How Much To Tip Beach Chair Guy

A Guide to Tipping in the Mod Age (Part ii)

When it comes to tipping, most people desire to practice the correct matter. We recognize that a lot of workers hold "service jobs" and their livelihoods depend upon receiving advisable gratuities. Nosotros therefore want to know what's advisable. Nosotros want to tip the right amount at the right time, in the right manner. Terminal month'south issue covered tipping in confined and restaurants and clubs. If y'all missed it, you lot tin can think Role 1 from the archives here.

This month nosotros'll comprehend travel, hotel, and resort gratuities. But before we become to that, I want to answer to some of the many questions I received nigh restaurant/bar/gild tipping.

Tipping Q&A

Question: I don't understand why tip percentages have increased. What'due south upwards with that?

Reply: Get comfortable with the concept of "tip creep." It's a sad fact of life that non but are the costs of food and services going way upwards, so are norms for tip percentages -- a double whammy. To wit: for many years 15% of the dinner bill at a regular (not 3-star) restaurant was considered a expert tip for good service rendered. No longer. The 15% "baseline" became xviii%, and now information technology's probably 20%. Get used to it. If you live in America, and want others to prepare food and serve it to y'all, go comfy with this new reality. Otherwise, stay home and melt your own food.

Question: should you lot base your tip on a check before or after tax is added?

Answer: Historically, tips were calculated on the pretax amount; largely, they still are. However, nowadays, many folks use the after taxation figure either for computational simplicity or to exist extra generous.

Question: Is information technology OK to include a tip on your credit card?

Answer: Some servers prefer to receive their tips in cash to avert tax reporting (although you should know that the IRS estimates tips and expects appropriate remittances based on the service/food price; I've heard it's 12% of the restaurant bank check). Therefore I say it is absolutely fine to include tips on your credit carte and go irritated by those "greenbacks tips requested" stickers in the check folder.

Question: What if the food is bad?

Reply: Servers have little control over the gustation of your nutrient and therefore (in general), shouldn't exist punished with a bad tip. Send it back or complain to the managing director/owner. Servers' tip amounts should be based upon the quality of their service. However, if the service was so horrifically bad that yous're tempted to go out nothing, I'd say that besides calls for a conversation with the manager.

Question: When am I expected to put something in the tip jar?

Answer: Tip jars have sprung up at seemingly every coffee shop and cafeteria in the country. Withal, people who piece of work behind the counter are not subject field to the $ii.13/hour minimum wage and their livelihood isn't dependent upon tips. In my opinion, the tip jar therefore doesn't belong. If I owned one of these places, I wouldn't allow it. Having one on the counter might telegraph the negative message to my customers that, "I don't pay my employees enough, so they accept to beg for your spare alter." Perhaps I'k being a chip harsh, but if you desire to toss your coins in the jar, it'due south perfectly OK with me. By the way, did you lot ever see one of these jars without at least a dollar nib in it? Information technology's called "seeding" the jar and sends a not-so-subtle message that coins are less preferred.

Question: Are in that location special rules for tipping when on a first date?

Answer: Somewhat. Guys, while you lot shouldn't condone what I said final month about not being a prove off, delight be enlightened that your tipping behavior is being noticed by your new lady friend. Start dates are all about first impressions, and your appointment will be noting (subtly) whether yous're a parsimonious cheapskate or a munificent gentleman. (However, delight know that how you act is MUCH more than important than how you spend. Treat everyone with kindness and respect, even the busboy.)

Question: What if I pick up some "to-go" nutrient?

Answer: If it's a take-out joint, no tip is necessary. However, if you've ordered a to-go meal from a regular restaurant, i of the wait staff will have to prep it for y'all: wrapping the food, pouring sauces into containers, getting the plastic silverware and napkins, doing the ring-up, etc. This is all time away from his or her regular tables and does call for a gratuity. Most people go out 15% in this situation.

Note: I'll cover pizza and other food delivery in the June outcome.

2009 Tipping Norms for Travel, Hotel, and Resorts

Who	How Much	When/Where	Notes
Taxi Commuter	15% to 20% but non less than $1	15% is still the norm in almost places, although 20% is normally given in New York and other major cities.	Add $1 to $2 per bag if the commuter handles them. More if you're transporting a heavy or beefy item.
Limo Driver or Luxury (Limo) Jitney Driver	15% to 20% (or more than)	Gratuities are often included in the limo fee. Be sure to ask. Even when a standard gratuity is billed, many clients "bump the tip" and give the driver something extra ($5 to $100 depending upon trip length and blazon of outing). Always bump the driver if you lot puke in his limo.	If some other party has arranged (paid) for limo service for you lot, they are as well responsible for the gratuity. You may bump the tip ($10-$twenty typically), but that's totally upwardly to you. It should not exist expected. It'southward OK for you to ask the driver whether his or her gratuity has already been included.
Courtesy Shuttle Bus Commuter	$1 or $2 per bag	Only tip if the driver actually helps load and unload your bags.	This applies to car rental shuttle buses, hotel shuttles, etc.
Porter or Skycap	$1 or $2 per handbag	$one has been standard for a long fourth dimension and is being replaced past $2 per pocketbook, particularly if they are large/heavy.	FYI: Curbside check-in skycaps earn a VERY skillful living. These are coveted jobs. (Especially now with the outrageous overweight charges being imposed by airlines. The expected gratuity for letting you slide by a couple of pounds is $5-$x.)
Airdrome (Electric) Cart Driver	$2 - $3 per person	The gratuity is customary whether you are disabled or simply demand to get to a connecting flight in a hurry.	Wheelchair pushers sometimes get tipped as well, although typically not just for taking you from the gate down to the plane. If they run you from one terminal to another or assistance with heavy bags, consider a $10 to $20 gratuity.
Flight Attendants	Cypher	Never tip flight attendants or any other in-flight personnel on commercial airliners.	If y'all fly individual/charter, then it is sometimes appropriate to tip the flight crew if they've gone higher up and beyond -- but amounts vary widely and there are no norms to follow.
Railroad train Attendants	$one/bag for porters, $v/night for sleeping auto attendants	In the dining car, tip xv% for the waiter. Same affair in the bar car for the stewards or bar car waiters.	Sometimes meals are included in your ticket price. In this case, approximate the meal cost and tip 15% of that.
Bellman	$ane to $ii per handbag	This tip is for the bong hop who really lugs the bags to your rooms. If they just unload numberless from your automobile and bring to the front desk, so give a dollar or two total.	If y'all're staying at a fine hotel, and the bellman also shows you the room setup, etc., you should probably bump the tip to $4-5 per bag (max of $xx full).
Doorman	A dollar (two maximum) ONLY if he provides a service across just opening the door for you.	If the doorman really hails you a cab (rather than just signaling a driver from the hotel queue), tip him. Otherwise non.	If he steers y'all to the best places to eat or visit, a tip is advisable simply not mandatory. Y'all can also provide a gratuity at the end of your stay if y'all prefer.
Housekeeping	At least $ii/mean solar day. More if you live like a squealer.	Leave a tip each morning time of your stay. There can be unlike housekeepers on different days so don't leave it to the end.	Don't leave loose bills on the nightstand. Make very certain the housekeeper can tell information technology'due south a gratuity. I usually write "Thanks Housekeeping" on a note or envelope containing the gratuity.
Tour	$1 to $5 per person depending upon tour length/cost.	As you get out the coach or depart from the tour.	The $1-$5/pp guideline is if yous're part of a fairly large bout grouping on a 24-hour interval or night excursion. If you accept a personal guide/driver, that's different and calls for 15% to 20% of the tour price.
Front Desk-bound	Usually cypher Sometimes a dollar or two.	For business concern as usual, a tip isn't expected. Nonetheless, if the person has been especially helpful, a pocket-sized gratuity can be appropriate.	"Peculiarly helpful" ways accommodating a special room request, assisting with early or late check-in/out, etc.
Room Service	Gratuity almost always included.	If the gratuity is included, you tin can give an actress dollar if y'all wish.	If it'south non, and then the normal 15% to 20% guideline applies.
Delivery of Something	$2 (minimum) or $1 per item	If you request something similar a disposable razor, actress pillows, blankets, apparel iron, tip the person who hands it to y'all.	If you telephone call and request an particular that should be in the room but isn't (like the TV remote control), you're not obligated to tip, simply most people do anyway.
Maintenance Person	Nothing to $20	Information technology's a large range because you typically don't tip someone to fix something that's broken in the room (TV, A/C, toilet, etc.), but if you lot've created an "effect," that's different...	If you need help with your reckoner, or have chock-full the toilet, or washed something bad/gross in the room, then tip appropriately...
Hotel Lounge Musician	$1 to $five	Anytime, in the snifter.	A dollar or ii is sufficient to show your approval/appreciation. $5 is advisable if you lot make a song request (and it'due south played).
Resort Pool/Beach Attendant	Nil, upward to $5	If the guy or gal just hands you lot a towel, no gratuity is expected. However, if y'all want the aforementioned deck chairs each twenty-four hour period, then tip two or three dollars (for each chair) each day, beginning on the get-go solar day.	A fiver is appropriate if you brand a special asking of the attendant, like inflating a pool toy for you lot.
Bed & Breakfast	Normally nothing	Most B&B's are family owned and run. Many have a "no-tipping" policy. Ask.	If there is non-family unit housekeeping staff, tip them the aforementioned as a regular hotel.
Prowl Ship	Nix, upwardly to $20/24-hour interval per person	Many cruise lines at present include the gratuity in the packet cost or collect it for distribution. If non included, requite it at the cease of the cruise. A 15% gratuity is automatically added to all drinkable tabs. Gratuities for room service, spa, casino and other staff are at your discretion.	Guidelines are always furnished. As an example, Majestic Caribbean suggests a per person per mean solar day gratuity of $3.l for the stateroom attendant ($5.75 for those in suites); $iii.l for the waiter; $2.fifty for the Assistant Waiter; and .75 for the Head Waiter.