Tipping curiosities...?

Question

I am a waitress...so i know that you should tip your server based on her service. Everyone knows we make our money from our tips and we work hard for them (at least most of us)...what about these situations?

Tip jar (dunkin donuts, starbucks, coffee shops, sandwich shops)...we already overpay for these things, do you really have to leave a tip? especially at starbucks?

How about the pizza guy? A flat tip of $3 or $4, right?

How about the guy that helps you unload a taxi or your luggage at the hotel...and you didnt ask for the help? Again, a flat rate tip? even if you didnt ask?

How about the hair stylist or manicurist? 20%, like you would tip a good server? So a $100 hair highlight you would give them $20!! That seems a bit outrageous!

What do you think? What do you do in all of these situations?

One more...the bathroom person at a restaurant or bar? What if all they did was give you a paper towel when you washed your hands (which you would do always i hope) and didnt use any of the products on the counter.

I am not cheap at all...i OVERTIP everyone...i just think tipping has gotten a bit out of hand!!

Answer 1

TOTALLY agree. Totally out of hand.

My personal policy. If the bill at a sit-down place is under $15 I always leave 2 bucks. If I pay by credit card it's 15% unless they did an exceptional job. If it was fair or I have complaints it's 10-12%, and if I was dissatisfied in any way by the service they get nothing.

Tip jars are zero. No one pays me for doing the job I was hired to do, I don't pay people for doing the job they were hired to do (non-service- handing me a coffee is not a service).

Pizza guy - 2 bucks or 10%, never exceeding 4 bucks.

Unloading luggage - a buck.

Taxi - round up to the nearest 5, but never more than $5.

My haircuts cost me $14. I give her $2. I'm good with that.

Never tip the bathroom attendant. Never mind there's absolutely nothing I want from another guy in the bathroom - I find the whole concept of sitting in a bathroom for your job really creepy.

So that's me. Frankly I have a low threshold for the I-don't-make-much-so-tip-me excuse. No one has enough money except for the super-rich. I wish someone would randomly give me a dollar or two. If they aren't performing a specific service where they have to put effort to make my life a little easier or more relaxing, then forget the tip.

Answer 2

I have been a waitress and always gave my customers top notch service. Sometimes the tip was generous and sometimes non-existent. I do believe tipping has got way out of hand. Everyone thinks they deserve something on top of their wage.
I have stopped tipping the 15 or 20 percent of total for meals. If it is a quick lunch and all they did was set your meal in place and maybe refill a glass it is a $1 for each person in our party. $2 for an evening meal where there is a little more for them to carry.
I agree we already overpay in places like Starbucks and I do not put money in tip jars. The pizza guy gets $2 if he delivers one pizza $3 if there is more than one. When I travel I like to keep several one dollar bills in the pocket of my jacket. In hotels where they have someone standing by to carry luggage, I'd tip a $1 per bag only if the bags are carried all the way to your room. Most people don't ask for the service. It's just assumed. Tip the maid daily because you don't have the same person everyday. I tip $2 for service that includes fresh towels everyday. $1 if the room is less than perfect. As for hair stylist and manicurist, those places already charge an exorbitant amount and should be paying their employees well enough that even if you spend $100 for services a tip of $10 would be more than generous

Answer 3

As a professional Hairstylst, I do know what it is like to work for tips. We all start out small, and let me tell ya. When you are starting out, those tips are what pays your bills. If I charge you $100 for a service, you can be damn sure I am putting 120% into it. Other than the big name salons where a cut costs $200, those of us who work in the regular shops charge for what we do, not who we are or where we work. If you like what we do, tip more, if you don't, tip less, but remember, the higher the price, the more time we are taking with you and the less time we have to put another commission in the chair.

As to waitstaff, I generally go for 15% +/- depending on the service. If I keep running out of coffee and the place is dead, you aren't getting much. On the other hand if you are outgoing and the service is good, you get a better tip. Bartenders, I usually tip a buck a round (2 or 3 drinks, usually only 1 mixed) or more depending on how fast they got to me and the level of business at the bar. When a bartender passes me over for someone cuter or whatever, no tip. Pay attention to get paid. Pizza guy, depends on how fast you get here. If the place tells me 45 minutes and my food gets there an hour and a half later, dude, you lost your tip, sorry. If you get there an hour and a half later, riding in a tow truck with your car trailing behind, OK, then you still get a tip, and likely a decent one if your attitude is good.

Answer 4

I tip servers in restaurants according to skill, and if they have a good personality, they may get more, typically 20-25%. Tip jars: only if they have done something beyond hand me an item. If they make me a special drink, or do something else special, yes. Pizza guy: again 10-20%. They don't make much more than servers, and have to pay for gas and auto maintenance on top of it. Unloading luggage, depends on how much there is. If it's a lot, I'll give him a $5 or so. Stylist: again depends on skill and personality. My guy charges $45 for a haircut, but the love that goes with it is worth at least a $20! Typically I pay him $80 for his $50 color job, if I have him do it; $65 for the cuts. And, of course, a Christmas gift, a birthday gift, and stuff for his kid, whom I love. The bathroom people: I may leave a buck or more, if there was service rendered. If they're just standing there, and do nothing for me, then nothing. Oh, and the carhop at the drive in gets a buck. Maybe more, if it's really hot, or really cold. They don't make much, either, and have to come OUTSIDE to the car!

Answer 5

I waited tables for twelve years. TGIF, Cheesecake Factory, El Torito, and then some classier dinner clubs. That was my disclosure. Ok, here goes........You're right, tiping has gotten out of control. I have never seen the reason behind tipping at DD, Starbucks, etc. Why does the general public need to take responsibility for the well being of the employees in every single establishment that they enter. Should you tip the drycleaner? No? Why not? Where does it stop? Ok, the pizza guy....He's a sort of waiter, isn't he? And yes, a few bucks is cool regardless of the size of the order, maybe topping off at $5. Haircut? I always tipped my stylist (when I had hair), but that was a super prsonal type of service, and my limit was 10-15%. Taxis...I always tipped them, but never more for the luggage thing, possibly cause I never had much. A trunk pop was all I ever wanted, and I usually told them so as my way of saying that they weren't getting more for helping me. I now live in Mexico, where you tip people that you never woud thought of tipping in the states. Here's a few:
1. The guy that pumps your gas They dont get paid a salary, and work for tips. However, if they don't offer to lean my windows or anything else, they get 1 peso. (No such thing as self serve gas here)
2. The kids who put your groceries in bags.Same scenario as #1.
3. In parking lots when you back your car out of its space, there is usu. an old man to "help" you so that you dont hit another car. Again, 1 peso.
But things are much different here. The society needs to help each other out a bit, cause the government sure isn't doing it.
It's hard not to tip when a person works for tips theselves or did at one point in their life. It's kind of an emotional baggage that we carry around with us, increasing in severity relative with the amount of times that we got stiffed! So at Starbucks....how about a dime or a quarter? If you wanna work for REAL tips join the hard life of people abusing you for crap that isn't your fault, and cleaning up after slobs, and entertaining kids so that parents enjoy a meal for a change. Or in the case of the sylists....They're artists, they went to school, and they have something very important in their hands.That's what working for tips is about....Not about making coffee or donuts.
Ok....I'm finished. In a word, I agree with the asker! Rob

Answer 6

Tip jars are just so...wrong. And I've seen people given dirty looks for not putting change in there.

I do tip servers in restaurants and the person who cuts my hair. For the stylist, I give a couple of dollars on a $14 cut. In restaurants, to calculate the tip, I just double the tax and round up to the next dollar, which works out to 17-18%---reasonable to me. But I will give more if the service was top notch.

Answer 7

I leave some change at places like donut & sub shops. Pizza guy gets an okay tip.
I never had bellhop service, always do my own. I don't know any taxi people who help with luggage these days. I do tip if a nice safe drive. I tip for haircuts but not alot. Never been to a place with bathroom attendents.

Answer 8

I agree about the overwhelming amount of tipping going on. It seems like businesses are getting off cheap b/c they are paying their workers less and putting a tip jar out (hoping we'll compensate for their unwillingness to give fair pay).

Generally at coffee shops, etc, I don't tip, unless I order something special that takes more effort. Of course if its a sit down shop, thats different.

The hair stylist is a hard one. I usually give a set fee to most people (except for waitresses/bartenders).

Answer 9

I firmly believe in good tips but not for all.

A waiter/waiteress brings you your food/drink they deserve a good tip if they do a good job. I start at 20% and go up. But if the service is bad, the tip is too. If the food is bad, I blame it on the cook who doesn't get a tip anyway. I don't punish the server.

If I walk up to the counter for my coffee,pizza,burger or anything, NO TIP, put your jar away please.

The pizza guy who delivers to my house, oh yes, he is an important man indeed!

The bus boy who handle the bags, one dollar and that's it.

Valet parking, one buck and that's if you are polite.

The hair care people, friendly and do good work, one buck or maybe two.

Answer 10

I am a student and still rely on my parents' allowance. I give tips if I can but sometimes it's irritating because I often feel it's obligatory. It also depends on how well the service was because some are annoying so it's hard to give a tip. And if you don't give a tip, they won't service you properly the next time. Some are like that and it's really annoying. I just hope that tip or no tip, their quality of service won't change.