Do you tip business owners?

[bjornolf]

Here's my question: If you order something like furniture, or a TV, do you tip the guys that deliver it and set it up? (Such as geek squad)

For me it depends. If they just bring it in the door and give it to me, maybe carry it to the proper room for me, no. If they bring it in, unpack it, put it together (if necessary), hook it up (if necessary), and take away the trash, then absolutely. Depending on the service provided, it could be anywhere from $5 per worker to $20 per. I have cash in an envelope I keep around the house for this purpose. I take that envelope on trips with me for tipping valets, hotel maids, etc.

I had two guys deliver us a new dining room set. It included a table with two leafs, 12 chairs, a side board, a buffet with hutch, and two corner cabinets with hutches. They took my old buffet/hutch, table, and six chairs down to the basement for me, then brought everything in, attached the hutches to the cabinets/buffet, plugged in everything, and took away all the trash. They also brought a new bed and night stands for our guest room upstairs (they also took the old bed and night stands to the basement). It took them about two hours. They were very careful and friendly and did a good job. I gave them $30 each. What would you have tipped them?

[bjornolf]

Also, do you tip your mail carrier, UPS/Fed Ex guy, and garbage man at the holidays? I do. Generally about $20 each. I've found I actually get better service when I do this. The delivery people will learn my name and be friendlier and go that extra mile when necessary, and the trash guys will often take items that are borderline (larger pieces, etc) that they sometimes didn't before I started this practice, and they'll pick up smaller stuff that falls out of the can. They definitely didn't bother with that before I started tipping them.

[Rich]

Also, do you tip your mail carrier, UPS/Fed Ex guy, and garbage man at the holidays? I do. Generally about $20 each. I've found I actually get better service when I do this. The delivery people will learn my name and be friendlier and go that extra mile when necessary, and the trash guys will often take items that are borderline (larger pieces, etc) that they sometimes didn't before I started this practice, and they'll pick up smaller stuff that falls out of the can. They definitely didn't bother with that before I started tipping them.

I tried to tip my email carrier, but the dollar bills just got stuck in the slot on my laptop.

[Indoor66]

I tried to tip my email carrier, but the dollar bills just got stuck in the slot on my laptop.

LOL - enough to snarf my drink!

[DukieInKansas]

I tried to tip my email carrier, but the dollar bills just got stuck in the slot on my laptop.

I would be happy to come over and help remove them - for the proper tip, of course!

[Reisen]

FTR, I tip:

- Average at expensive restaurants (18-20%, and yes, I think that's the new normal).

- Well for good service at inexpensive restaurants, or when I have my 19 month old with me and she makes a mess (25-30%).

- Movers

- Delivery people (electronics, furniture, etc.)

- Well for a haircut, which helps me get in on short notice (I always go to the same two people).

- Very well for taxis if I'm in a rush and they get me there quickly (I make this clear when I get in).

- For takeout if I'm going to the same place a lot, or sometimes on a whim. I don't, by any means, think this is necessary, and don't tip more than $2.

- For "installers" if they go over and above to help me (ie. fish cable).

- Christmas tips for anyone I'm going to have an ongoing relationship with (Nanny, doorman, mail carrier, etc. etc.), including barber.

I don't tip hotel maids unless it's going to be a long stay. I don't buy the argument of tipping for a night or two, and, quite honestly, how much (or little) they make doesn't (and shouldn't) impact my decision. As someone else mentioned, you don't tip busboys, dish washers, McDonalds' cashiers, greeters at Walmart, meat packers, etc. etc.

I work in the customer service field, have worked for tips during college, and believe that tipping should be based on service levels above the minimum (ie. going over and above, or delighting the customer). Unfortunately, the norm has gotten that people in certain industries expect a tip no matter how poor the service, if it's below the minimum.

I tipped the woman working the counter at a golf course clubhouse last weekend, even though she messed up our orders both at the turn, and for our snacks/beers afterwards, didn't have any of the food she should have ready, and tried to double-charge my father-in-law for two extra beers, insisting she had forgotten to charge him for them, when, in actuality, she had (and I knew it, and forced her to find the receipt in the cash register proving it). The idea of someone like that being rewarded for her absolute incompetence makes me facepalm as a customer service fanatic, but my FiL is a member at the course, and I didn't want to risk reflecting negatively on him.

[Reisen]

I should also add I tip very well anytime someone "hooks me up", ie:

- Replacing food/beverages I or someone in my party spilled.

- Give me the happy hour price a few minutes past the cut off

- Makes up for something I know isn't their fault (ie. an unreasonable delay in the kitchen) by doing something like comping my drinks or bringing me a free appetizer.

- Elects to just give me something for free / not charge me for something (common at places you're a regular).

Contrary to popular belief, I believe reasonable freebies by front line staff, and the subsequent tipping by the customer, is not a bad thing for anyone (including ownership/management), and certainly not "stealing". A bartender inviting their friends to the bar and giving them free drinks is stealing. A bartender choosing to occasionally give a regular his third drink for free solidifies the customer's already high loyalty, and raises the morale of the bartender through the increased tip. Staff that do things like this should be considered "empowered" and rewarded.

[gus]

Contrary to popular belief, I believe reasonable freebies by front line staff, and the subsequent tipping by the customer, is not a bad thing for anyone (including ownership/management), and certainly not "stealing". A bartender inviting their friends to the bar and giving them free drinks is stealing. A bartender choosing to occasionally give a regular his third drink for free solidifies the customer's already high loyalty, and raises the morale of the bartender through the increased tip. Staff that do things like this should be considered "empowered" and rewarded.

That's popular belief? buy backs for regulars and big spenders is usually encouraged, isn't it? I know at my friends' bar it is.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Contrary to popular belief, I believe reasonable freebies by front line staff, and the subsequent tipping by the customer, is not a bad thing for anyone (including ownership/management), and certainly not "stealing". A bartender inviting their friends to the bar and giving them free drinks is stealing. A bartender choosing to occasionally give a regular his third drink for free solidifies the customer's already high loyalty, and raises the morale of the bartender through the increased tip. Staff that do things like this should be considered "empowered" and rewarded.

That's popular belief? buy backs for regulars and big spenders is usually encouraged, isn't it? I know at my friends' bar it is.

Jon Taffer of Bar Rescue (Spike Network) would probably disagree with you. They are stealing from the bar owner.

[Bostondevil]

Jon Taffer of Bar Rescue (Spike Network) would probably disagree with you. They are stealing from the bar owner.

Nah, think of it as a kind of Starbucks loyalty points. Am I more likely to go back to a bar where I know the bartender and know that every once in awhile I'll get my third beer for free? Yes.

[Edouble]

My wife belongs to several women's groups who make lunch a primary raison d'etre. Service is a big item for them and tipping is part of it.

She has come up with the following strategy, though she has never had the nerve to use it. If anyone wants to see if it works, please report back:




If you are lucky, maybe you won't get the black eye the server will want to give you.

This is possibly the most condescending thing I have ever heard of in all of my years of serving and bartending. I would rather live without any of this person's money and make sure that these people did not enjoy themselves. People that act like they are royalty being tended to by their serfs is what can make customer service such a miserable job.

I have also never heard of any kind of restaurant where the kitchen is involved in the tip pool. I do not believe that such a place exists.

A bartender choosing to occasionally give a regular his third drink for free solidifies the customer's already high loyalty, and raises the morale of the bartender through the increased tip. Staff that do things like this should be considered "empowered" and rewarded.

This bartender would be rewarded by being fired if I ever did that, albeit I know that sort of thing goes on a lot.

[Jim3k]

This is possibly the most condescending thing I have ever heard of in all of my years of serving and bartending. I would rather live without any of this person's money and make sure that these people did not enjoy themselves. People that act like they are royalty being tended to by their serfs is what can make customer service such a miserable job.

I have also never heard of any kind of restaurant where the kitchen is involved in the tip pool. I do not believe that such a place exists.



This bartender would be rewarded by being fired if I ever did that, albeit I know that sort of thing goes on a lot.

Easy, E...that whole scenario was for Board fun...no one was advocating it for real.

BTW, I once worked at a restaurant in Aspen where the kitchen staff was part of the tip pool. Not the chefs, but some of the prep people and the steward.

[gus]

This bartender would be rewarded by being fired if I ever did that, albeit I know that sort of thing goes on a lot.

Really? Wow. I guess I just pick the right bars. I would never frequent a bar where I have to pay for every drink.

[Bostondevil]

I just tipped the young woman who makes my cup of tea for me three or four times a week. I don't tip everyday, just every once in awhile.

[Zeke]

I usually start at 15% and work from there. 20% if good service - I've gone as high as 30% for really really good servive. If it's bad the amount goes down - 10% - 5%. I've even (just once) left no tip and kept the pen.

[feldspar]

I have received pizzas where the pie was misshapen and the cheese was stuck to the top of the box. Too late to take back my tip, but I do have the recourse of complaining to the store and never ordering there again. The driver CAN make a difference.

I don't EVER order a pizza (whether for delivery or pickup) without asking to see the pizza before paying. Ever.

[feldspar]

(

It's not. I just don't accept the argument that "Occupation X is low paid ergo occupation X deserves to be tipped". The rules about paying wait staff are an exception written into the law, so it's an exception I make.

Oh, I don't think this is the basis for who gets a tip and who does not.

I've personally always looked at it as I tip anyone who provides me a direct service. Someone who serves me food, cleans up my specific mess, cuts my hair. Sometimes I have tipped the checkout person at the grocery store. Yes, I have tipped in hotels (as someone said, they're wiping your piss off the toilet, the least you can do is hand them a couple of bucks). So, no, that doesn't apply to the stock boy, because he's not providing me a direct service, and it has absolutely nothing to do with how much money the person is paid. I believe it's just good manners to give a little something extra to someone who provides courteous direct service to me.

However, back to the original topic, I do not believe in tipping the owner of an establishment. I consider my continued patronage and my telling friends and family about his/her business as my "tip," and I tell them so. Without exception I've been told they'd rather have that than a tip.

[throatybeard]

Nah, think of it as a kind of Starbucks loyalty points. Am I more likely to go back to a bar where I know the bartender and know that every once in awhile I'll get my third beer for free? Yes.

Exactly. It's not stealing; it's smart business.

There's a local place where most of the bartenders are beautiful, conversational, 26yo women who sometimes won't take my money, or won't take all of it. The result is that they have about a 90% market share of my public drinking in Saint Louis. I spend several times as much money there as I otherwise would. It's extremely where-everybody-knows-your-name. You come for the comely bartendresses and the beer selection, but you stay for the freebies.

[bjornolf]

Oh, I don't think this is the basis for who gets a tip and who does not.

I've personally always looked at it as I tip anyone who provides me a direct service. Someone who serves me food, cleans up my specific mess, cuts my hair. Sometimes I have tipped the checkout person at the grocery store. Yes, I have tipped in hotels (as someone said, they're wiping your piss off the toilet, the least you can do is hand them a couple of bucks). So, no, that doesn't apply to the stock boy, because he's not providing me a direct service, and it has absolutely nothing to do with how much money the person is paid. I believe it's just good manners to give a little something extra to someone who provides courteous direct service to me.

However, back to the original topic, I do not believe in tipping the owner of an establishment. I consider my continued patronage and my telling friends and family about his/her business as my "tip," and I tell them so. Without exception I've been told they'd rather have that than a tip.

How do you even know if someone's the owner? Do you ask every person that cuts your hair or serves you a drink "Hi, are you the owner?" I'd feel awkward if I'd gone to a place for many years suddenly STOPPING tipping someone if I found out they were the owner. Not sure how that works.

[Dukeface88]

It's not. I just don't accept the argument that "Occupation X is low paid ergo occupation X deserves to be tipped". The rules about paying wait staff are an exception written into the law, so it's an exception I make.

FWIW, that exception applies to anyone who qualifies as a "tipped employee", and often includes hotel employees as well as wait staff.