Tipping

[Bakershalfdozen]

Hopefully this thread won't turn out like the last one... :frog

I read an article on tipping today that indicated that our society is going overboard with the tipping thing. The writer's premise was that tipping should be restricted to those workers who earn less than minimum wage because they are providing a service which merits additional money based on performance. Examples include wait staff, bellboys, etc.

Anyway, do you tip? What is your baseline? Do you vary based on performance? Do you think tipping should be restricted to jobs like restaurant waiter/waitress, etc.?

http://moneycentral.msn.com/community/m ... did=864226

[jchahl]

I tip at restaurants, and I would also tip my paperboy and my mail carrier (if I had either). I am a paperboy and my dad used to be a mail carrier, so that might why I would tip them. Maybe taxi drivers.

[John81]

I tip at restaurants, don't use any other services that would have someone to tip. I use 10% as my baseline for tips but will tip higher for exceptional service.

[Bakershalfdozen]

I tip at restaurants' date=' and I would also tip my paperboy and my mail carrier (if I had either). I am a paperboy and my dad used to be a mail carrier, so that might why I would tip them. Maybe taxi drivers.[/quote']

Just curious why (besides your dad being a carrier) you would tip a mail carrier. Mail carriers make decent money - much higher than a waitress would earn. I might one day give cookies at Christmas to my mail carrier but not a monetary tip.

Also, not trying to be nosy, but do paperboys make at least minimum wage or do they rely on tips as part of their wages?

[1Timothy115]

Anyway, do you tip?
YES
What is your baseline?
20%
Do you vary based on performance?
YES, poor to excellent, +/- the 20%.
Do you think tipping should be restricted to jobs like restaurant waiter/waitress, etc.?
NO

[pneu-engine]

We tip servers at restaurants and the tip is ~20% plus a tract. We tip according to our testimony and who we are, not who they are or what kind of service they gave.

[Anon]

Our paperboy comes too early to tip.

I tip restaurants of course and bellboys... I also tip a smaller percentage to hairdressers because, I dunno, everybody else does it I guess. haha.

Pizza deliverymen, stuff like that.

[kevinmiller]

I never tip. lol
It's not expected, nor appreciated here, but they give you a lot better service than you get in America, in general. Works for me. :lol

[deafnva77]

Just curious Kevin, what if you had a complaint like a bug in your food? do they find it an insult? While they may have the best service, Some countries don't like people complaining about their food.

One time I went to a guy who came from Korea somewhere. He had his own business on computers. I questioned him about a computer part's price (because I can find something cheaper.. that's what Americans do) and he was insulted, and I mean big time insulted. My husband was shocked and said we are not going back there again.

This guy did run a good business, and he is honest too. I did find out that his price is just right (although I did find something cheaper on the internet) .. but he didn't need to treat me that way just because I questioned him.

[kevinmiller]

If there was a bug in your food here, they would make it again and you most likely leave without paying a dime. Service is important here and people will complain if they aren't happy. I was with some friends and the rice we were given was almost cold and we complained about it so they didn't have us pay for it. I was at another restaurant that I've always had good experiences with but something apparently happened with one of the customers before I got there because when they went to leave, she absolutely insisted that they not pay despite the one man's attempts to do so. It's not uncommon to get free things here if you are not satisfied, if you're a regular customer, or a new customer or to get sincere apologies if they are unable to help you or gave you bad service.

[HappyChristian]

We tip at restaurants. It depends on the service, but our baseline is 15% regardless, because we always leave a tract and don't want the servers or bussers to have a bad taste regarding Christianity because we don't tip enough (we have seen that happen).

My husband delivers papers for a living. Do tips help? Oh, yes they do!! We usually only get tips at Christmas time, but some customers give tips during the year. The tips will vary, depending on the income of the customer. But it is really nice to be appreciated. The amount of money that paper delivery brings in isn't the point (although it isn't that much!). But when you consider that they go out in all kinds of weather to deliver (and they most assuredly do NOT make as much as mail carriers...plus they have to use their own vehicles and gas if it's a motor route), tipping is a kind thing to do to show appreciation. Until my husband began doing this, we never realized just how much work it actually is! After all expenses are taken out, it doesn't amount to a whole lot of hourly pay, let me tell you.

Someone might say that at least it's over in a couple hours. Not always. My hubby gets up at 1:00 in the morning and returns usually by 6:30. Then, he's out again at 1:30 in the afternoon, gone until 5:30 on good days, 6:30 or 7:00 during the winter. The mornings, he is gone 7 days a week. If he wants to take time off, he pays for a sub. It's a lot of work, let me tell you!! I am not complaining, believe me. We are thankful he has a job. I just wanted to mention a few things to show that tipping the paper guy could be a good idea.

[okjac80]

we delivered papers when we first got married, and no, we didn't get minium wage.
If it wasn't for tips, we wouldn't have been eating! LOL
Our customers mailed us their payments, not the newspaper. Those that wanted to tip just added it to the bill.

We tip according to service. We got awful AWFUL service one day and we tipped a nickle. We figured if we didn't tip anything, they would have thought we forgot. So, that way, they knew we didn't forget but that we were VERY displeased!! LOL

[jchahl]

In response to the newspaper carrier thing, I figure that they are doing a service for you so give them a little something. Sure they get paid more than wait staff, but many are temporary workers (especially at Christmastime) and it's not like they get paid that much. Plus, I think its customary in some places.

To deliver newspapers, I get paid about $4.00 per customer per month. So, right now, I have about 80 customers and I spend about 90-100 minutes (about 5:00 to 6:30 or so) doing the papers. That comes out to about 50 hours a month for $320, which is about $6.40/hr. Plus, I have to pay for gas and supplies (rubber bands, plastic bags, etc.). Then I have to collect the subscription money. Tips are especially appreciated when you make special requests of the paperboy, like putting in the screen door, or hanging it on the mailbox instead of just tossing it on the porch.

I figured I'd share this since it goes with the topic. Today I was delivering the newspapers and ran into several problems. The roads were covered in ice thanks to the storm that just hit. So that meant I couldn't drive up any hills. No big deal you'd think, but I live in a valley in our town, so anywhere I want to go is uphill. Once I finally managed to get to my route, I slipped on this guy's driveway, flew into the air, fell and about broke my arm and really hurt my bum. Now that I think about it, I'm not so sure that it's worth it. Oh, well, I've been doing it for five years now.

[Bakershalfdozen]

I see. Thanks for sharing. I had no idea you had to buy your own rubber bands and plastic bags. Why wouldn't the newspaper provide those???

Where I live, we never even see the paper delivery person. I have no idea if they are male or female. The newspaper sends out a bill when renewal is due.

[HappyChristian]

Some newspapers charge for those things while others don't. My husband has worked for both kinds. He also collects on one route he has now, while he doesn't have to on the other. That is much less time consuming!