Tipping & Christians

[Mike]

This weekend a friend and I, along with my son, went to Chicago, and neither of us felt the need to leave a tip for the housekeeper in the hotel room. We got to talking about this, and I wonder if it's incumbent on a Christian to be more generous with tips than someone who's not.

In restaurants I'm a high tipper; at least 25%. I think they put up with a lot of jerks & need tips to earn reasonable income. Even when it's bad, I'll leave 20%, but it's usually around 30%. Outside of restaurants, the only places I will usually leave a tip is:

The dog groomer
I did tip for hair cuts before I gave up & started shaving the dome myself
Pizza delivery

I will NOT tip:
When picking up food
The ice cream shop (come on, Cold Stone!)
Picking up my luggage and moving them from here to there

Tip jars... That's a real turn-off. When I have good service at a restaurant or store, I will go out of my way to seek out the manager and tell him/her.

Are there places that accept tips but you refuse?
Are there other services you'll tip for?
Should Christians be known as good tippers?

 

[reba]

Times past good service was tip worthy. Now it is expected.

Did maid work as a kid we got tips from the folks who stayed say more then 2 nites or from Mom's who knew the kids were very messy.

 

[Mike]

Did maid work as a kid we got tips from the folks who stayed say more then 2 nites or from Mom's who knew the kids were very messy.

Good point, reba! Part of the reason I feel no guilt, is because we always do a lot of the work for them. Our hotel rooms never have glasses out, the TV remote is back in place? Towels in a neat pile in the bathroom...

 

[Hitch]

Yes and never ever leave a tract instead.



PERF! YOU ARE TOO FUNNY, REBA

 

[Bob Carabbio]

You leave tips in hotel rooms??? Hmm - never thought of that fer sure. Strayed in plenty of 'em during the bad 'ol "Travelling on business" days.

I do tip 15% normally in sit-down restaurants, and in other places that I go REGULARLY.

I don't tip anybody else, and never felt any compunction to do so.

Church folks are KNOWN as "BAD tippers" (and lousy demanding customers) - ask any waitress about the "Sunday afternoon crowd" - it's legendary.

 

[jasoncran]

You leave tips in hotel rooms??? Hmm - never thought of that fer sure. Strayed in plenty of 'em during the bad 'ol "Travelling on business" days.

I do tip 15% normally in sit-down restaurants, and in other places that I go REGULARLY.

I don't tip anybody else, and never felt any compunction to do so.

Church folks are KNOWN as "BAD tippers" (and lousy demanding customers) - ask any waitress about the "Sunday afternoon crowd" - it's legendary.

i KNOW and i was saved when i said that!

that said no tipping for the paper boy?!2when it rains we throw it, when it snows its thrown. you call in a missed or wet paper here and i get charged 3 bucks but if you dont i get paid for that paper 13 cents. please tip the paper boy.

 

[reba]

Jr threw papers for about 4 years... He put papers in the door for the old folks... They tipped well .. His favorite tip? was the whole block of illegal fire crackers

 

[antares434]

If it's customary to tip someone (like a hotel chambermaid, doorman, bellhop) then I tip because I believe people should be paid for their work. You may say that it's not paying for their work, it's a tip ... but if it's a job where tipping is customary, then these people rely on their tips for income. If it's not customary to tip or I'm unsure if it is, I tip for exceptional service. I don't think about religion when I tip.

 

[Nick]

There's almost no tipping culture in Vegemite Land. Big in the US, and I've seen it first hand in Europe. In Italy you can get the police on you if you don't tip. But here in Aus, it is a rare thing to tip. People who in other countries that would require tips for most of their income, like waiters would here receive an hourly rate or salary rather than a lower rate + tips.

Because I haven't grown up in a tipping culture, I can't say I am too fond of it. But in high-class restaurants here and if the service is excellent, we may give a tip. It is a rare thing. When we do tip, there's not really an accepted amount.

From a Christian PoV I can see the positives of tipping. I can also see the value for directly rewarding staff for good service. But I would certainly not like being pressured or expected to tip, particularly if the service wasn't excellent. I've already paid for my food (for example) so why do I have to pay extra?

This reminds me of Italy, where in Venice we went to a Pizza place. Expensive and not the best pizzas. But there are two taxes added on to the cost, which total 19%. Plus they expect a 10% tip as minimum. From memory that lunch would have cost our family close to 80 Euros plus 29%!

 

[Gazelle]

Yes, everyone who is in the service realm needs to be tipped.

The going rate is 18% for service personnel such as wait staff, salon employees, and other miscellaneous positions. For hotel staff, a tip of $1 for each item they move for you (per bag, box whatever) and for each person who does that (the person who takes it out of the trunk and puts it on the sidewalk, and then again the person who moves it to a cart and takes it inside with you, or to your room.) The minimum for hotel room cleaning and service is $1 per day per person. Pay this on the last day of the week, and if you stay a weekend, again at the end of the weekend (you are probably having two different people because of shifts.) These are all minimums.

If service is better than average, then tip more. I like 20% myself (and it is easier to figure lol). What is only maybe 50 cents to $1 for you is their livelihoods. Please trust God for that extra $1.

If you can't afford to tip properly, you probably can't afford to travel, eat out etc. This needs to be part of your budgeting. This is how they live and pay their bills. Many places do NOT pay minimum wage when the availability of tips are included in the job. Some are paid $2 an hour plus tips. You can't pay many bills with that if the tips are too little or non existent.

I have always felt that everyone needs to work a wait staff job for at least 3 months to fully appreciate and learn how to tip. :toofunny

 

[Gazelle]

I have more thoughts on this...
I wouldn't feel comfortable witnessing the Love of God with a server or manager (who hears the comments of low tips) if I didn't tip something they appreciated. What type of witness for Christ is that?

Also, if you haven't been able to speak to them, whether for fear or restaurant busy-ness, then leaving a tract with the tip or receipt is a good fill in for this. (It also reinforces what you do say, if you have witnessed.)

I put cash tips in the tract if it's not a charge sale... even when I give money to beggars on the street. You never know when it's their last day on earth--or yours. Be well. :yes

 

[tim-from-pa]

I wonder if it's incumbent on a Christian to be more generous with tips than someone who's not.

No. Not nominal Christians anyway ... I would think they are worse, but that's just my hunch as I have no statistics to back it up. Proof of that is look at how many Christian forums that debate tithing and that's only 10%, not 18% when going out to eat. And it's like that in church. About 10-15% of the church members give 80% of the income that supports it. If somebody with a Cadillac "tips" the Pastor in the offering plate say, $5 a week, I can't imagine it would be any better for a mere waiter or waitress.

Now true Christians (usually a minority in a church) I would imagine give a lot better and I would see that as incumbent (morally right) for a true Christian to do so. They know that person needs the tips to live and almost look at it with charitable eyes. So they won't act like scrooges or some cheap employer that getting a decent wage is like getting blood from a stone.

 

[theLords]

Church folks are KNOWN as "BAD tippers" (and lousy demanding customers) - ask any waitress about the "Sunday afternoon crowd" - it's legendary.

:toofunny

 

[tim-from-pa]

:toofunny

Thanks for backing up my supposition. It's good to hear something like this "straight from the source".

 

[Gazelle]

hehehe No, it isn't just the Christians, but there are other groups of society that are horrible patrons and tippers as well. But it isn't a good testimony for the heirs of God who own everything! ;)

 

[NinaMMitchell]

Church folks are KNOWN as "BAD tippers" (and lousy demanding customers) - ask any waitress about the "Sunday afternoon crowd" - it's legendary.

That is the truth. I once had this really big table that had just come from church. I did make a mistake with their order because it was overwhelmingly busy and I was the only waitress. When I realized the mistake, I apologized and did everything I could to make it right, but they weren't having any part of it. They were rude and went out of their way to harass me. When their food came they had the nerve to join hands and say the blessing. They never said please or thank you once. I did my absolute best to remain polite and accomodating. When they came up to the front, they complained to the manager and demanded to know my name so they could call the corporate office and complain. They did not leave a tip, and they took up way more of my time than any other table. That's just one example of church groups. They suck.

 

[Christ_empowered]

I don't eat out a lot, but when I do I always try to tip 20%, more if I'm with people and we've taken a lot of the wait staff's time. I have friends who waited tables for a long time, and they've trained me well. I also tip I guess around 20% for hair cuts, sometimes more (I have this thing about making my debit card amounts for services even, in intervals of 5 or 10, so I tip up sometimes to satisfy my neurosis). I don't know how it works everywhere, but my friends who wait tables told me that they get paid $2 and some change per hour, almost all of which is taxed out to nothing. The idea is that the tips will bring them up to minimum wage. If it doesn't, there's some sort of process they can through to get the money (I saw it on a labor poster somewhere), but I hear NOBODY does that. So, yeah--tip, 15%+. I hear 18% is the new standard, which makes sense--rising cost of living and all that--but I can't do 18% in my head so I go for 20%.

I think that if you're expected to tip--if the tip is what actually helps your waiter/waitress stay housed and clothed and fed--then its kind of heartless to let someone serve you and then not pay them. I mean, its one thing if they're rude or utterly incompetent or just don't do their job, but if they do an OK job and everything goes smoothly, then why shouldn't you tip, especially if you're a Christian? These aren't your friends or family serving you out of the goodness of their hearts. They're men and women who have lives to lead and bills to pay, and this is their job.

 

[handy]

We don't travel a lot and when we do we tend to stay in "budget" sort of places, like Super 8 or Best Western. Most of these chains do not have bell boys or such and they do pay their housekeeping staff minimum wage.

I've heard that some chains don't pay housekeepers minimum wage...but have never actually known a motel housekeeper or known of a specific chain that doesn't. I've had several friends who have worked housekeeping and they each have been paid minimum wage.

So...here's the deal with me. If one gets paid minimum wage, especially if one is getting it to clean a cheap motel room...I don't tip for that. I've worked a number of minimum wage jobs myself in which it would never have been expected for one to leave a tip, aide at a library, retail clerk at a small store, aide at a pre-school. When I was a counter-girl at an ice cream shop, we were always instructed to refuse any tip. If anyone left a tip on a table, it was put in a common jar, and when the jar had enough in it, the owner would buy a treat for everyone with it. Courtesy clerks at grocery stores generally make minimum and most would get fired if they were to accept a tip.

As for that cheap motel room...I figure, I'm paying to stay there, they need to have it clean for me. I don't tip extra for a clean room, because that is part of the deal. I would certainly have the same attitude if I wound up at the Hilton. What? I should pay for a dirty room? What I do is keep the housekeeping staff in mind as we are in the room. I make the kids clean up after themselves, put personal items away in drawers or suitcases, leave towels and such in one pile and generally keep things tidy so that the housekeeping staff doesn't have to work extra hard to get the room ready for our return or the next guests.

I guess if I ever throw a party for Mick and the Stones and we trash the room (if the boys are still capable of trashing much beyond spilling prune juice and having some incontinence issues ;) ) I'd certainly then tip for someone having to spend extra time cleaning up.

Now, on the other end of the spectrum, I do know most waiters and waitresses do not get paid even minimum wage and must make the majority of their living from tips. For these...we tip at 20% unless the service is bad. I will not tip for bad service...however it's really important to keep in mind why the service was bad. If the cook is behind in the kitchen, it's not the server's fault for being late with the food. But, if we get a waiter who doesn't get us the menus in a timely manner, come back and check if our beverages need refilling, ask if things are OK or is surly, then no tip and no return to that particular restaurant. However, there have only been two times when I received blatantly bad service and I do think each time there were racial issues involved. Most waiters and waitresses do a great job, even when it's extra busy.

The only other service person I tip on a regular basis is my hair stylist. Hair stylists tend to be independent contractors. They rent the chair and station and most have to purchase their own products they use. At least the ones I've used do this. However, if they are part of a chain like Great Clips or Supercuts, they have to charge what the chain charges. Tipping becomes a way to meet the difference in their work expenses and their inability to set their own prices. My stylist is the sole owner of her shop and sole stylist as well. Actually, she inherited the shop from her dad, who inherited the shop from his. I think her family has been styling people's hair in that shop since the town began. I tip her at 20% as well, simply because she keeps her rates very low and she is such a darn good stylist and such a nice person to boot.

As far as Christians being the worst when it comes to serving....Yes, yes and yes. I found this out working at the ice cream shop. First of all, it was almost impossible for me to go to church on Sunday because all the church people would go out as soon as church is out, making it necessary for me to work. And, they would be over all about as obnoxious as it comes. The way it worked at that shop was that you stood in line to place your order, then we either handed it to you or took it to your table. I can't tell you how many times these little old church men and women would be in the line, grumbling and complaining about how long it took, making snide comments, etc....only to arrive at the counter for their turn then take 5 minutes to make up their mind what they wanted, causing everyone else to wait for them!!!:mad I never could understand why they didn't spend their time waiting deciding what they wanted to have but noooooo....gotta grumble, complain and catch up on gossip.

Gazelle...I agree. Perhaps we should work towards having every senior in high school work a service job for one semester would be a good thing...everyone could get some insight on what it's like to be behind the counter. :yes

 

[theLords]

Thanks for backing up my supposition. It's good to hear something like this "straight from the source".

Yeah, your hypothesis was pretty spot on! I liked the way you put it... "if Christians argue about having to give 10% (1 dollar out of every 10) to God, of course they won't want to give to humanity.

We only make $2.13 an hour. When we have no customers, we have to do prep work--make the coffee/iced tea, sort the silverware to make rolls, vacuum, clean the tables, refill the salt/pepper/sugar/dressings. All of that hard work for only $2.13. On top of that, the IRS expects us to pay them 12% taxes on all our sales (not tips!).

The way it works is, every table we get is our responsibility. If someone has a 20 dollar tab and leaves a 5 buck tip, we keep all $25.00 and at the end of the night we owe the restaurant. So, if I have a total sales of 400.00 for the night, I have to pay $48.00 dollars (in taxes) whether I made that much in tips or not. Getting taxed on tips I didn't make is not nice!

I've been stiffed in tips quite a few times. It sucks! A church lady left me 0.00 in tips, and after church folk in the bad tipper scales, tourists/visitors/non-Americans are the next worst!

I had one table that was from Germany, and they were Christians (I had to wait for them to finish praying before I could refill their drinks) and they left me an awful tip. They came in late (close to closing) and stayed for hours. I was stuck waiting for them so I could close and go home. It was not fun.

The church folk that are regulars aren't so bad. They tend to tip a little better once they know you.

In the end, bad tippers will tip badly, and good tippers will tip well. It's tough, though, when you work so hard on a table to make sure your service is impeccable, burn your hands bringing them their food, and then get them dirty while cleaning up their mess, and they leave a $3.00 dollar tip!

In the end, I don't let the tips get to me. I work for the Lord and for the Lord alone so whether it's $2.00 or $12.00 every table will get my best and my all because everything I do is for Him. 2 is bigger than 0 after all!

 

[jasoncran]

Jr threw papers for about 4 years... He put papers in the door for the old folks... They tipped well .. His favorite tip? was the whole block of illegal fire crackers

those on fixed income often tip me best.