Oi boofhead, how does tipping work?
Dear Paul
My only american companion.
As an Australian I find it a ridiculous notion to tip a waitress, maitre d’, doorman or hotel maid oh and not to forget a skycap. In fact, i’m not even quite clear on a skycap’s role in this world. Come to think of it, I am sure the only person I’ve ever tipped before is my coffee barista, but that was due to my change being about 20 cents, which was easier to put it in the glass jar on the counter than to pull my wallet out of my handbag, unzip the coins compartment and place the change quietly so it doesn’t make that scratching noise against the other coins.
Oh I’m having a flashback, I once tipped my poor polish immigrant cable guy in Dublin 50 Euro to work overtime to connect my internet on a Saturday afternoon… but perhaps that errs on the embarrassing side of bribery, so we will not speak of it again.
Recognizing my attitude towards tipping made me realize that my visit to the USA might be tarnished by my hotel bed being changed with the room next doors dirty sheets and that if I visit a restaurant twice I should prepare to eat a boogie or two. A Fawlty Towers experience to have, want I do not! Says Yoda.
Some of you who know me well, know that I am in fact a charitable person and will donate to charities from time to time and would give my loved ones the clothes off my back if they were in need. I don’t withhold my spare change for reasons of greed or the well known disease of deep pockets and short arms and certainly do not withhold spare change from my waitress to express my disappointment at the quality of service. After all, in good Aussie nature, we will just never go back to that establishment again and probably write a poor review on-line and tell all of our friends of our bad experience.
So, why don’t I tip? Well, I wasn’t raised in an environment where this was expected. I was not taught to tip. Some establishments in Australia are increasingly expecting tips or providing a space on a receipt for tips, however, I feel that this is no more than a means to take advantage of American travelers. Let’s be clear, it’s not to say that I think the American system is wrong, I just don’t understand it and need to be educated.
So, Paul… in all your wisdom, you have from now until 22nd Sep to teach me everything you know so I can ensure I do not inflict a mullet on any innocent children. I’d also like to return home with my bags on the same plane, for I fear If I fail to tip the skycap as is customary then my bags may end up in New Delhi, or worse, an eccentric skycap will be walking around his apartment enjoying the feel of my soft hosiery on his hairy man legs. *shudder*
This goes out to anyone else too, for those of you who may have been to the states before, please share you advice and experience with me. When, how and how much should I tip for Excellent, Good, Ok and Poor service?
Edit: This is how you tip, right??
Restaurants: 15% before tax is standard. For good service, 20%. For so-so service, 10%. For extremely poor service, in lieu of money write something snarky on the check. (It should be a good mix of witty and soul-crushing; you want them to remember that they’ve messed with the wrong person.)
Restaurants – Counter Service: I’m not sure when this started, but there didn’t used to be tip jars on counters at restaurants. And now they’re practically ubiquitous. The good news is that you can generally ignore them. Unless the person behind the counter is cute, in which case be sure that they SEE you putting money into the jar, otherwise what was the point.
Bars: 15% is standard, with a minimum of $1 for alcoholic beverages (order several at a time to save money!). If you’ve been sitting at the bar and making chit-chat with the bartender, though, throw in an extra dollar or so. And if they’ve been giving you free drinks, I tend to add at least 1/2 of what the drink would’ve cost.
Taxis: 10-15% is about right. If you know they took the long route, deduct from that. I like an aggressive taxi driver, so if I feel that my life or a pedestrian’s life was in jeopardy at any point during the ride, I’ll add a couple dollars.
Party Clown: $10. Add an extra $5 if they made reasonably accurate balloon animals.
Parking Valet: $2. If they bring you a better car than what you dropped off, $3.
Hairdressers: No clue. And thank you for reminding me how little hair I have.
Hotel Maid: They saaaaay to tip $2-5 per night. But at some point that just seems impractical, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t it be easier to just leave a “Do Not Disturb” card on the doorknob for the entire stay? Does the bed NEED to be made? Does the toilet paper NEED to have a little triangle folded on its end? No, I think not.
Skycaps: $1 per bag, but I’ve never used a skycap. I get the feeling that job is going the way of the elevator operator, anyway.
Elevator Operator: 25 cents per floor.
Petting Zoo: 15% for ponies, 20% for miniature horses (NOT the same as ponies), 10% for sheep. Do not tip goats, they’re just going to spend it on drugs anyway.
Hahahaha You’re a champion. I’m so glad you included the Party Clown and Petting Zoo, I’m intending on seeing a few of those while I’m there! (Seriously, miniature horses get more than ponies?) Also, was suspecting that about the goats, considering they are always falling over. I’m totally gonna print out one of those little tip card cheat sheets. I’m not bad at working out percentages, but on the fly I’d probably end up offending someone by giving them 2.5% for excellent service, Instead of 25%.
Good luck with the tipping Don it sounds a bit mind boggling.
I say just go over there and be a tight ass….it’s not compulsory right???
hahaha Well… I don’t know. Paul, is it compulsory? You know, a part of my visa requirements? haha. No, I will partake in the customs, considering that work will be reimbursing me for all my expenses anyway
Well, you could take Mell’s suggestion and go a step further… not only be a tight ass when it comes to tipping, but then turn in receipts for reimbursement which say you were quite generous. Why not make a little profit on this trip?
Okay, really – although you can probably go a long ways with “oh, the charming foreigner just doesn’t understand how we do things in the States,” here’s where you’d probably feel guilty for not tipping: People in some of these jobs – primarily waiters and waitresses – are paid less than minimum wage because they receive tips. So a job that might pay $10/hr suddenly becomes a $3/hr job. (Yes, it’s a screwed up system.)
I feel very lucky to be an Aussie!
Tip big Don and let shclumberger pay for it….lol