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Two weekends ago, I finally made my parents proud. No, I didn’t make them proud by quitting drinking, smoking, or settling down with a girlfriend. They were proud that I was finally able to afford new furniture, and get rid of my horrid looking futon and mattress from college.
Prior to the delivery of my new bachelor approved couch and bed, I did some research to see if delivery people needed to be tipped; and by research, I mean asking my friends on Facebook. After I conducted the research, I discovered two things: my friends are still dumbasses, and we all have different ideas on who should be tipped for their work. In my particular case, I had responses ranging from no tip, $20, to 20%. I’m sorry, but the last time I gave anyone two Benjamins for their services was Destiny at a hotel in Waterloo, Iowa. Or was her name Cinnamon? I digress. After the delivery was made, I ended up tipping the guys $20, which I thought was more than enough for moving 4 pieces of furniture.
This experience got me thinking about the grey areas of tipping, because now it seems like anyone who does a service for a customer expects a hand-out. There are a few jobs that you should tip with no questions asked. The bartender at your favorite watering hole, your hair stylist, the chinese food or pizza delivery guy, and taxi drivers are all good examples of that. What I want to focus on is the unknown situations where tipping is necessary:
1) Restaurants with “To-Go” option
The “To-Go” option is nice at restaurants if you want to have an above average meal without the embarrassment of sucking down margaritas and chicken fingers in a booth by yourself, or to get a jumpstart on your Dexter binge on Netflix. There seems to be a grey area, however, if this requires a tip. Sure, they made your meal, boxed it up for you, and have it available at the counter, or better yet, bring it out to your car, but does this really require a tip? Think about it. Fast food restaurants do the same thing, but we never think about tipping the kid at the drive-thru. My verdict: No tip.
2) Coffee Shop Baristas
The coffee shop is the first stop I make in the morning, because the coffee at my office tastes like fresh-brewed dirt. Every shop has a tip jar right by the cashier, just to give you the guilt trip and confusion of if you really should give an extra dollar or two. My synopsis: tip the barista based on the drink you order. If you’re like me and order the coffee of the day, no need to tip. If you’re ordering a multi-step drink, consider throwing an extra dollar or two for their efforts.
3) Hotel Maids
I admit, this is a service I forget about for tipping. These people, however, are modern day heroes. Think about all the disgusting shit they’ve come across in that profession. The unknown stains, skid marks on the toilet, empty bottles of booze, and possibly vomit on the floor if you really blacked out last night. My verdict: This goes on a case-by-case scenario. It’s not necessary to tip if you had a one-night stay and only used the bathroom once, but if you leave a complete disaster in the room, give these people a break and leave a tip.
4) Computer Repair
Let’s be honest. If this person can get your computer running smoothly after removing the numerous Trojan viruses from Pornhub. My verdict: Tip.
Respond
BoozeandSchmooze
Booze and Schmooze is a 2012 graduate from a state-run party school in Minnesota, with honors in keg stands, and passive-aggressive MN nice behavior. You can see him rollerblading in the Mall of America with a duck call in honor of the District 5 hockey team, who became the Mighty Ducks. "Let him make the first move, Conway" - Gordon Bombay
I worked as a to go waitress in college. I made $2.13 per hour just like the rest of the wait staff and took home tips instead of a paycheck. I bagged up food when there was 50+ orders in the window and made sure that all the extra condiments, bread and stupid modifications people made to their entrees were correct. I also went outside in blistering heat, torrential downpours and the freezing cold to give the orders to the customers. So please tip a to go waitress. Just a couple bucks goes a long way.
Good to know from your perspective as a to-go waitress. I’ve just heard arguments on both sides whether it’s required or not to tip.
5) The Asian Massage Parlor.
These lovely ladies have survived the thousand mile voyage from whatever asian island they came from where they used recycled water bottles poking through their roof as a lighting source. Now their lives revolve around servicing 50 year old retail manager divorcees and 20 something studs who have been out on a drinking binge and decide that prostitution has been around forever so maybe it’s not going to be the deciding factor to keep them out of heaven. They live strictly in the night and sleep during the day so they can oil down your dry pathetic skin and sexually assault them with your fingers. Yes a happy ending is in store for some reason you still get clammy hands and cold sweats asking for one. Hey you already buy Nike products, nothing wrong with seeing the slave market face to face before you pay them. What was I getting at with this one? Don’t tip, they charge too much anyways. Shit, for 100 bucks a dick ill start crank starting Johns.
What is the correct tip amount at an Asian buffet or Genghis Grille where they only bring you a drink and the occasional refill if you’re lucky? I always tip 20+% at a regular service restaurant.
Definitely tip hotel room attendants (that’s what we called them in the business, though you know them as “housekeepers” or “maids”). The thing most people don’t know is that everything that a guest *may* have touched has to be replaced for a “changeover” room, as opposed to a “holdover” room, where the guest is the same the next night.
In a changeover, the attendant has to change all towels, all sheets, and all “other” things that that property may offer that could be used by a guest. This means that, even though a guest may have used just one towel, they have to replace all of the towels.
I agree with the statement that “if you leave the room a disaster, leave a tip.” However, I have to mention that most of these room attendants don’t make much more than minimum wage, but they work much harder than most servers. I’ve done both, and I will vouch for room attendants over servers 100% of the time.
Bottom line: tip your room attendants. Even $1 a day is helpful.
What about the people who wash your car or dry it or simply add tire shine?
You can get viruses from pornhub? Everything I know is a lie!
Holy shit, Waterloo, IA is an hour away from me. Why on earth were you there?
The chilis to-go people deserve tips because 9/10 times they’re bringing it to your car in the midst of a single digit or bellow polar vortex. Also If they’re sacrificing a prime Friday/Saturday shift to do to-go and no one tips they’re doing just as much work as the other waiters for literally no money.
Why have tipping percentages increased while food prices have also increased? My old man did (and still probably does) a method that I admire…start at 12% and then go up or down depending on the service. Also technically tips are mainly for those that make less than min wage…which is why they are legally allowed to make less than min wage. Don’t have a problem with people making it rain on a gas station attendant or whoever, its just lousy to expect to get a certain percentage regardless. Seems like those that have waited (waitered/waitressed?) give higher tips than those that haven’t….that’s pretty evident by the comments.
I wish I could adopt the Mr. Pink approach without feeling like a total dick bag.