Post by Brian on Dec 24, 2011 14:20:12 GMT -5
Holiday tipping should be guided by gratitude
By Regina Britt
Just when you think you're finally finished spending money for the holidays, someone mentions tipping.
Did you tip your mail carrier? Hairdresser? Dog walker?
Who do you tip and how much?
The other day a co-worker told me she bought a Christmas tree and wasn't sure what to do after the guy wrestled that porcupine to the ground, lassoed it and tied it to the roof of the car. She stood there wondering: Should I give this guy a tip or is that included in the cost of the tree?
If I was the guy covered in sap with needles poking out of my face like I'd just had an acupuncture treatment, I'd say a tip would be just fine.
The art of tipping is lost on most of us. Last week I hosted a radio show on the topic. Connie Schultz, a columnist for Creators Syndicate and PARADE magazine, joined me. When she was at The Plain Dealer, she wrote the famous column about the coat check tip jar at Windows on the River at the Powerhouse in the Flats after she found out the tip money went to management not the employees.
We also had Steve Dublanica on the show. He's the author of "Waiter Rant" and "Keep the Change: A Clueless Tipper's Quest to Become the Guru of the Gratuity." He's spent years researching tips. He discovered that most people don't tip to reward service. They tip based on their own guilt, empathy or fear.
Here's the best advice Connie and Steve offered:
If the service is poor, ask what's wrong. Don't just leave an insult tip or no tip.
Always ask who gets the tip money. Make sure it goes to the person who did the work.
Always tip in cash. That way management can't deduct credit card fees from tips.
When in doubt about whether to tip or how much to tip, ask yourself: How would I want to be treated?
Never look down on the people who serve you. They have the power to seat you near the bathroom, close you out of a table on Valentine's Day, or pretend your credit card won't clear in front of all those people you brought to that fancy restaurant to impress.
Servers have more power that you realize. One of my favorite waitresses was waiting on a table once, and from her aerial view, saw a man's hand on climbing up the leg of a woman who wasn't his wife. The wife was sitting on the other side of him. The man later came up to the waitress and gave her $200. That wasn't a tip – that was hush money.
People who have waited tables are usually good tippers. I always tip 20 percent or more. When I was a waitress at Widener's Family Restaurant in Ravenna, I remember customers leaving me pennies as a joke after they made me do suicide drills, running back and forth to get them more coffee, water, catsup, Coke.
I never forget the first holiday tip I ever got. I was a single mom working as a legal secretary. To make extra money, I typed legal briefs freelance for other attorneys. One Christmas one of those attorneys sent me a card and $5.
Five dollars doesn't seem like much now, but it seemed like a windfall then.
So how do you tip for the holidays? I like Connie's approach. She makes a list of all the people who have made her life easier by the service they have given her. She considers tipping them as part of her charitable giving.
Emily Post has a long list of suggested amounts at www.emilypost.com
The regular babysitter gets one evening's pay and a small gift from your child.
Garage attendants, garbage collectors and the newspaper delivery person get $10 to $30 cash or gift. Dog walkers get up to one week's pay.
The barber gets the cost of one haircut. The beauty salon staff gets the cost of one visit divided for each person who cares for you.
For mail carriers it's trickier. The U.S. Postal Service doesn't allow them to accept cash. Let's be real: Has your mail carrier ever turned it down? They are allowed to accept small gifts under $20.
If you can't give cash to those who have served you well, give something else. Bake something, make something or at least write something.
Tipping is about more than money. It's about building a relationship, one that should enhance both of your lives. Let gratitude be your guide and you can't go wrong.
www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2011/12/holiday_tipping_regina_brett.html
By Regina Britt
Just when you think you're finally finished spending money for the holidays, someone mentions tipping.
Did you tip your mail carrier? Hairdresser? Dog walker?
Who do you tip and how much?
The other day a co-worker told me she bought a Christmas tree and wasn't sure what to do after the guy wrestled that porcupine to the ground, lassoed it and tied it to the roof of the car. She stood there wondering: Should I give this guy a tip or is that included in the cost of the tree?
If I was the guy covered in sap with needles poking out of my face like I'd just had an acupuncture treatment, I'd say a tip would be just fine.
The art of tipping is lost on most of us. Last week I hosted a radio show on the topic. Connie Schultz, a columnist for Creators Syndicate and PARADE magazine, joined me. When she was at The Plain Dealer, she wrote the famous column about the coat check tip jar at Windows on the River at the Powerhouse in the Flats after she found out the tip money went to management not the employees.
We also had Steve Dublanica on the show. He's the author of "Waiter Rant" and "Keep the Change: A Clueless Tipper's Quest to Become the Guru of the Gratuity." He's spent years researching tips. He discovered that most people don't tip to reward service. They tip based on their own guilt, empathy or fear.
Here's the best advice Connie and Steve offered:
If the service is poor, ask what's wrong. Don't just leave an insult tip or no tip.
Always ask who gets the tip money. Make sure it goes to the person who did the work.
Always tip in cash. That way management can't deduct credit card fees from tips.
When in doubt about whether to tip or how much to tip, ask yourself: How would I want to be treated?
Never look down on the people who serve you. They have the power to seat you near the bathroom, close you out of a table on Valentine's Day, or pretend your credit card won't clear in front of all those people you brought to that fancy restaurant to impress.
Servers have more power that you realize. One of my favorite waitresses was waiting on a table once, and from her aerial view, saw a man's hand on climbing up the leg of a woman who wasn't his wife. The wife was sitting on the other side of him. The man later came up to the waitress and gave her $200. That wasn't a tip – that was hush money.
People who have waited tables are usually good tippers. I always tip 20 percent or more. When I was a waitress at Widener's Family Restaurant in Ravenna, I remember customers leaving me pennies as a joke after they made me do suicide drills, running back and forth to get them more coffee, water, catsup, Coke.
I never forget the first holiday tip I ever got. I was a single mom working as a legal secretary. To make extra money, I typed legal briefs freelance for other attorneys. One Christmas one of those attorneys sent me a card and $5.
Five dollars doesn't seem like much now, but it seemed like a windfall then.
So how do you tip for the holidays? I like Connie's approach. She makes a list of all the people who have made her life easier by the service they have given her. She considers tipping them as part of her charitable giving.
Emily Post has a long list of suggested amounts at www.emilypost.com
The regular babysitter gets one evening's pay and a small gift from your child.
Garage attendants, garbage collectors and the newspaper delivery person get $10 to $30 cash or gift. Dog walkers get up to one week's pay.
The barber gets the cost of one haircut. The beauty salon staff gets the cost of one visit divided for each person who cares for you.
For mail carriers it's trickier. The U.S. Postal Service doesn't allow them to accept cash. Let's be real: Has your mail carrier ever turned it down? They are allowed to accept small gifts under $20.
If you can't give cash to those who have served you well, give something else. Bake something, make something or at least write something.
Tipping is about more than money. It's about building a relationship, one that should enhance both of your lives. Let gratitude be your guide and you can't go wrong.
www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2011/12/holiday_tipping_regina_brett.html
