Tipping

[Lothlorien]

I'm sure that tipping varies a bit, depending where you are. Here it is customary to tip the garbage men, postal guy, delivery guys etc, during the holidays. Is it so where you are?


We had our carpets cleaned recently; the whole house. Two guys came and moved the furniture and got it done in about an hour and a half. They did a good job. I tipped $20. I did the same last year.

I know you aren't supposed to tip a salon owner when they do your hair, but I see people doing it all the time, here. It's customary to tip a hair stylist 20% here.

Do you tip your dog groomer? I used to if it wasn't the owner, now it costs me $45.00 just to groom my dog. Since they are the owners, I don't tip anymore. How much do you tip the groomer?

I'm also curious....who else do you tip? How much?

 

[Sue C]

In my area, it is customary to tip the garbage men and postal delivery person at Christmas, but I don't do it personally. No one tips me and my husband for the work we do. I feel the garbage men and postal workers are doing their job like anyone else...and getting paid good for it. I do, however, give my pastor a gift of money at Christmas.

by the way, I think our garbage men are RUDE. They leave an envelope with their names on it the week before Christmas like they are expecting a tip. That alone makes me not want to give them anything. However, if during the year we have something other than the usual garbage bags for them to pick up, husband has given them a tip on the spot.

I tip 15-20% at restaurants depending on the service because I know the waitresses/waiters get paid so poorly. People I know here, including myself, tip their hair stylists 15%.

Yes, I tip (or did tip when my shihtzu was still alive) the dog groomer 15%.

I once tipped a lady for getting a job done fast for me. We needed something engraved. She said it would take a week. I whined (in a nice way) that I really needed it sooner. She had it done in 2 days. I gave her a 50% tip. (the cost wasn't that much)

Hope this helps.
Sue

 

[flutterbee]

I've heard of people tipping their garbage men, postal delivery men, etc., but have never actually known anyone who does it. Our garbage men are city employees and are paid well with benefits I would give my right arm for. Same goes for postal employees. These people have thousands of customers. Can you imagine what they must bring in during the holidays? Nope, I don't tip them, nor do I feel any obligation to as they are just doing their job and are compensated nicely for it. I work in a service field (accounting) and put up with a lot of demands from clients and don't get tipped.

My mother is my hairstylist so no dilemma there. However, when she worked in her field and owned her own salon, all of her customers tipped her. I would tip a dog groomer at least 15%. If the groomer were also the owner, it would depend on whether she had other employees. If so, I would probably tip. If not, then I would probably not tip the owner. When I go to a full service gas station, I tip 10%. I notice that very few others around here tip the gas station attendants.

I am much more generous with wait staff. If the service is good, I'll tip as much as 50%. For one thing, they make hardly anything when paid by the hour. For another, it ensures great service the next time I visit. A girlfriend and I are regulars at one of our local restaurants. We will be there for hours taking up a table, so I always tip a minimum of 50% to compensate for their lost income.

 

[Nancy]

I would never tip our garbage men, they are city employees and I don't agree with tipping city employees. Same with postal workers, they are government employees and I have to stand in line for 30 minutes everytime I go into the post office and they move like they have all day and seem to they take delight that the line is out the door.

I tip my dog groomer $5, she charges $30, at Christmas I gave her $30, the price of one grooming. I tip my hair stylist and almost everyone else 20%. I never dreamed I would have to tip a carpet cleaning company. I have tipped furniture delivery men if I ask them to do something extra like bring it up or down stairs or put something together.

I get aggravated when there are tip jars out at a fast food counter, what service are they providing to get a tip?

I always tip waitresses/waiters 20% unless the service was not good.

I tip doormen and airport baggage handlers $1 a bag. I usually give the maids $20 at the end of our hotel stay, if it's longer than a couple days.

Nancy

 

[Fran]

<span style='font-size: 11pt'>I don't tip anyone who works in my house. I do tip people who deliver furniture if they are moving a heavy piece. I don't tip trash collectors or mailmen. I have no idea who they are or if they are the same people. I never tipped my dog groomer since they were different every time and were part of a big chain. I tip my hair colorist and the one who cuts it. I tip food servers 20% for excellent dervice and 18% for good service.. I think it's getting out of hand.
I have to pay the airport guy 2.00 a bag now to do curbside check in in addition to any tip I would normally give him before the airport started charging.
I give regulars who work on my house (pool guy) a decent Christmas gift but never tip.
I don't believe in trying to "cheap out" folks. I pay a fair wage but I don't really care for the vagueness of tipping a variety of people. </span>

 

[Fran]

by the way, why do I have to tip to stand in line to buy a 4.50 cup of coffee? I see a tip jar. I don't get it. Isn't making coffee their job? They aren't serving me or cleaning up my dishes? It's a strange thing that seems to be growing. Maybe the employer should pay a decent wage.

 

[hearts and roses]

It irks me when Dunkin Donuts or other local coffeehouses leave out a tip jar. I mean, hello, I'm driving through and we;ve basically had a virtual transaction and I am expected to tip for that? They even go to toss the change into the tip jar until they see my outstretched hand.

We're from NY where everyone tips everyone - it's just the way we grew up. Up here in CT, people are appalled that we tip our furniture delivery guy or the landscaper, etc. My H is in charge of that and he always tips.

I tip our groomer, usually only 10% because she IS the owner. I tip my hair dresser because I love her - I've known her for almost 15 years and she's a gem. She doesn't have her own shop anymore, but when she did, I tipped her then as well.

I tip waitstaff well also - usually 20% if they've done their job well. However, if they haven't done their job well, they only get about 10%.

We had the same mailman for about 8 years and I always gave him a $10 at Christmas every year. But then he took a leave of absense and his presence was sporatic, so we stopped. My H tips the paper guy quarterly and then throws him a $20 at holiday time. We do not tip the trash collectors because it's virtually impossible to do so.

 

[Abbey]

I live in Vegas. If someone even makes eye contact with you, you're expected to tip. :nonono:

I tip my hair stylist and wait staff, and the valet people. I used to give my mail woman a gift every year, but we moved so I don't even know who delivers it anymore.

Gosh...I never thought about tipping the garbage men.

Abbey

 

[Lothlorien]

Our garbage men up here are terrible. I do tip, so that my garbage cans don't end up in the middle of the street or end up in the way of me pulling my car in the driveway. The garbage guys sometimes leave garbage in the cans. We don't always have the same guys, but word of mouth that we tip, usually works to our advantage. In my other development, there would be garbage strewn everywhere when they left. Most of the time, they were good with us.

I am in total agreement about the tip jars for a cup of coffee. It steams me! or even at the bagel shop. I gotta tip for slicing me a bagel? Generally, the service around here stinks anyway.

When we had our store, we used to get a TON of deliveries from UPS and Fedex. The regular delivery men knew that I had a baby (at the time) and wouldn't ring the bell. If it was extra heavy and I caught them, they would bring it in the front door or put it in the garage for me. I tipped them. I don't tip now, cause we hardly get those deliveries anymore.

When we first moved in our new house, the mailman was kind of a jerk. I didn't want to tip, but I did anyway. We just gave 10 bucks, but he's much nicer now.....go figure. Money always talks.

 

[Kathy813]

When I read this thread, I started feeling very cheap. I was glad to see other posters who did not tip garbage men and postal employees. I haven't even ever met the garbage men or the postman/woman. How would I know if it was even the same one every day? My newspaper is delivered by being thrown out of a car window. Again, I have never met the person.

I also don't tip the groomer. I drop the dog off with the receptionist and I don't have a clue who actually grooms the dog. I think $35 is plenty without a tip (my husband complains that the dog's haircuts cost more than his does ~ or course, she does have more hair).

The only people I tip are waitstaff (15 - 20%) and my hairdresser. I guess I need to start tipping her more ~ I only usually give her 10%. Oh, and I do tip the people who do my pedicures (again ~ 10%) and my housekeeper (a $50 gift certificate to a restaurant at Christmas).

I don't even think twice about the jars at Dunkin Donuts or places like that. I can't believe anyone puts money in those.

~Kathy

 

['Chelle]

I tip people if they do a personal service. Hairdressers, manicurist massage etc, waitresses/waiters, doormen, delivery (ie pizza, restaurant delivery), delivery if I ask for more than just bringing it to the door (ie carry heavy furniture into the house), gas station if I ask them to check the fluids & clean windows, paper delivery, grocery store if I have them come out to the car and help load in the trunk. Typically around 15-20% for most things. I wouldn't even think to tip the garbage man or postal worker. Both are government workers who make LOTS of money from my taxes (bro-in-law drives a garbage truck so I know how much LOL). The postal worker changes all the time, and our garbage pickup is done by the truck machinery, he doesn't even get out if you leave things by the container, if it doesn't go in the container it doesn't get picked up. I also don't tip fast food or donut places that set out jars. They take an item off the shelf and hand it to me in a bag, not worthy of a tip. Maybe if I asked for something special like extra icing they had to put on I'd want to tip that person specifically, but I wouldn't put it in a jar.

 

[donna723]

Wow, do I ever feel cheap!

I don't go out to eat that often, but when I do, I'm usually pretty generous, as long as the service was decent. :grin: In a restaurant, when you leave a tip, how do you know who really ends up with the $$$? And our grocery store doesn't allow the bag boys to accept tips, so I get to slide out of that one! I don't mean to be cheap, I just don't have much money!

I have no idea who my garbage man is because they come after I leave for work. And I'm waging my own private little battle with the city over another matter, so I doubt if much "tipping" of city workers is going to happen in my house. Believe me, those folks don't exactly overextend themselves! :cool: And if I DID tip him, I'd leave it in a ditch a half-block away from the house and make him go looking for it ... since that's where I found my garbage can! :mad:

And our town is so little, we don't have door-to-door mail delivery right in town - you have to pick up your mail at the post office unless you live out in the country on a rural route. That's a touchy subject for me too. Those people work for the Federal government ... I work for the State. They make LOTS more than I do and have better benefits to boot. Sorry folks, I need it more than you do! :frown:

One things I DID do ... when my kids were in school, for ten years in a row we made Christmas cookies for their wonderful school bus driver who really took good care of the children ... then I found out he was diabetic! :blush:

:nonono:

And, while I think about it ... where do you people manage to find gas stations with ATTENDANTS?!?! I thought they were pretty much extinct! My son had an after school job at the last station here that actually pumped your gas for you - then it went to self-serve. He was in the 9th grade then and he's 26 now!

 

[skeeter]

our "environmental engineers" (garbage collectors) are civil servant positions - they make more than I do. No way would I tip them.
When I was a stay at home mom and knew the mailman, I would get him a gift certificate every year (I knew he hunted, to I'd get him one from 's). But he really did a lot of extra stuff during the year.
I don't tip someone coming into the house to service something, but I always offer them a soda or water or something. If they are here a really long time, or need to go out and come back with parts, I'll offer them money to get lunch. My dad worked heating and air conditioning for years, so it's just a left over from being around him.
I tip 20% or more in a restaurant.
I always "over" tip the pizza delivery people. We've had several from our local shop held up (one last week), so anyone doing that job is pretty desparate.

And, of course, I ALWAYS put money in the busker's case when they are playing music!!!

 

[busywend]

What about the person that dries your car after your car wash?

I just looked this up tonight as I just scheduled a pedicure and facial for myself (got a gift certificate!) and I was not sure what I would need for tips.

I do not tip my garbage or mail persons. Just not possible as I never see them.

http://www.itipping.com/tip-calculator.htm

 

[mom_in_training]

I have never heard of tipping the garbage man. I can't believe that they leave an envelope with their name on it before xmas. They sound like a bunch of spoiled brats if you ask me. Here in Ca in my city we are billed through the water department for the water use, Sewer, Garbage pick-up, Recycling, and EMS Subscription. (Emergency Medical Service) The EMS fee started about 5 years ago. It was optional for residences to pay a $4.00 fee per month so that we are not stuck with the outragious emergency call bill if we need them. I pay almost $17.00 per month for the Recycle and Garbage. Our trash guys are lazy, They actually get pissed off when they have to climb out of their trucks for anything. Our city set up every household with those big recycle cans and equipped their trucks with those fancy mechanical arms that reach out and pick up the can. They have three seperate trucks that troll through the neighborhood to pick up our green (Grass)can, Black, Household trash and green with grey lid for recycled. And our mail man.... We have many different mailmen delivering our mail these days, I guess their short on help. As far as tipping I will not tip the mailman nor the garbage man. They make more money then I do and they are doing what they were hired to do. Hairdresser which I rarely use I give a $5.00-$10.00 tip, Restaraunts, 20% if service was good, Never tipped the groomer, Car was which I rarely use I tip like $4.00, Car washes are expensive. Think about tipping my gardener but don't. Maybe I should start giving him a gift card or something on the holidays. I rarely go to coffee shops because they are ungodly expensive and agree with Fran, Why tip the coffee maker, That is what they were hired to do.

 

[mom_in_training]

Weird, Just noticed that my post above was #911. Lol!!

 

[DammitJanet]

Maybe this is a location post...lol. Notice the people who live in the Tenn, Carolinas and GA dont tip as many folks...lmao.

I never dreamed of tipping anyone but service people like waitstaff, maybe a hair dresser, and the pizza guy. Now obviously I dont get out much so I have little access to doormen, bellboys, people who carry luggage at airports, movers, etc. We dont even have garbage pickup here. I have to take mine to a dumpster so I guess I can tip myself...lol. And I carry my own luggage.

I do tip normally at restaurants and dominos gets their 3 bucks for bringing me the darn pizza. I have to admit I dont tip the hair dresser because I rarely get the same person twice because I go to some chain where they change like most folks change underwear and I dont get my hair cut but maybe once or twice a year.

 

[donna723]

My dad used to have a very creative way to "tip" the garbage men if we had more than the usual amount off stuff for them to pick up. There were two guys that picked up the garbage and they'd get to our house in the late afternoon, the hottest time of the day. When my dad would hear the truck coming down the street, he'd set two bottles of cold beer on top of the trash can lid! The garbagemen LOVED my dad! They would have come in and mopped the floors and done the dishes for us if we had asked!

:rofl:

 

[Sue C]

Regarding our garbage men leaving the envelopes with their names on them...intended that they should be filled with money and picked up the following week, my mother's garbage men actually left her envelopes with their names and addresses on them that she was supposed to put money in and her own postage stamps on and mail to them. No way!!

I tip the pizza delivery person 20% but have given 40% when they've come out in a snowstorm to deliver 'cuz I felt so badly for having them come out. (they have to use their own cars)

Sue

 

[On_Call]

I always tip my hairdresser very well - I've had the same one for something like 10 years now - have even followed her from one salon to another (twice). Once, in between salons, she actually came to our house and cut my hair and difficult child's hair. by the way, she is the ONLY one difficult child will allow to get near him with scissors, so that alone merits a whopping tip, if you ask me. She is a single mom and works hard for her money. I just love her - in fact, I always give her a little hug before we head out. She's sweet.

We also tip 20% at restaurants. I had a girlfriend who always worked as a waitress and they get paid a pittance by their employers - really is a shame.

I always send a little something with the kids for the bus drivers at Christmas. Last year it was chocolate dipped pretzel sticks (gee, I hope none of them are diabetic!). Some years, it's been a gift of an ornament or something. I am always working on some year-round, so I just put a tag on it and send them off with the munchkins.

We don't have trash pickup, so I don't have to worry about that. Some of my neighbors tip the mailperson, but I wouldn't do that. I agree that they are well compensated. I have offered our mailman a cup of coffee to go on a particularly crappy weather day, but that's about it.

Interesting topic - it's fun to see how it works in other regions of our little world.