Tipping - the great debate

applecruncher

applecruncher

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Location
Ohio USA
On another site I go to, this (tipping) has been a hotly debated subject.

I usually tip restaurant servers, pizza delivery, hair stylists, and taxi drivers. The last time I stayed at a hotel I tipped the room service person. If I get good, courteous service I tip well. If not, I don’t.

I am not a cheapskate. But I feel that tipping has gotten out of hand (at least hers in the US).

Case in point:

The other day I had my carpet cleaned. They always do an excellent job, and they charge a somewhat comparatively high fee – which I don’t mind paying. The guy figured my bill on a little gizmo that looked like a smartphone. When I signed he said “sign here if you want to tip, it’s optional”. Well, duh, I KNOW tipping is optional, but obviously it’s expected. So I tipped, then I was mad at myself. :mad: Asking for a tip leves a bad taste in my mouth. I assume those are his instructions, but they need to stop.

When I pick up take out food, there’s often a “tip jar”. Even Subway has one. I rarely tip at these places. These people are paid a wage. I don’t see why I should pay extra for them to put my food in a bag and hand it to me.

Where does it end? :confused: Should we tip store cashiers? Bus drivers? Bank tellers? Plumbers? Police officers? I even know someone who tips the garbage collectors. Ridiculous!

The rationale is that restaurant workers, etc. are paid so little. Well, that’s not the customer’s fault. The owner should pay them more, and if necessary raise prices.

I also think that sometimes people like to brag that they always tip 20-25% or act like they're Sinatra tossing $100 bills at cocktail waitresses.:rolleyes: In reality maybe they left a $1 tip or nothing.

I kinda think tipping should be done away with. I even know of a couple restaurants that discourage it - they have signs "No tipping, please" or "Our staff is not allowed to accept tips".

Thoughts?
 

AC, I'm with you on this topic. I don't go overboard; afterall, we're already paying for what we ordered.

Only time I don't mind is to a delivery person from a pizza place.

Next thing ya know, we'll find a tip jar on the operating table in the "Emergency" room.
 
Yes, I totally agree that it is out of hand. A few weeks ago we stopped at this farm stand where we go every summer on our way to and from camping. There was a tip jar there "to help pay for our college expenses". I`m sure Dad is paying you a fair wage to run the store,do we really need to tip you to weigh and ring up our fruits and veggies??
 

Don't try tipping a policeman, you might get yourself in trouble. :) I agree tipping is out of hand but I would never go out to eat at a restaurant without leaving a fair tip. Some of the jars set up everywhere are getting to be a bit much though.
 
Linda said:
Don't try tipping a policeman, you might get yourself in trouble. :) I agree tipping is out of hand but I would never go out to eat at a restaurant without leaving a fair tip. Some of the jars set up everywhere are getting to be a bit much though.
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Also, some people say they give the mail carrier a tip at Christmas...but there are rules about that, too. People sometime tip the UPS and Fedex people. I've never done that.
 
AC I totally agree on tip jars when exchanging my money at a counter for food. No tip is needed...how else is the shop going to sell their food if nobody hands it to the customer and takes the money??? It's NOT like we are being served while we dine and cleaned up after! There is no "service" involved!

Hairdressers who ask when taking the credit card for payment:"do you want to add something to that?" should be told off. How dare you ask for a tip?

I had a lady who cut my hair for a long time open her own shop eventually. The first time I went to her shop, I gave the credit card and she had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to "add something" to the total. I told her that she, being the OWNER should not be accepting a tip in the first place, let alone ASKING for it. I never went back.

Now the CARPET CLEANER trying to arrange for a tip made my blood boil! That really takes the cake.

I tip for meals in restaurants, salons, taxis and food delivery. I at first tried to tip for my rare grocery delivery, but they were refused; the store won't allow it.

If people wouldn't feed those tip jars, maybe they would go away.
 
I always give my mail lady a box of chocolates for Christmas. She is great and at 77 years old would pull into my yard and carry a box of books up to my porch cause she said they were too heavy for me!

On a Facebook group I'm in with over 12,000 other people, one of the guys who started the group a few years ago, posted a "Go Fund Me" to help with his student loans (he is a nurse and I know he makes decent $). He said this was a way for us to show our appreciation of all the time and effort he's put into the group, even though there are 12 administrators helping run it. Some people left the group and others just threw a hissey fit so he took the Go Fund Me down and said it was just a "social experiment". I didn't comment at all on that topic as I knew if I opened my mouth I'd say too much and he'd probably kick me out of the group.
 
On the flip side.....

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/239700834 Notoriously Bad Celebrity Tippers

Posted on 11/30/2009, 1:29:46 PM by big black dog


You’d think with all their money, celebrities would be good tippers. This isn’t always the case. Certain celebrities are notoriously bad tippers. Check it out:


1. Madonna - Doesn’t always leave a tip, when she does it’s a cheap one.


2. Kelly Presten – Notoriously bad tipper. Most of the time she doesn’t leave a tip at all.


3. Gwyneth Paltrow – Doesn’t leave a decent tip. It’s speculated she has trouble calculating the proper percentage.


4. Barbra Streisand – Doesn’t always tip. When she does it’s $10 for a bill of over $450. She’s very high maintenance and demanding and no one ever wants to wait on her.


5. Tobey Maguire – Doesn’t always leave a tip, and when he does it isn’t generous.


6. Bill Cosby – Once left a $3 tip on a $350 order. He probably thinks the waitstaff needs to stop taking from others and get a real job.


7. Ricki Lake – Once left a tip of $8.00 on a $142.44 bill. This after she let her young son run around the restaurant unattended – and he supposedly made a big mess.


8. Bobby Brown – Rude to wait staff, lets his kids run amuk and left a $10 gratuity on a $250 restaurant tab.


9. Sean Penn - He and three others had New Orleans waiters waiting on them hand and foot. The tip left on a $450 tab? Absolutely nothing. There are lots of instances of Sean Penn stiffing waitstaff. How many people do you think have spit in his food by now?


10. Kirsten Dunst – According to one server she’s whiny and smells bad. Left nothing behind after racking up a $223 bill.


11. Dan Marino – Wouldn’t talk to server directly, had to have a member of his entourage handle it. Tipped $10 on $210.


12. David Lee Roth – Is known to be demanding and send food back. Tips 10%.


13. Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman – He and his wife are considered to be very high maintenance. They expect the VIP treatment and only tip %5. At a TGI Fridays in Waikiki they paid $10 for a $250 tab.


14. Rupert Everett – Listed as one of the worst tippers ever.


15. David Byrne – The Talking Heads frontman is considered one of the worst tippers ever because he doesn’t leave anything, ever.


16. Molly Ringwald – Bar tab was the equivalent of twenty-five cents for each round of drinks her large entourage consumed.


17. Diddy – Left a $40 tip for his meal – a dinner for 15 people.


18. Richard Dreyfuss – Bad tipper and high maintenance “whiny” client.


19. Michael Moore – Once left less than $20 on a bill totally $452.52.


20. Jesse Jackson – Left $20 on a $228 tab.


21. John Kerry – Left $20 on a tab of over $700!


22. Britney Spears – Once tipped a valet by dropping change on the ground and telling him “there’s your tip”. Also paid a $26 tip on a $500 tab.


23. Tiger Woods – Doesn’t tip because he says he doesn’t carry cash.


24. Usher - Never tips and always tries to get someone else to pick up the bill.


25. Rachel Ray – Tipped $1 on a $10 tab. Probably didn’t want to go under her $40 a day allowance.


26. Victoria Beckham and Katie Holmes – Dined together in an upscale restaurant and didn’t leave a tip.


27. Tom Green – Once left $15 on a $175 tab.


28. Paul McCartney – Once left a restaurant too drunk to leave a tip.


29. Regis – Once left cruise staff a $60 tip for an entire week’s worth of personal service. His wife is said to be very high maintenance and the ship’s crew was happy when she left two days early.


30. Marty Stuart – Leaves 7% – his wife is very demanding.


31. Don Henley – Very demanding, keeps staff members on their toes, tips 15%.


32. D’Angelo – Once left $7.00 on a $250 tab. The tab should have been over $500, mind you, but the r&b singer and his entourage nagged until they got a discount . 33. Mariah Carey – Once had her people call ahead to a restaurant to let them know she was arriving with a very large party. The restaurant stayed open late, and Mariah and crew were very diva-ish with their demands. Despite keeping staffers jumping and a high tab, no one left a tip.


34. Marion Jones – Left $3 on a $45 tab.
 
Agree, should not be tipping on carpet cleaning. I once had a handyman do stuff so cheap, I paid him more because he was simply cutting himself to close. The guy helped me buy a new water heater using his truck, he did all the work replacing it and agreed to haul off the old one. Took at least 2 hours to do the job. He said if I paid him $50 cash he would be happy. I gave $75 and that was still low. But he was thrilled and I was happy.
 
I also over pay my handyman, he and his wife go over and above what I ask them to do and I don't want to lose them.

I tip waiters and the people that do my nails and that is about it....don't like the fund me accounts either.
 
I’ve heard/read stories about waiters chasing people down in parking lots because they didn’t leave a tip or they left a very small tip. That’s ridiculous. However, chasing people who “dine & dash” (don’t pay the bill) is something different – that’s theft of services and the person can be arrested for it.
 
I'll be the first Brit to post on this thread...our tipping system here is very different to the USA particularly with waiting service because in this country customer service employees get paid a proper wage and don't have to rely on tips to make a living wage!

That said most people will tip 10% if the service was good anyway..but usually no more than that!

Hairdressers often get a tip , perhaps 5% of the bill but it's not expected...tbf they are already very expensive anyway..

Cab drivers, often will be given a tip, it's just kind of expected, but if a cabbie takes me the long way around to get to a destination then he gets no tip..at all. London cabbies are well known throughout the world as people who will happily discuss anything with you merrily chatting away if you're a visitor to the capital , usually very cheerful, ..but the fares are very expensive already!

I always tip the postman at Christmas after all regardless of the fact he gets paid a salary he's out in all weathers bringing the post door to door..( in the Uk most of us have letter boxes in our front door) so he's not just dropping off stuff in mail boxes at the end of a drive he literally has to walk miles up and down peoples' drives and long roads sometimes ..

In the Commonwealth countries the day after Christmas is called Boxing day and it's long been a tradition to give ''gifts'' long ago known as ''Boxes'' to tradesman for work carried out through the year. see here.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day

Clearly most of us don't have ''staff' any more but the tradition lives on for many like the aforesaid postie, the hairdresser, the dog walker, the paperboy etc..

As for those tip jars everywhere, I just ignore them...

My husband is the one who is the big tipper in this house..he will tip for everything especially in a restaurant regardless of the quality of the service ...and if we've had particularly poor service I've been known to just take the money straight back off the tray behind his back as we leave the table.. :D
 
Having lived in New Zealand with many trips over To Australia I always appreciated that Tipping was not a custom. Their thinking, and rightly so, is to pay a decent wage. On the flip side, service is not near as good as in the states. No one hustles to get that tip.
 
Lon said:
Having lived in New Zealand with many trips over To Australia I always appreciated that Tipping was not a custom. Their thinking, and rightly so, is to pay a decent wage. On the flip side, service is not near as good as in the states. No one hustles to get that tip.
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That is absolutely true, I've heard the same from many American friends that our customer service in the whole of Europe and Australia and NZ is very poor compared to the USA generally speaking...and they all put it down to the fact that no-one has to work hard for a tip here!!
 
To my knowledge no such thing in Aus..However I have seen a few tipping jars sitting on the counter of some mini supermarkets (711) and hotels where we have had a counter lunch .....We don't dine in expencive eating places ,so I can't comment on those business's if they have a tipping service. ...Correct me if im wrong ...but is tipping a form of wages ?
 
Kadee, no tipping isn't wages. It's a gratuity, extra money because of good service. It can be a little or a lot, but standard is about 15% of the bill. A $1 tip on a $50 meal would be considered an insult.

Great new pic, btw. :)
 
When we eat out, will tip the customary 15% to 20%. Why? Well, the servers in most restaurants aren't even paid minimum wage and their tips are what keep them going. I rarely tip elsewhere.
I stay in motels somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 nights/year. I never tip the maid service. I feel these folks are earning a wage and need to do a good job or find work elsewhere. I demand excellence from the crews I oversee. Our clients have paid huge sums of money for the project we design and deliver. The contractors employees don't get tips. Why should hotel maids, carpet cleaners, etc.
For quite a few years, I went to a barber who was nearing 80 years old. He still only charged $6 for a haircut. I usually left him $10, simply because I felt he was undercharging for the job he did. For those who charge $15 for a haircut... they get the $15 and no more!!!
 
Lon said:
Having lived in New Zealand with many trips over To Australia I always appreciated that Tipping was not a custom. Their thinking, and rightly so, is to pay a decent wage. On the flip side, service is not near as good as in the states. No one hustles to get that tip.
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Yes Lon, it's a very different culture over here. On Thursday I had to catch a taxi home and the meter was $47.50. That would have included GST (tax) of $4.30. There was no need to offer a tip at all but it is good form to hand over $50 while muttering "never mind about the change". He was happy with that.

One reason we don't want tipping to become an essential part of a person's earnings is that we do expect people to be paid proper wages. As for service, like everything else over here, it is a lot more casual but the friendliness is genuine, not driven by the need to suck up for a tip. I like that. My taxi driver and I had a great conversation all the way home and I sat in the front seat, as is our custom over here. We're equals after all.
 
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My hairdresser gets a £5 tip for a £25 wash cut style. Postman gets a gift of whisky and biscuits. He has to walk up our long gravel drive to put our post in the letter slot in the door or if too big puts it between the two front doors.

I tip no more than 10% to wait staff in UK and 20% in US.
 
Dame Warrigal said:
Yes Lon, it's a very different culture over here. On Thursday I had to catch a taxi home and the meter was $47.50. That would have included GST (tax) of $4.30. There was no need to offer a tip at all but it is good form to hand over $50 while muttering "never mind about the change". He was happy with that.

One reason we don't want tipping to become an essential part of a person's earnings is that we do expect people to be paid proper wages. As for service, like everything else over here, it is a lot more casual but the friendliness is genuine, not driven by the need to suck up for a tip. I like that. My taxi driver and I had a great conversation all the way home and I sat in the front seat, as is our custom over here. We're equals after all.
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(bolded) Interesting, and unusual (here).
 
Well at least now, I can stop putting money in those tip jars. :D I sometimes felt a little guilty when I don't and they're staring me in the face when they give me the change. Most times I drop the loose change in the jar, but, it really has gotten out of hand. They have it here in the bakeries and the pizza shops as well and I've dropped change in the jars at each places, NO MORE! They have them nearly everywhere these days most all the coffee shops like Starbucks. I generally tip 20% for most things a little more if service is exceptionally good. Like someone else, I did have a salon owner expect a tip, I did give it to her as she had set an appointment special hours for me, but still, I think she took tips in general, I recall a nail salon owner taking the tips as well, guess I didn't think too too much of it at the time, just thought it was a little odd though they seemed in a way to expect it. I am completely perturbed about the jar thing though.
 
I tip when I eat out at restaurants, when I get a haircut, and when I have food delivered. I never put money in those tip jars if I'm going in myself for a take-out order.

I've only used a carpet cleaning service a few times in my life, and their prices were high enough where I didn't feel compelled to tip. I had some trees removed/trimmed and I did tip those guys, because they did a good job, were on time, were organized and did the job in a very reasonable amount of time (+ reasonable price), and cleaned up afterward very well. I haven't taken a cab in decades, but I always tipped cab drivers.
 
I guess that I am in the minority here. I enjoy tipping and have only stiffed a few servers because of really, really poor service. I just returned from a trip to London. I was told that I should not tip because a service charge is added to my bill. For the most part, it was, but I was also told that if I receive exemplary service that I should lay down maybe an extra pound or two. I left a ten pound note for our chambermaid. I never met the person that took care of our room, but they did one heck of a job, including evening turn down service, closing of the drapes and turning the AC to "overnight" and with coffee and biscuits being delivered right on cue at 8 o'clock as ordered. I also tipped the wait staff at my hotel. We had breakfast, which was included in my prepaid bill, but the service was above and beyond what I receive here in the U.S. The breakfast was also self-serve as it was buffet style. I still can't get over baked beans for breakfast and fish, as well. I definitely plan on returning to London and staying at the same hotel, which is something I wouldn't have said prior to going.

I also tipped the driver of our personal car from and back to the airport. The gentleman that took us from the airport to the hotel was a wealth of knowledge, pointing out different sites and also explaining English culture to us, so we were pretty well prepared for interacting with our hosts. Just a great all around experience.

I have to disagree with Lon that in England no one hustles for a tip. I never expect anyone to bust their buns to serve me, but I don't expect to be over-looked either. I had an absolute great time and received very good service everywhere I went. One thing I liked best was that I was allowed to look around in the stores without being "attacked" by a salesperson trying to sell me something.

Check this out. A dog made out of sand on the sidewalk in a shopping district. Cool, huh? Sand Dog.JPG
 
Oldman....slightly Off topic...but really?...you don't have beans or fish on breakfast menu's in the USA?

Baked beans are an integral part of a British breakfast...not that everyone likes them of course...and fish definitely yes...but not something most people would have every day , but more usually in restaurants and hotels, and perhaps on a Sunday morning for brunch!!
 

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