It always amazed me that when we were in Japan, you didn't need to tip. It was so refreshing. People must be paid adequately to do their work and that's all they expect. There were several times that Art gave too much for the Japanese cab driver and said to keep the change. The cab driver was so appreciative that it would almost make Art feel like he should have given more.
I always get confused on the amount to tip and got this information on how much you should be tipping everybody.
OK, that's fine. However, the other day we got a bill from our Star Advertiser newspaper. Notice where there's a space for TIP? Yes, it's optional, but really... do you need to tip the newspaper, too? We do give the newspaper carrier a Christmas tip. But now the newspaper company itself wants a tip? How much do they expect?Sheesh!
We find that in restaurants now it's almost inevitable that a 10% is added to the bill for the tip. Christopher always checks with the waiter or waitress if they actually get the tip, if it's taxed and if they'd rather get the tip in cash. The practice is not standardised so he always asks; but the waiting staff are often so surprised to be asked that most people clearly just pay the bill without checking. And all too often the people who you want to give the tip to don't get it, or it's taxed. So it's worth checking each time.
ReplyDeleteHi, I live in the U. S.
ReplyDeleteyes, when you buy stuff, you pay tax, when you go dining in restaurants, you got to pay 9-15% extra for tips, besides tax.
that's a way of life, I am used to it.
Kay -- I wouldn't tip a company, either. I try to tip well for good service, directly to the waiter. I DO let them know if service was bad and why. Had a restaurant cashier the other day who tried to make me wait at the register counter while he took a pic on his cell phone of some friend in the restaurant! I told him I was his customer at the moment and he needed to get off his cell phone, AND I asked for the manager's number, and informed him of the incident. Sometimes the youngsters need to learn, and return to basic customer service. Of course, if I get such service, or something takes too long, I tell them I'm a nurse, and so the next time they or a relative is in the hospital it might be ok for me to "take too long to treat their pain," or use a cell phone over their bed! That gets them thinking about customer service.
ReplyDeleteCheers, DrumMajor
I usually tip 20% for good restaurant service, but I can't say when I last tipped anybody other than for food service. At the Food Co-op they have a tip jar but they tell you who will get the tips each month (usually the latest disaster relief fund) or the like. That makes me happy to see how much they received last month and where it went.
ReplyDeleteI worked for tips when in college and you are right, it is because most places just barely pay their help. Wish that would change.
ReplyDeleteI like Japan's attitude.
Wow! You paid just $113 for 1 yr subscription? I paid $151.
ReplyDeleteDid not include tip, thank goodness!
Call me a Scrooge, but I seldom put a tip in a tip jar. (Although I'm a generous tipper at restaurants.) I NEVER tip a company...I don't know if the money is going to get back to the right individual.
ReplyDeleteKay, I agree there are just too many things to tip for! The restaurants I do tip because my daughter waitresses and they really only get their tips. They are paid so little that all their wages go to taxes so their tips are the only thing they actually make. Waitresses/Waiters have to "tip out" also. They have to share their tip with the bartender, hostess, bus person and runner. So when you think about it they have to serve you your food, be courteous, run around getting you drinks and food, make sure you are happy with everything, etc., etc. and then they only get part of their tip. I don't mean to soapbox about waiting on people but if all Americans knew this they wouldn't mind paying their waitress/waiter a tip. Also I'm not saying you or anyone else is complaining about tipping in a restaurant but I'm sure most Americans don't know how tips in restaurants work.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great weekend!
My feeling about this is strong. We tip for excellent service. Horrid service deserves nothing and gets nothing.
ReplyDeleteI am fine with tipping in a restaurant because the servers are paid so poorly. I am less fine with tip jars in a self-service place. I guess newspapers are in such a bad way these days that they are starting to have to ask for tips :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right I worked for tips while in University
ReplyDeleteI keep in mind that any kind of personal service is a luxury. Anyone who has held actual service jobs knows that these are underpaid. Service workers depend on tips for their livelihood.
ReplyDeleteService is extremely expensive in Seattle, as I am finding out. People demand the best and pay through the nose for it. They like being pampered.
I think that if people don't want to pay extra for service they should avoid situations where they are expected to tip. Otherwise tip and add a smile as well, as you thank your lucky stars you don't have to do that kind of work and can afford to have others provide you with nice little services.
I often think that the resentment comes about because women are having to work too hard for free in their families! So get your husband and kids to "tip" you with little luxuries for all the hard work you do!
I am, if anything, an over-tipper because I've worked as a waitress and I know how horrid it is. Hattie said it all for me!
ReplyDeleteWhen my siblings and I were growing up, my mother worked in a hotel. She told us later that she used the tips she received to pay for lunch every day. If she got just a few dollars, then she had to eat out of the vending machine and drink water from the fountain. If she didn't get any tips at all, then she didn't eat. All the money from her measly (less than minimum wage) paycheck went to raising us three kids.
ReplyDeleteSo, because of her, I don't hesitate to tip servers and hotel cleaning staff and hairdressers and people like that who are doing a service directly for me. I just budget in the tip beforehand. I wouldn't tip a company though. I wouldn't be sure the people doing the work are actually getting the tip and that's just not fair.
Thanks for the link, it's interesting to see what different jobs expect for tips.
I tip generously and directly to the concerned person if i like their service .I completely avoid tip-jars .
ReplyDeleteI suppose some customers think the "optional" tip goes to the paper-carrier, so they pay it.
ReplyDeleteI happen to know that weekly or twice-weekly newspapers really don't need to charge for subscriptions. The advertising covers the costs. I worked for years for a paper that was delivered free to every home in the area.
Daily papers are different, of course, because they need their own presses, which are very expensive. The two daily papers in Vancouver, BC, got together in 1965 and formed a third company to produce both papers.
I have never seen a newspaper invoice like yours, with a tip option on it. (I like the Japan disaster relief option, however.)
— K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
gosh Kay, things have got out of hand. I noticed in your link it said you can now tip the hairdresser if he's the owner. I don't. And people's wages aren't going up and everyone expects a tip? My friend would say it's hard enough to keep up with the increase in food prices.
ReplyDeleteI always left tips in Japan. Everywhere. At the time a package of cigarettes and a pound of coffee was enough to pay the rent for a month. When things got better and men stopped wearing ropes in the trousers for belts, I still gave tips.
ReplyDeleteWe used to get our woolen uniforms cleaned by native Japanese who were permitted to come on base and collected clothes for washing and wool uniforms for cleaning.
When they came back a week later, they smelled exactly like high octane gasoline. I asked about it if it was safe to wear because it smelled so strong of gasoline and the man said yes it is safe to wear. No explosion is guaranteed.
I tipped him because he smoked and I figured he was lucky to be alive.
That´s ridiculous!! A space for a tip on a bill?!! I would LOL if it wasn´t so sad. Luckily in this country there is no such pressure to tip. If the service is good in a restaurant we leave a tip, but each one and how much is up to the individual.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's easy to get carried away with all the tipping-how about us wives ane moms too...lol!
ReplyDeleteWe do tip in restaurants, and I round up a couple of dollar for my haircuts. I usually leave something in the tip jar for coffee drinks. but tha's about it. We never tip for motel room staff, and carry our own bags. I like the European way of paying people a living wage in the first place.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post!
ReplyDeletemcaads.com provides advertising placement in the most far reaching or niche newspapers and magazines available worldwide.
I agree with you. I try to ensure that the tips go directly to the person I want to tip. It should be something expected but rather willingly given for delighting the client, but in my travel in the Stat6es I was taxed here and there and exacted tips there and here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I try to ensure that the tips go directly to the person I want to tip. It should be something expected but rather willingly given for delighting the client, but in my travel in the Stat6es I was taxed here and there and exacted tips there and here.
ReplyDeleteYou know, in Canada/USA, we pay most a good enough wage they don't need tips. My son is a waiter, mind you, and he needs the tips!
ReplyDelete