Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Tipping

I mentioned yesterday about tipping the delivery guys who brought the new living room set.  And 444 and NDChic both said they don't tip in that situation.

So I started thinking about it....Is tipping in certain situations regional?  Is there a "rule of thumb" when it comes to tipping?  How do you decide to whom you tip?

I grew up in Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC.  Both my parents were born and raised Long Island New York.  So the basic dichotomy is watching my North East Parents in the South.

There are lots of differences, but I just wanted to set the stage.  In case tipping is a regional thing.

I learned that you for just about any "service" performed.  Wait staff, hair dressers....I think most people conform to those.  But in addition, I grew up watching my parents tip the delivery guy (food, furniture).  The exception was someone like a florist who delivered a vase of flowers....he didn't get tipped.

I also learned to tip the chef at the Japanese restaurant who puts on the show at the Hibachi.  And the SkyCap at the airport.  And any driver (limo, cab, even the shuttle bus at the airport).

Going back to service folks....repair people didn't get tipped.  If someone was hired to do some other type work (painting, landscaping, etc), they didn't get tipped per se.....but I remember when my parents had the pool and sprinkler system installed....and Mom brought the men drinks and snacks.

So I ask you....what do you do in these situations?  Do you tip?  Any situations I didn't mention that you do tip?

Discuss.


15 comments:

  1. We don't hire a lot of "services" but off hand I do know we tip the waiter/waitresses, hairdresser, & pizza guy. lol! We have had furniture/tv etc.... delivered but never tipped. Mind you we paid a small fortune for delivery, so I assumed tip was "included". Other than that, I can't think of anything else that we use a service for.

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  2. Back home we tipped every delivery guy, including those that delivered our 5gal glass water bottles for drinking. It's very hard to say there is a rule, because as you said, we wouldn't tip someone delivering flowers or delivering our mail. My parents would offer drinks and snacks for construction workers while they built our second floor. I don't understand why we are expected to tip hairdressers, though.

    I guess that one way to look at it is: if they enhance the service, they should get tipped. If the waitstaff just delivers your food and never checks back to you, no tip. If they go above the basic service, then yeah, tip them based on the 'above'.

    The rest just seems to be niceties. But to this day, I still regret when I went to a mall. I was lost, very tired, but had to wait for someone, so I decided to get a manicure. Worst. Experience. Ever. The ladies were talking in a foreign language and never even looked at me. She was very careless and cut me along the nail, was completely unapologetic and painted over it. The job was choppy. I tipped because I thought it was expected, but on hindsight, I shouldn't have.

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  3. I've never tipped a delivery of furniture guy, but I'll bet my mom has, so maybe it's more of a generational thing than a regional thing? I tip at restaurants,the pizza delivery guy and my hairdresser. We did use the complimentary parking/valet service at my company's big anniversary party and we tipped the valet a few dollars. My mom always tips the guys at the airport who help her with her luggage and usually leaves tips for the housekeeping when she stays in hotels.

    I also tip based on what my bill would have been without any discounts, etc. Like last night, DD and I went to the breakfast restaurant where she works for dinner. I had signed up for their "email club" and got a coupon for a free pancake meal. Since it's 6 big pancakes, DD and I split the meal, ordered 2 drinks and a side of hashbrowns. With the free meal and her employee discount on the rest the total was only $8, but I tipped based on if we had both ordered meals at full price, so I gave him $4.

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  4. When traveling, I usually leave a tip for the housekeeping staff for each day of our stay and the various shuttle drivers at the airport and from the hotel. DH has tipped furniture delivery guys in the past. We also tip at restaurants, my hairdresser, and the pizza delivery guy. When we bought our home we had a contractor and various tradesmen in and out the place for the first 2 months doing a bunch of work before we moved in, and we always had cold drinks and snacks for whoever was working. Same with landscapers and tree trimmers we've hired.

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  5. I'm British and we only really tip in restaurants but only if service was fast and food was excellent. Tipping isn't so common here as minimum wage is £7 an hour or $10.50 an hour. Also, tips are taxed here so they don't get all of it. A hair cut and colour costs £70-£100 so we don't tip as hairdressers are well paid. We all pack our own bags in supermarkets, we all carry our own bags in hotels and we all park our own cars. We do give a Christmas gift to regular service providers such as health workers, postmen and bin men.

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  6. ALWAYS tip your wait person. Their income is the tips, not the $1.10 per hr. the employer pays them. Also tip when you get take-out from a restaurant(like 5% or a buck or two). The wait staff still has to order & package your food which takes time from their tables of customers.
    For hair salons, you only tip the stylist if she/her is NOT the owner of the salon.
    Tip your bartender, maid service, barber.
    Tip for delivery of appliances/furniture if the delivery was free or they went above and beyond(cleaning up/unpacking/moving things around).
    You need to tip just about the entire cruise ship crew I hear.LOL
    People like your building doorman, mail carrier, garbage person, newspaper deliverer, etc. are usually tipped once a year(at Christmas is traditional).

    Tipping is fundamentally an American thing. Europeans don't tip as a general rule. I had a friend who fancied himself Europeans(born in New Jersey.lol). I stopped going to restaurants with him because he refused to tip EVER. As an ex-waitress who use to live on those nickels and dimes I got, I just wanted to punch him! ;-)

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  7. Like Frugal Queen, here in Canada, we generally only tip in restaurants, hairdresser and the valet for parking or taking suitcases to your room. When we got the newspaper, we always gave the delivery boy a Christmas gift along with an envelope with extra money in it. A once a year tip for the guy who trudged thru the snow at 4 in the morning so we got our paper each day.

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  8. I tip 15% at restaurants, to my hairdresser and that is it.

    Like Carla, we do not find ourselves using services that require tipping.

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  9. I tip pretty much everybody you mentioned except for delivery drivers and people at the airport. I would tip a shuttle driver though. I waited tables for years and I depended on the tips. I guess that I just never thought of tipping delivery drivers.

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  10. I tip people who hold the door open for me when I'm walking behind them into a building, and I also tip the people who wave me through the intersection at a four-way stop.

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    Replies
    1. I really don't understand why you feel the need to mock so many things. It just comes across as poorly executed sarcasm.

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  11. I learned to tip exactly the way you described. Exactly to a T; even down to who not to tip. I'm from 3 or 4 generations of westerners. Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, etc. And solid middle class. Other people get once a year gifts, like the babysitter, mail person, housekeeper. However we ourselves don't use these services often and I'm not sure our children would know the same 'rules'. Interesting subject.

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  12. I tip waiters and waitresses, pizza delivery or any people who deliver food... Tip hair dressers...I never tip if I have to pay a delivery charge...

    I have read where you are suppose to tip your mailman and your newspaper delivery person at Christmas...I do tip the newspaper guy during the winter months for delivering my paper in frigid weather...That is one job I would never do....tried it once and will never do it again...

    The way I look at it if you feel a person is doing a fantastic job and is helping you out I will give them a $5 bill....Like if I am at Lowe's or Home depot and I have a lot to load in our truck and they come over and help I will tip them....it's not required to do so but I felt if they took the time I do tip them.... I use to do it when the bag boys brought my groceries to the store...

    Last year when I bought corn at a corn stand and I knew it was a college student working for the summer to help with college I told him to keep the change which was $5 he was so excited...

    As I said I do what my heart says to do... Lisa

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  13. My parents taught me to tip delivery people like furniture and stuff. Oh and the Christmas tree guy! Cause that is a pain in the booty!

    P.S. Are you having issues with comments on my blog? You shouldn't have to log in, you should be able to just use your name and website and email.

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  14. I always tip waiter/waitress 10-20 % depending on the service. Even with minimum wage over $10/hour here. I tip my hair stylist an extra 5$ for a cut. I always tip my dog sitter. She charges $20/ night and I give her an extra $10 per stay (not per night) because he is so spoiled by her!

    I never tip delivery people (unless its food). There is always a delivery fee charged for large furniture and appliances.

    Oh yes - the sitter. Sweet girl that my little guy adores! She brings games and books, even gives him Birthday and Christmas gifts! My little guy will remind dh and I that we should "Go out somewhere" so she can look after him for an evening!

    I hope that you are enjoying the furniture that you have waited so long to get!

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