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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
s/o tipping. when to tip and when not?
name the things you tip on. and when do you not? what is the determining factor for you?
i think it's kind of odd that we tip on things like haircuts and movers. people are doing their jobs, just like you and me. so why should they also get a tip?
the lady who cuts my hair gets $85 for a hair cut. if i give her 20%, that's another $17 on top of what she's already getting paid by the salon which i imagine is at least $25 or $30 (out of that $85) for her hour or less of work. seems like kind of a racket but then again, i don't work in those industries...
thoughts?
Re: s/o tipping. when to tip and when not?
I'm never quite sure when to tip and when not to tip myself...for example, we had furniture delivered on Friday, but I never even thought that maybe I should have tipped them until they were gone. Was I supposed to tip them?
I guess I never thought of hairstylists like you did Strength, yes at the upper end salon's they do make quite a bit more for services, so why tip on top of that.
I don't ever shop at Lund's but if I did and needed a carry-out I'd tip them only because that was my first job in highschool and it sucked carrying out in the winter and only making $5/hr. I know they make more now, but still I'm sure its not over minimum wage, and the things they have to drag that carry out cart through is worth it to give them a tip.
I tip hairstlyists and anyone providing salon services (massage, etc.), with the exception of massage therapy for medical purposes (provided at my chiropractic clinic). Obviously I tip servers at restaurants, and we always tip drivers/people who help with luggage while we're traveling. We tipped vendors who provided excellent services for our wedding. I tipped housecleaners who worked for a large company (didn't set their own rates; this was a one-time thing a friend did for me).
I also always leave a tip for hotel housekeepers when I'm traveling (unless, of course, the housekeeping services are awful). I worked as a lowly "hotel maid" in high school and it's one of the most thankless jobs... a small tip always really brightened my otherwise bleak day of making beds and cleaning toilets--yuck.
I tip anyone for whom it is convention in our society to tip... I don't totally understand this history of why we tip for some services and not others, but I don't want to be the jerk that doesn't tip as a matter of principle! I also tip because I want to make someone else's day brighter, and I want them to have a positive feeling about me when I come back for return services. So... it's a combination of social convention and altruism and my own self-interest
i tip:
servers
bellmen
taxi drivers*
hairstylists & all other salon services*
housekeepers at hotels
bartenders
any one who does something outside their job description to help me out
the ones with the stars are the ones i don't understand why we tip them.
i DON'T tip these people and other's may/do:
movers
housekeepers who come regularly
baristas
employees at cafes where you stand in line to order/pick up food
I tip on service.
As someone who has worked in a salon - it's not as simple as the price of the haircut minus the employer portion. My old salon took out a $5 (for cuts, more $$ for chemical services) product fee per head, then I was paid my commission out of what was left. Then I had my heath insurance to pay for - which was $245 every 2 weeks for so/so coverage - and I was one of the lucky few salons that did offer insurance coverage for employees. That was in 2003/3004, so who knows what the cost would be now. Take out product purchases - the stying products you use on the clients, we had to pay for that, plus your tools and continuing education which is important unless you like to cut dated styles...
and it's really not that lucrative of a career! Tips were always appreciated and honestly, they were needed to pay the bills. Especially when you are first starting out. Obviously your stylist isn't just starting out and charging $85, but she HAS to do advance training to justify prices like that.
ETA: To just throw it out there - I went to school at Aveda, went through a 6 month assisting/advance training program and worked at an 'upscale' salon in Wayzata, charged $25 for a 30 minute men's cut, $35 for a 45 minute women's haircut and $65 for an updo, and every two weeks I'd take home between $300 and $450 - depending on how much product I needed to purchase to use on my clients, or how much I made in bonus on product sales to my clients, on my paycheck. I obviously couldn't afford much on that income. My tips were crucial to being able to just pay my 1/2 of the rent, or buy groceries and pay my other bills.
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
I don't really get the fast food type of restaurants that have a tip jar out. I totally understand tipping a server at a restaurant where you're seated at a table and the server takes your order, delivers your food, refills drinks, etc. What I don't get is tipping at a place where you order at a counter, and pick up your own food. It wouldn't seem weird if it was the norm everywhere, but it's not. I mean, the workers at McDonald's don't have tip jars out, so why is a tip expected at places like a sub shop like Erbert & Gerbert's or a coffee shop?
I think there's a difference between "serving" and "filling an order" and I'm not sure "filling an order" is tip worthy. Am I the only one who thinks this?
I still put my change in the tip jar at fast food places because I feel guilty not doing it, I just don't like doing it.
Mr. Sammy Dog
DH and I are good tippers, we have both worked in service industries. I tend to tip for a lot of services.
I will not tip for carry out food if I have to go in to get it. If they bring it to my car and run the payment then I will tip. I will also not tip if there is a jar out on the counter. I have been to so many places that just stick a crusty jar on the counter and tape a "tips appreciated" sign to it.
my read shelf:
I go to my stylist's house for serivces. She does it out of her own home and I still tip her, only because I like her a lot and appreciate the time she takes with me. However, the last stylist I went to owned her business and I didn't tip her. I also didn't see her for very long so that could have been part of why I wasn't tipping). I tip for services at a salon - usally a flat fee of $5/$10/$15 depending on the amount of services I'm purchasing.
I usually don't tip housekeeping in hotels. It wasn't something that I learned growing up because we didn't stay in hotels and I never think of it when we do stay. However, I also have my DH who picks up the room before we leave, making sure all the garbage is in the can, the towels in the bathroom over the tub and it's pciked up. We also decline maid service if only staying a few days and reuse the towels we started with just like we do at home.
I tip delivery at a flat fee - usually $5.
I don't tip at Starbucks/Caribou or places where I wait at the counter for my items to be given to me.
DH Is a stingy tipper for meals and I sometimes compensate. However, he's picky about not liking things on his food and it seems that the servers rarely get his order right so I can see his irritation over that.
I tip the valet at a flat fee of $5/$10/$15 depending on where we are and where the vehicle is getting parked. In Savannah we had the car in and out of valet so many times in the 24 hour period with the sightseeing and stuff that I finally told the valet that I'd catch him at the end. I was running out of cash.
Starbucks/Caribou are mentioned above - I never even thought about tipping there until I had a friend start working there and told me that's how they make decent money, otherwise it's just the min wage. I never even thought they got tips - I sometimes will tip at an independent coffee shop, but now I've started to at Starbucks/Caribou as well.
I tip the people who work in the salons/spas. Wait staff at a sit down restaurant. I try to carry my own bags in the hotels so I don?t have to tip bell hops, but if a bell hop gets a hold of my bag, I will tip him to release it (I don?t like bell hops). I tip taxi drivers. I tip food delivery people (like pizza or Chinese food). I try very hard to leave a tip for people who work at a buffet. I had home cleaners who work for a company come and I tipped them. There is a full service car wash (clean inside too) and I tip them, but when I get my car serviced (and they clean it) I do not tip those guys.
I do not tip (often) the person who hands me my food for carry out. I don?t tip self employed ?service people? (ie, cleaners, the person who did my landscaping?.).
I guess, I only tip when I think it is the norm to do so ? I know at many places, wait staff only get minimum wage and have to make their money in tips so I tip. I guess that mentality carries over to the other common service areas, for me. I just assume that for any of the items above, the people doing the service are getting just a small portion of the bill and have to make the rest up on tips.
If I know the person is self employed, I assume they get all the money from the service and they would have put enough in to make sure their wages are adequately funded.
Same here. I don't mind tipping my hairstylist because she does a great job and I know she works really hard. She has 2 jobs and goes to school full-time so I'm sure she relies on tips to pay bills.
I think the general rule at salons is to tip unless the OWNER of the salon is providing your services, because they get the profits from the salon and don't have to pay for the chair. But I would guess it's totally up to your discretion.
I didn't even know about tipping the housekeepers at hotels. I never do. Maybe if we stay more than one night someplace I'll start doing it.
And food service....if there's not some component that allows me to sit on my a$$, either to order or be served, then no tip. Sorry.
My hair stylist and other salon services. From what Anita said, he might not get a huge part of what I pay but even if he did, I'd still tip him well because he rocks. He is an amazing stylist and he has some great stories from the other work he does. The stories alone are worth the extra money.
Taxi drivers - I have a client who is a taxi driver and I know for a fact that he does not make a lot of money.
Restaurant servers
People who help with luggage when traveling, tour guides if they are particularly good unless they act like they expect a tip
Any hotel staff that comes to the room or makes our stay pleasant. I learned this lesson in college - I came home to find pictures on my camera of the cleaning people trying on our clothes and using our nail polish in our room. This was during a study abroad class where the instructor told us to leave money every day. We decided to use it for drinking money instead.
I'm sure I'm forgetting someone but basically where it's the norm (except the places that have tip jar's out like coffee shops).
There are times I haven't left a tip where it's the norm because I don't think the person deserves one because of crappy service.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
um, okay, several of you have noted certain jobs (taxi, barista) that people dont' make a lot of money at and that is why you tip...
there are TONS of other minimum wage jobs that we don't tip for so why should some people get the tips and others not if your concern is their pay scale.
based on the "they dont make a lot of money" idea, you SHOULD be tipping at Mickey Ds and other service jobs even if they don't bring your food to you.
i dunno. i realize minimum wage is NOT a livable wage but at the same time, i don't think you should take a job when you DEPEND on the tips to pay your bills. it seems backwards to me (and yes, i was once a server making $4.25 an hour).
This. I understand that some of the jobs make minimum wage, but at one point I did too and never got tips for the jobs that I was doing. That's why I try to tip some standard amount for those who provide a service and go above & beyond. It may not be the popular thing to say, but it's how I feel.
I completely agree, and was about to say the same thing. I'm sorry that they work at Starbucks and they only pay minimum wage. But it's not like you're a waitress who gets below minimum wage because tips are expected to make up the difference, YKWIM?
As someone who used to work at Starbucks, I gotta say I agree that it doesn't really make sense to tip them. I mean, yes, they do make your drink and there are ways to make it better than others, but like strength said, you can say that for many food services.
That being said, we did make crap and tips were SO appreciated. But at the same time, they were not expected. At least at my store, we never expected to be tipped, it was just a really nice bonus if we did.
I never tipped there before I worked there and now when I go (which is rare anyway) sometimes I tip and sometimes I don't. Depends on if I'm paying cash (I'll throw the change in) - if I'm using a card I don't tip.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
I always tip my baristas as well. If there's a tip jar, I ALWAYS leave a tip (unless, of course, the server was rude or the service was poor, etc.
To me, it's a way of saying "thank you for your service". Do I HAVE to do it? No, but it's important to me to let people know that I appreciate their work. Because I really genuinely do!
I have no resentment about leaving tips. It's just a small amount of money on my end, but it all adds up to making other people's lives better. And living-wage jobs are hard to come by, and it's HARD to make a living working low-paying service jobs. I have no problem contributing a tip to help someone who's paid crap to provide me a service that I appreciate...
First - I don't like tipping. Period. I don't think it should ever be expected and I don't think employers should pay their employees low wages expecting that patrons will tip. I think tipping should be strictly optional for great service only.
That said, for me, whether I tip depends on the reason the employee makes crap wages. I tip my hair stylist because I know her employer pays her a low wage expecting the rest to be made up in tips. Same with servers in restaurants. I'd be shocked if McDonald's decided to pay their employees minimum wage thinking patrons will add a buck per order in tips to the guy that rang up their order.
I feel like as a hairstylist, the cost of my education both initially and continuing, cost of my tools, technical skills and level of service are what make my job tip-worthy. From this perspective, it makes me feel like I deserve it more than say a waiter, bartender or taxi driver because of the reasons listed above. Yes, a server brings your food, but I bust my ass for two hours foiling, cutting and blowing out your hair.....
Stylists on the top end of the spectrum make a much better commission, but starting out, it's minimum wage through training, then a low commission level (which only applies if you have someone in your chair receiving a service! otherwise you're waiting in-salon for someone to come in and not being paid) until you build your clientele.
I hope not to come off as huffy, just trying to be informative, as it's been my experience that many don't understand how the process works behind the chair.
I don't really understand why people are offended by the notion of tipping people where tipping is the norm. Yes, maybe a livable wage would be a better answer, but in lieu of that, it isn't my job to try to change the system and fix things by stopping tipping. Stylists make some of their money off tips. If it weren't tips, you'd just be charged more. Which would be fine, I guess, but at least this way more money goes directly to the stylist rather than the salon's overhead.
I tip stylists/aestheticians, taxi drivers, movers, hotel housekeeping, servers, delivery people (pizza, etc.), valet, dryers at car wash, cart drivers at the airport (they make less than minimum wage in many states), coat check attendants, hotel concierge who does something for me, bartenders, baristas when I am princess-y about my order but not when it is basic, etc. Basically any time I'm thankful for service or demanding in some way. And I like doing it.
I tip where it is the norm. I never thought about hotel housekeeping, but I will start!
I go out with the mentality that if I can't afford to tip on a bill, I can't afford the service.
I agree with all of this. Laura said it exactly how I feel.
Sometimes I think we have the same mind...
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
Also, I agree with all of this.
Dutchgirl and Flip are my mind twins!
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
For many people, they honestly have no choice. I could go into so many socio/economic/education/location/transportation/etc reasons why many people have to take whatever job they can find, if they are lucky to even have one at all. It really isn't as simple as not taking a job that means you depend on tips.
I paid a lot of money to go to the best cosmetology school out there (Aveda, can't remember what the tuition was - 20k?) and I NEEDED tips to pay my bills. Not only pay my bills, but continue my education so that I could become a better stylist who could warrant a high price. Of course, no one tells you this in school - that it'll be a major struggle at first. I certainly didn't go through an intense school program, pay a lot of money for it, and then expect to only take home ~$160 a week.
jack | born 9.13.12 at 40w4d | 9 lbs 12 oz | 23 in
my puppy loves - chloe & jenson
pregnancy blog | chart
Hahaha-- it's true, we're totally mind twins! Or... triplets I guess. Mind triplets.