Tipping - Broader Areas

[Jimmy Higgins]

So I'm heading out to New England and I noticed on a couple receipts for things we've signed up for (local city walking tour, whale watching tour - small boat 10 to 18 people), they indicated tipping is encouraged. I was caught by surprise. I wasn't expecting to tip for these. The prices for the services aren't cheap, and I was under the assumption these people get paid for their job. The whale watching really caught me by surprise. I mean, what is an appropriate tip for "Thanks for not sinking"? We tipping pilots next?

If this is how it is, then fine, but I have no idea what to tip for these services!

 

[bilby]

The whale watching really caught me by surprise. I mean, what is an appropriate tip for "Thanks for not sinking"?

Just make sure to find out in advance just how much goes to the whales themselves. All too often, those tips just end up in manager's pockets, and the performers you actually paid to see get little or nothing.

 

[Elixir]

I mean, what is an appropriate tip for "Thanks for not sinking"?

Ingrate!
Do you even have any idea how hard it is to train whales to be watched?

We tipping pilots next?

Pilot whales only.

 

[ideologyhunter]

I'm generally okay with the protocols of tipping in the U.S., but there seems to be 'tip creep' going on with the types of businesses that now solicit a tip. What do the rest of you think of tipping in a bakery? If someone's running the cash register and bagging up a few cookies for me, do I tip? There's usually a tip jar there. They haven't necessarily had any part in baking the cookies; all I know is that they bag up the ones I request. I don't tip the ladies who run the deli counter in Krogers, and those ladies may be dicing, slicing, scooping, etc., for me. I figure they are not on the same pay scale as restaurant workers, whose wages reflect the tip economy.
I was dumbfounded when I took my lawn mower to be serviced last week. There was a tip jar by the register. This was a lawn service business. I have to wonder how many people leave a tip. (I was tempted to throw in a few grass clippings. Those are tips, right? Or a slip of paper: 'Here's my tip: I'll throw in all my change when a taco comes with the mower.') It's not like I tip the guy who services my car.

 

[Toni]

So I'm heading out to New England and I noticed on a couple receipts for things we've signed up for (local city walking tour, whale watching tour - small boat 10 to 18 people), they indicated tipping is encouraged. I was caught by surprise. I wasn't expecting to tip for these. The prices for the services aren't cheap, and I was under the assumption these people get paid for their job. The whale watching really caught me by surprise. I mean, what is an appropriate tip for "Thanks for not sinking"? We tipping pilots next?

If this is how it is, then fine, but I have no idea what to tip for these services!

I’ve done a whale watching tour out of Boston, years back ( just when JFK Jr went down in his plane) and I don’t recall tipping. Maybe 10 years ago, we booked a family fishing charter boat on the Great Lakes and I DID tip that guy because among other things, he cleaned our fish for us. And I knew the economy of that place. Later I felt perhaps I under-tipped him. Maybe 15%? Don’t remember. I rounded up and added some more.

I also leave a tip in hotel rooms and for the cleaners of vacation homes.

Sometimes places that mention tipping also suggest a percentage.

 

[WAB]

Soon we'll be tipping cops for writing us a ticket.

 

[Ruth Harris]

Maybe I am an outlier here. I tip for many things that most people don't.

I tipped my HVAC people for fixing my furnace in the middle of winter when the roads and everything around were ice covered and they took care of me promptly with no complaints. I tipped my lawn service people who went the extra mile to prune some shrubbery that was overgrown without asking for extra pay. I tip food service people lavishly, as I did that between regular career jobs and I know how hard the work can be.

I have tipped boat cruise people for providing excellent service. This would be similar to your whale watching tour; if the people conducting the tour (the boat captain, the attendants etc.) worked very hard to make sure that the trip was informative and enjoyable, I would tip them. Typically in cases like that I would tip $10 to $20 per person, depending on the time spent on the tour and the service provided.

You probably think that I am a soft touch, and maybe I am. But I truly believe in rewarding good service well no matter what the service was. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there were no responses on my DoorDash question thread.

Ruth

 

[bilby]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there were no responses on my DoorDash question thread.

I don't think this forum is a great place to go looking for door dash employees. Certainly I have nothing to contribute to that thread, as I am from a country where tipping is essentially un-heard of, and food delivery workers get paid by their employer, not by their employer's customers.

 

[Ruth Harris]

I don't think this forum is a great place to go looking for door dash employees. Certainly I have nothing to contribute to that thread, as I am from a country where tipping is essentially un-heard of...

You have a valid point here given your location, but I thought maybe someone would have a friend or family member who does that. There are a lot of people here from varying walks of life.

Ruth

 

[bilby]

I don't think this forum is a great place to go looking for door dash employees. Certainly I have nothing to contribute to that thread, as I am from a country where tipping is essentially un-heard of...

You have a valid point here given your location, but I thought maybe someone would have a friend or family member who does that. There are a lot of people here from varying walks of life.

Ruth

Sadly, fewer than there once was.

But I wouldn't give up all hope of a useful response, some members only visit infrequently and may not yet have seen the thread.

 

[Elixir]

Soon we'll be tipping cops for writing us a ticket.

Next thing you know, you get stopped by every cop who sees you!

 

[Toni]

Maybe I am an outlier here. I tip for many things that most people don't.

I tipped my HVAC people for fixing my furnace in the middle of winter when the roads and everything around were ice covered and they took care of me promptly with no complaints. I tipped my lawn service people who went the extra mile to prune some shrubbery that was overgrown without asking for extra pay. I tip food service people lavishly, as I did that between regular career jobs and I know how hard the work can be.

I have tipped boat cruise people for providing excellent service. This would be similar to your whale watching tour; if the people conducting the tour (the boat captain, the attendants etc.) worked very hard to make sure that the trip was informative and enjoyable, I would tip them. Typically in cases like that I would tip $10 to $20 per person, depending on the time spent on the tour and the service provided.

You probably think that I am a soft touch, and maybe I am. But I truly believe in rewarding good service well no matter what the service was. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there were no responses on my DoorDash question thread.

Ruth

Yeah, I tend to tip food service people really well for a few reasons: It’s work I do not ever want to do and im grateful someone can and will. The stereotype is that women are bad tippers and I’ve actually had a server avoid my table, I’m certain because it was just me and my daughter in some very medium place but I definitely was going to show her that women know how to treat other women. Also some of my kids have worked in food service and yeah: tip your server as well as you can.

 

[Tigers!]

I give the same tip to everyone "Look after your mum."

 

[ZiprHead]

I also leave a tip in hotel rooms and for the cleaners of vacation homes.

Yup, I've done that.

I've also found out that the wait staff in buffet typle places that just basically do busser service get paid like actual wait staff that brings your food, almost nothing. So I tip them too. Twenty percent of the bill.

 

[Ruth Harris]

I've also found out that the wait staff in buffet typle places that just basically do busser service get paid like actual wait staff that brings your food, almost nothing. So I tip them too. Twenty percent of the bill.

Good for you! And yes, this is correct; those servers only get what is called a "tip wage". In most places that is $2.13 per hour. Employers are supposed to make up any shortfalls to the usual minimum wage if they don't get enough tips to do it, but honestly most places don't. They are never audited to be sure that they are meeting the legal requirements and I don't personally know anyplace that was ever caught and made to pay the shortfall.

What most people don't realize is that there is a lot of backstage setup work involved in buffet style restaurants, and it is all done by the waitstaff. That is not an easy job.

Ruth

 

[thebeave]

I also leave a tip in hotel rooms and for the cleaners of vacation homes.

Yup, I've done that.

I've also found out that the wait staff in buffet typle places that just basically do busser service get paid like actual wait staff that brings your food, almost nothing. So I tip them too. Twenty percent of the bill.

Yep, I do that too...apparently, without my knowledge. Thirty plus years ago I was traveling a lot on business and used mostly cash for my gas and eating expenses. Just before going to bed, I'd dump all the change in an ashtray (remember those?) to unload my pant's pockets. By the time I returned later the next day, my "tip" was gone! I didn't mind that as much as when I took my truck into the car wash (including an interior cleaning) and the change in my center console (used for feeding parking meters) somehow became a tip. Not going there again.

 

[thebeave]

Maybe I am an outlier here. I tip for many things that most people don't.

I tipped my HVAC people for fixing my furnace in the middle of winter when the roads and everything around were ice covered and they took care of me promptly with no complaints. I tipped my lawn service people who went the extra mile to prune some shrubbery that was overgrown without asking for extra pay. I tip food service people lavishly, as I did that between regular career jobs and I know how hard the work can be.

I have tipped boat cruise people for providing excellent service. This would be similar to your whale watching tour; if the people conducting the tour (the boat captain, the attendants etc.) worked very hard to make sure that the trip was informative and enjoyable, I would tip them. Typically in cases like that I would tip $10 to $20 per person, depending on the time spent on the tour and the service provided.

You probably think that I am a soft touch, and maybe I am. But I truly believe in rewarding good service well no matter what the service was. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there were no responses on my DoorDash question thread.

Ruth

. These people work hard and are often underappreciated and even demeaned for what they do. I tip wait staff pretty well too. The only ones I internally (and sometimes vocally) gripe about are bartenders. It was conventional in my area to tip the bartender 50 cents or a dollar for pulling a bottle of beer (back when it was $4 for $5) out of the fridge and opening the top with a bottle opener. A whole ten seconds of little effort. I once sarcastically said to a rather stoic, unfriendly bartender, "Here's your dollar tip for that 10 seconds of work". He didn't like that.

 

[Toni]

In some of the nicer restaurants, servers share tips with back of house, busters, etc. often voluntary but it’s always good to get along with coworkers

 

[Politesse]

Oh, I tip everyone, especially if they ask. I've got the money, and times are hard. Only going to get harder.

Would it be nice if employers paid them more? Of course. But I'm a "socialist" for even suggesting that they ought to be obliged to, so obviously that isn't going to happen. People live in reality. Their bills are in reality. Employers suddenly waking up and growing a conscience for no reason isn't reality.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So I'm heading out to New England and I noticed on a couple receipts for things we've signed up for (local city walking tour, whale watching tour - small boat 10 to 18 people), they indicated tipping is encouraged. I was caught by surprise. I wasn't expecting to tip for these. The prices for the services aren't cheap, and I was under the assumption these people get paid for their job. The whale watching really caught me by surprise. I mean, what is an appropriate tip for "Thanks for not sinking"? We tipping pilots next?

If this is how it is, then fine, but I have no idea what to tip for these services!

I’ve done a whale watching tour out of Boston, years back ( just when JFK Jr went down in his plane) and I don’t recall tipping.

This is a smaller zodiac type boat. Whale watching is like figure skating, it is best from the surface level. So tipping for that would make more sense than a large boat.

I also leave a tip in hotel rooms and for the cleaners of vacation homes.

I leave vacation homes in better shape than I arrive.

Sometimes places that mention tipping also suggest a percentage.

I wish they did. But I'm seeing 10 to 20% for the whale watching and tour thing. The tour will be a harder tip because it is point to point, which kind of messes things up for parking.