Holiday Tipping

With only two shopping days left until Christmas, much of the country is concerend with last minute presents for picky family members, braving mall parking lots and hoping to be the first in line for a store's new shipment of PlayStations. Locally, however, many New Yorkers are concerned with gifts for a different group of people: doormen and superintendents.

Ask Gothamist received a number of panicked emails from people wondering how much to tip doormen, supers and other apartment building staff members. For help, we turned to Tipping.org and their Holiday Tipping Guidelines.

The site's advice is not concrete - the word "depends" appears twice in only a few sentences - but it's a good place to start. It advises anywhere from $25 to $100 for each of your doormen and $30 to $100 for your super. That's a wide range, but what you decide to give will, um, depend on the amount of service you receive. So, start with a base of $25 and build from there. If one doorman is especially helpful - he brings your packages to your apartment door or quietly ushers in your mistress, for example - add a little more money for him. And if your super has been to your apartment to unclog the toilet or do other repairs in the past year, throw a few extra bucks his way.

Don't forget that your building's staff goes beyond the men and women who open your front door or hand your your dry cleaning. Valets, porters and other mainentence staff are also worthy of tips at this time of year. A base of $20 - $30 is a good place to start. You can work up from there, um, depending on the type of building in which you live.

You can ask your neighbors if you feel comfortable to get an idea of what other building residents generally give. But don't feel that you have to break the bank to keep up with the Joneses. As with any responsible gift giving, you'll have to balance your gratitude with your finances.

How much do you tip your building's staff?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Doug Gordon in Miscellaneous on December 22, 2004 10:57 AM

Comments [rss]

Pixie

You think you guys have issues? I rent from a building with 33 building staff members!!! Single parent living moment to moment but was destined to live here so that my child can avail of an excellent school district. My intentions this year is to give everyone $20 in separate personable holiday cards and leave it at the resident manager's office. Then, I will personally give a second envelope to the "special" people that make our lives more comfortable, containing a personal message that it's an extra gift for their extra effort and ask that they not mention it to others. There goes my holiday bonus...I hope it works!

XO

We have 20 doormen, concierge, and handymen! We picked 12 and tipped them $60 each. Didn't tip our super since we never talk to him. There are 300 units after all ... I do feel cheap but I didn't want to fork over $1000. The worst thing is that some deserver more than others but if we gave them different amount, they would all talk about it wouldn't they?

tipper

I gave $20 dollars to each doorman. I have 7 and the same to the super. When things need to get done in my apartment I do it or pay someone to do it.

Stephanie

Does anyone have any idea what is customary to tip doormen and front desk staff in Philadelphia??

Schmervis

Honestly, I don't see why we should be responsible for more than $25 per doorman and $30 for the super. I mean I don't know about everyone else, but I feel the rent is expensive enough.

GP

I've been in my new building only since December 1. We have a super, but no doorman. What is appropriate to tip the super at this point?

JES

ha, this is the time of year we find out who is from NY and who is not, by the comments posted.

Twig

Man, this tipping junk is just silly. I can't imagine spending that kind of money on these people who are already getting paid for doing their job. I never tip anyone and don't have any problems because of it.

Republix

I usually tip the garage guys $20 each and the Manager like $30. I really don't think they deserve it, since I tip them every time I use the car. Plus they've caused so much damage to my car over the years. ( I usually catch it after I leave the garage) But I figure, if I don't tip, they'd put sugar in my gas tank for kicks...

TurkeyBoy

So I have at least a half dozen garage guys (most of whom never hear me honking at 2am when I'm tring to get their attention to open the door, because they have "ladies" who visit them in the night.) One guy has definately made a point to remind me that it is Christmas... he also asks for tips on a regular basis which upsets me. It isn't that I'm cheap... I usually give the guy $5 each time I take my car out (3-4x/week) which is far more than my neighbors admit to giving these chumps. So do the same rules for doormen apply to garage attendents? Or is it slightly less? I'm more worried about dents in my car than missing socks from the fluff and fold ladies.

tipster

Extensive discussion at:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2005/12/05/ask_curbed_the_tipping_point.php

Ingrid

ALWAYS tip the fluff and fold ladies! Unless you want your socks to take a walk!

TC

$100 for super, handyman, 5 doorman [the first year the super realized i gave him no more than the handyman or the doorman he seemed offended]

$70 for 4 porters

BakerGirl

I've also lived in a couple different cities - Mineapolis, Columbus, Chicago - and it seems tipping is just here... Instead of tipping though, I'm making trays full of goodies for each doorman & the super. I'll let you know if I get raked over next year for not giving money...

Susan

Have never tipped rental staff, and I've rented in California, Oregon and Washington. I'm guessing it's an East Coast thang.

Straight Chelsea Boy

Scrooge, the point is that Xmas tipping is the culture here and it has nothing to do with being nice or appreciative. The point is that you are bribing these people to not fork you over during the next year. By this same logic it also doesn't matter how long you have been in your place.

Dann

I AM my buildings staff.

If I want anything good for Christmas, I have to buy it myself, might as well tip myself too!

KeithS

"Building staff"? Ha. Good one.

Thin Lizzy

A minimum tip for a doorman without being labelled a cheapskate is $20. Just remember these guys know where you live.

Scrooge

Having lived elsewhere most of my life, where the myriad little surcharges of NY were nonexistent, I must admit I'm mystified at this uniquely (New York? northeastern? blue-state?) tradition of quasi-mandatory tips at Christmastime. While I'm not averse to tipping in instances where I'm paying directly for services rendered (barber, waitress, cabbie, etc), I don't understand the pressure to tip/bribe employees of the building in which I happen to be renting a place to live.

If someone has gone beyond the responsibilities of their job to assist me (which has happened on one occasion this year), then a small acknowledgment is warranted; otherwise, I don't see any rationale beyond liberal-guilt for gifts to workers who have agreed to perform a given function for a given wage, whether that be vacuuming the carpets or monitoring the front door. If the employees of a residential building deserve a raise, surely their employer should be the one expected to fill their stockings, not the employers' customers (the tenants).