December 18, 2007
Holiday Tip Time is Upon Us
It’s that time of year again when New Yorkers debate how much to tip the – deep breath – doorman, super, handyman, locker room attendant, trainer, baby sitter, dog walker, beauty salon, cleaning person, day care center, garbage collector, mail carrier, paperboy and parking attendant(s). Sewell Chan, the Times’s Man on the Web, has tied himself to the tipping post with a 1,780 word monograph on the subject, largely sourced from Doorman, a book by Professor Peter Bearman, statistician and sociology professor at Columbia University.
The bottom line: If you use any of the services listed above, which were cited as tip-worthy in this useful Holiday Tip Guide, you’d better cough up something or face consequences ranging from dirty looks to severely diminished service. In New York, $50 seems to be the mid-range for the super and doormen, depending on how fancy the building is. Kiplinger has some thorough advice, including a warning against tipping waiters more than 15% during the holidays. Here’s what others are paying the help, according to a nationwide survey in Consumer Reports:
- $10 to $20 for the newspaper carrier
- $10 to $25 for the sanitation or recycling collector
- $20 to $50 for the child care provider
- $25 to $75 for the housekeeper
- $10 to $25 for the school bus driver.
Since the cost of living is high in New York, you’ll want to hew on the top edge of that scale. The rule of thumb is to match the holiday tip to what you pay your helper in a week. But don’t even think about spending more than $5 bucks on your kids’ teacher – that’s the law. Though that’s pretty much what they make in a week anyway, right?
What’s your opinion on the annual holiday tip shakedown – a chance to reward good service and grease the wheels for next year or, in the words of Ebenezer Scrooge, just “a poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December”? How much are you tipping and where do you draw the line?
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don't tip waiters more than 15%? what the fuck?
ALWAYS tip your waiters 20%.
and tip them in cash whenever possible.
don't tip waiters more than 15%? what the fuck?
ALWAYS tip your waiters 20%.
and tip them in cash whenever possible.
OK, here's the thing.
We moved into our new apartment complex November 1st. (think LIC EastCoast)
No amenities even after promising them to us when we moved in.
Only there 1/6 of the year.
How much, if anything, should we tip ?
I'm erring on the side of fuck all.
i think you should piss on the floor of the lobby, griff.
Shit, I just realized that my holiday tips are going to be more than the amount I was planning on spending for gifts to my friends and family. I love this city but damn things get expensive real quick!
By the way, any cheap ass mofo who doesn't tip 20% (holidays or not) to his waiter has clearly never worked in the restaurant industry before.
Also, is one required to tip the UPS and FedEx guys? My wife says no. I say yes. Anyone?
Shit, I just realized that my holiday tips are going to be more than the amount I was planning on spending for gifts to my friends and family. I love this city but damn things get expensive real quick!
By the way, any cheap ass mofo who doesn't tip 20% (holidays or not) to his waiter has clearly never worked in the restaurant industry before.
Also, is one required to tip the UPS and FedEx guys? My wife says no. I say yes. Anyone?
"By the way, any cheap ass mofo who doesn't tip 20% (holidays or not) to his waiter has clearly never worked in the restaurant industry before."
true – i never worked in the restaurant industry. bfd. but what does that have to do with me making up for the fact that the industry doesn't pay their staff well?
i never worked in the airline industry either, but i don't tip my pilot when i land.
@ Metrodad: According to Kiplinger:
"The U.S. Postal Service forbids cash gifts. If you want to reward a mail carrier who really hasn't been deterred by snow, rain, heat or gloom of night, a book of Starbucks coupons or a box of chocolates worth $20 or less would be okay. FedEx directs its couriers not to accept cash tips but permits tokens of appreciation worth $25 or less. UPS has no formal policy on tipping; its drivers may accept a tip or a holiday gift."
10-20 bucks for newspaper delivery must be in exurbia. In a highrise with 300 units that would be $1-2000 for one building!
Ignore all of these figures -- they come from the industries.
What if I'm your server and your service sucks? You're still supposed to tip me 20%? I'm not suggesting anybody be stingy, but shouldn't I still have to earn what I get? They're tips, not entitlements.
And how does one tip the trash collectors in New York? No one's home when they come around and if I tape an envelope to the fire hydrant, something tells me it won't make it to the intended recipients.
art directors require a $20-$40 tip on holidays.
@Grifforama: I would do something like buy them a bottle, just to show you aren't stingy and create goodwill hoping you get what they promised in the future.
I have habitually tipped the UPS/FedEx folks who come to my office my entire life, and I think it's worth it at work without a doubt. They are decent folks, and more than once they have done me favors beyond the call of normal duty. They deserve a tip. I won't tip my UPS/FedEx people at my apartment because I just have everything sent to my office because I'm never home to sign for anything.
Don't forget to tip your publicist! We accept cash, gold, booze, cigarretes and drugs.
@Grifforama: I would do something like buy them a bottle, just to show you aren't stingy and create goodwill hoping you get what they promised in the future.
I have habitually tipped the UPS/FedEx folks who come to my office my entire life, and I think it's worth it at work without a doubt. They are decent folks, and more than once they have done me favors beyond the call of normal duty. They deserve a tip. I won't tip my UPS/FedEx people at my apartment because I just have everything sent to my office because I'm never home to sign for anything.
"And how does one tip the trash collectors in New York? No one's home when they come around and if I tape an envelope to the fire hydrant, something tells me it won't make it to the intended recipients."
My question also.
how do you tip the trash collectors?
stand outside at 11:30 at night when they're picking up and give it to them personally.
then kick 'em in the back of the face for making so much noise late at night.
Anybody who mandates that everybody pay minimum of 20% tip to their waitress has made a bad career choice. When did 15% become 20%? Oh yeah ... when you realized you couldn't get a job with a sandscrit or an ethnic studies degree.
I suspect Tipping is one the most heated debates on
internet forums. this subject brings almost everyone out.
and, there's always a guy who brings up Mr. Pink.
my degree is neither sandscrit, the properly spelled sanscrit, nor ethnic studies.
nor do i currently work as a waiter. but i've been there. and i understand, still, that waiters tip out a minimum of 5% to bussers and bartenders and are taxed on a minimum of 8% of their total sales (if their credit card tips aren't already more than 8% of their sales).
the difference in 15% and 20% is typically only a couple bucks. $6 vs $8 for a $40 tab. why not give it to them. it won't kill you. you probably won't even notice it. but your server will.
if a couple of bucks is going to make or break your wallet, you shouldn't be eating out anyway.
but yes, for you whiners about bad service, if you must decrease the tip for "bad service," do it. enforce your minimal power. you'll feel better.
except when that drop of visine in your drink kicks in.
oh, I forgot about spitting in your food posts.
damn, that was quick.
also Illegal. remember when some burger flippers put some foreign stuff on a cop's food?
I'm not talking about a smaller tip for "bad service" but rather bad service. I've worked in the service industry too. It can be a really stressful, annoying, unrewarding job, especially in New York, and I recognize that. I don't give less than 20% if someone is trying their best but it's just a rough, busy night. But damned if I can't tell the difference between someone trying their best and someone who doesn't give a crap about their job.
Why is the onus always on the customer to make up for the restaurant owner being a fkcn tight ass when it comes to paying the staff? Yeah, please tip 20% yada yada...I'm already paying top dollar to your employer who couldn;t give a fck about you hence your low wages in the first place...service should be made a standard surcharge of 15% across the board in all restaurants...then its out the hands of the customer and back on the employer to figure out how to reward staff appropriately...
if a couple of bucks is going to make or break your wallet, you shouldn't be eating out anyway.
I can't imagine why people wouldn't want to just line up to give you their money for you doing your job.
In some countries, Japan is one from my experience, you don't tip and the service provider doesn't expect it or accept it. They are paid a decent wage and you get good service and the food price isnt jacked up.
Isn't it is illegal to tip Sanitation Department employees?
In some countries, Japan is one from my experience, you don't tip and the service provider doesn't expect it or accept it. They are paid a decent wage and you get good service and the food price isnt jacked up.
And don't certain people here don't believe in tipping all together?
How much should I tip my crappy superintendent?
What exactly is the point of tipping? Is it because we as a society see doormen and food workers as inferior and low-paid servants - and we should feel sorry for them and thus compensate them accordingly?
Don't get me wrong - I think excellent service deserves a reward, however it should not be obligatory as "propriety" seems to dictate.
let's face it (and trust me on this i know everything) if you can't afford or don't want to tip 20% to your waiter, you shouldn't eat out. even if the service isn't up to par, the tip is 20%. if on the other hand the waiter is actively rude or surly, stiff them and speak with the manager. you can't have it both ways.nor can they. oh, and by the way, the appropriate tip for a bartender is two bucks. count e'm (two). otherwise stay home and have a bud and a tv dinner. (disclaimer: i have never worked in a restaurant or bar but do frequent them with a certain regularity.)
on the subject of lousy supers however, what should one do? mine is the laziest guy in the world. of course i will tip him but jesus christ it bugs me!
happy holidays all.
The appropriate tip for a bartender is two bucks, otherwise stay home and have a bud? Yeah because popping open a bottle of red stripe or pulling a tap for half a second after you've been waving a $20 bill in the air for ten minutes as they ignore you for someone else is worth the extra dough.
Bartenders deserve at least $5 tip for a well made complicated mixed drink. Beer, rum & coke, vodka tonic, simple tasks that they barely pay any attention to gets them a buck.
try giving them two bucks for a red stripe and watch how fast you no longer have to wave anything in the air for 10 minutes. when combined with a modicum of civility, works like a charm every time. you'll get a drink just as soon as a pretty girl. and remember, there is nothing sweeter in the world than someone brining you something to eat or drink. pay and say thanks, it's way simple.