posting this in GQ because it addresses a different question.
What are all the major tipping situations, and what is the appropriate tip? In hotels, bellhops and cleaning ladies get a few bucks, but not a fixed percentage of the entire bill. Right? And there are cabbies, barbers, golf caddies…
I had a redcap at the airport change my seating assignment from the curb (which I didn’t know they could do), but had no cash and didn’t know that was a tipping situation. And an old lady was telling me about an ocean cruise she’d gone on once; at the end of it, she tipped Gopher five bucks, and he was expecting over a hundred. Is there some place where tipping situations are clearly spelled out so we know in advance what’s expected?
Harlan Ellison once wrote that a mensch is somepone who always knows exactly how much to tip. How 'bout a cheat sheet for us schlemiels?
My dad told me about privy tipping, which he did as a fraternity pledge. There are also reports, from dubious sources, of cow tipping, but I remain skeptical.
Cow tipping does in fact happen, AskNott, but is usually done by the very drunk or the very bored, and only in areas where cows are readily available, and is never mandatory.
But the cows aren’t telling what percentage is an appropriate tip. My guess, should we interview them, would be either “0%” or “not enough to tip me over, thank you very much”.
Krokodil, it’s safe to say that an untipped cow will give you a much less lethal look than an untipped redcap, and say much nicer things about you once you leave.
I tip redcaps a buck per bag they handle for me, or up to $5 if they do something extra like fix my seating assignment. Don’t know if I’m being generous or stingy.
In situations where I have had to check a bag at the hotel (i.e. checking out in the morning but not leaving until later) I usually tip a dollar a bag.
Other tipping situations:
I usually give the barber a buck for a tip (on an $8 or $9 haircut).
My wife, who travels a lot on business, says she usually leaves a tip for the person who cleans her room, and I think it is around $5. Although what she does is she leaves a chunk of money on the day that she checks out. I’ve told her she should leave the money every day because maybe different people are cleaning her room every day.
I don’t golf, I’ve never been on a cruise, and I usually check my bags in at the airport at the counter, not on the curb. The one time I did, I didn’t have anything smaller than a $10. One thing I have learned when traveling… keep a lot of ones in your wallet!
This doesnt answer your question, but since you mentioned tipping, and barbitu8 had the link for the tipping site i am provoked to make the following statement about how it seems to go for me at my work (I am a waiter at a normal restuarant):
table of 2-4 i normally receive about %18
if it is a table of women, about %20-25
on busy nites w/ more tourists… more shafting of the “tippage”.
people during the lunchtime tip better than nitetime people too.
and if i get a group of 7-10 tourists on a busy nite (and them being really thirsty)… ill get pissed off cuz they leave me about 10-12%
Nice link barbitu8 . However, I didn’t see a situation for one I’ve been contemplating.
I go to a ‘Water Mart’ place to get water filled in those five gallon jugs. It’s not self-serve. The employees take your jugs, fill them up and take them to your car on a cart.
It feels like a tipping situation because it’s crappy to lug those jugs yourself and the employees are doing a delivery type service, which I tip for. However, their main job is basically filling up the jugs and taking it out to the car. If they aren’t doing that, they are mostly lingering around (There is a seperate person who manages the cash register and does most of the stuff inside the store.) So it would seem to reason that they are compensated in their wage for doing the above already. Thus, most of the time I just say thanks. Should I tip next time?
I went to that tipping website and it is very handy. However, on a related note, there is an add for a “tipping card” that is describes as invaluable. Sorry if anyone owns one of these, but isn’t this kind of a sign of a cheapskate that just has to leave the perfect tip? “Sure don’t want to leave 16% instead of 15%, better check the card.” Is it really that tough to figure out a tip at least to a first approximation, which is all you really need. You move a decimal point and you have 10%. Double that and you have 20%. Split those two and you have 15%. If you’re a big spender, or at least want to look like one, triple the 10% and you have 30%. If you are trying to figure out an amount other than those and just have to get it exact, its probably a sign that you are either a bad tipper or have obsessive compulsive disorder. You bring out the card and it sure isn’t going to do much for your image no matter how much you leave.
Keep in mind that $1 buys them the same things it buys you, not much. Any tip worth giving is $2 at least. Cruises usually spell out very clearly what tipping is expected, for a week it’ll run you about $100 (on the low side) for all the various people they expect you to tip. Pizza guys, $2 plus the change unless service was exceptional or it was a large order. In restaurants I rarely tip less than %20 rounded up to the next dollar. The percentage system is just a guideline for a ballpark figure. Think of how many bucks you’re actually giving the person in realistic terms and you should both walk away happy.
Stiffing a**holes should be a standard practice IMHO.
Wow, no wonder my pizza delivery guy likes me. I guess I tip more than is advised in most of these situations. Never realized you were supposed to tip for furniture deliveries though. Oops.
Remember this! Tipping is not an obligation. If the service is good, give a tip 15% to 20% if there is a price tag on the service, or any amount you feel is appropriate. If the service is bad, give less or nothing. A tip is a gift to the person who gave you the service and you are not obligated to give him anything even if the service is good. I usually tip, but not always.
I notice on the tipping website that grocery baggers should be tipped a dollar a bag. I’ve never heard of this in my life, or seen it anywhere! Generally speaking, shouldn’t tipping situations be reserved for workers who (a) earn less than minimum wage for their salary and (b) get most of their income from tips? Most stores I go to, the register operator also does the bagging.
According to that website, I’m 'way behind the curve as a generous tipper.
Not too far OT, IUHomer, I own one of those tipping cards, and I think it’s about the best $1 I ever spent. Despite my mom’s best efforts (and if she finds this out she’ll probably sob, “Where did I go wrong?”) , I still have trouble doing multiple-digit arithmetic in my head, especially after a meal with a few good beverages, or with companions who keep talking while I’m trying to figure it out. I keep it right behind the card I usually use to pay for stuff with, so I don’t have to do any extra work to get it out. Most people who notice me use it say, “Where can I get one?”
I don’t think baggers should be tipped either. I’ve never tipped one and have never seen one tipped. However, it’s not only menial laborers that normally get tips. Masseurs, earning $70 an hour, get tipped, according to what people tell me.
Exactly right: if you’re visiting a place for a massage, then your operator should get a tip. If they are self-employed, they get all the dosh already. I always used to tip hairdressers, but I now have the owner of a salon do my hair, and I don’t tip him, and we’re A-OK with that.
It’s slightly more arcane in England, particularly if you are into country-house-type pursuits such as huntin’ shootin’ & fishin’.
Airport tips: if you come into Heathrow and get a black cab, tell the warden giving out tickets you are going to Brentford (even if you’re not). Then once you are in the cab, you can tell him where you really want to go. This gives the cabbie a free ticket to come straight back into the pool without queuing with all the others, so he makes on the deal. Most of the time, cabbies reduce the fare considerably through doing this, but if he is a miserable git and doesn’t, you can consider not tipping him as you have already done him a pretty big favour, all at no cost to your own wallet.
What I’ve always wondered is places like Dunkin Doughtnuts, and various ice cream stores, where the counter people put out their little tip jars. You even see it in 7-11 these days. Are any of them working on a tipping wage, or is it just a “give me money” thing? If someone’s stuffing doughtnuts in a bag, should you tip them?
I’ve always noticed the hassle of figuring out how much everyone has to pay when a group goes out to eat. Fortunately, when I go out with my workmates, we just figure the tip and divide the bill evenly, but in the past I’ve worked with people who insisted on paying exactly for what they ordered, plus tip.
I’ve also noticed that a lot of restaurants have fairly sophisticated computer systems with interactive touch screens showing the actual tables by number. So wouldn’t it be great if they could print out a report that would tell you right away what a 15% or a 20% tip should be, and how much each person should pay if (a) they divide it evenly or (b) they’re a stingier lot and each individual insists on paying only for what they themselves ordered?
At a couple restaurants I’ve been in, and I can’t remember which ones at the moment, the check has come with a tip breakdown printed at the bottom, something like 15%/18%/20%.
I think the tip for the grocery baggers is meant for the ones who actually take the stuff out to your car and load it up for you.
When my wife and I go out, I usually start with the idea of giving a 15% tip, then I decut points for poor service moments, and add points for good service moments. I guess it’s sort of a game I play. Slow service? -1 Drink refill without having to ask? +1
Waitresses at Hooters-type places automatically get 5 bonus points.