Conference quark::human_relations-v1

    ...and, since this is HR, the human relation angle is the question
    of the custom of tipping in general.  If anyone has interesting
    angles on this from experience in foreign countries or various parts
    of the USA, I'd love to hear them.  I personally am a bit uncomfortable
    with tipping people like washroom attendants and the people who
    change your sheets in hotels, though I'm told this is normally what
    is expected.  I feel like I'm giving alms, and that the hotel is
    responsible for paying their employees.  But I don't feel that way
    with waiters.  Guess it's a matter of being used to one and not
    the other.
    
    --Louise

    Although tipping is expected for people in the "service" industries
    (i.e. waiters/waitresses, maids, bellhops, etc.), it is by no means
    mandatory that you have to tip anybody.  However, I believe it is
    always to your benefit to tip people in the service industries,
    because they are notoriously low-paid and depend on tips for a decent
    income.  Of course, if someone is rude or unprofessional in the
    way he/she performs a job, he or she doesn't deserve a tip (and
    doesn't get one from me).
    
    As far as what to tip, there are no guidelines that I know of, but
    I have a few of my own.  For bellhops, airport porters, and others
    who deal with luggage, I usually give them $.50 per bag.  I give
    taxi drivers and waiters/waitresses 15 per cent of the TOTAL price,
    although you could calculate 15 per cent on the price of a meal
    before taxes.  Of course, I'll tip more (or less) depending on the
    service.  If you're in a fine restaurant (one that has a captain
    and wine stewards), you should tip the captain approximately 15
    per cent and the wine steward an additional ten per cent.  I realize
    that sound like a lot of money, but you're spending a lot of money
    in a fine restaurant (and should expect to do so).  Hotel maids
    are a different story.  Most people tend to stiff the maids, but
    if the room is clean and the service prompt, you really should leave
    a tip.  Ten or 15 dollars is more than enough for a few days.
    
    I'm sure everyone has a different opinion about tipping, but these
    are my general guidelines.

    Fifty cents a bag is also what I tip, although if there is only
    one bag (and it is usually heavy) then I will tip a dollar.
    For maids, I tip about a dollar a day (when I remember); I don't
    know what is considered proper.  For cab drivers, it would depend
    on the driver.  Some of them are wonderful; others will drive you
    out of the way for the larger fare and are rude.  If s/he has been
    especially helpful, then my tip will reflect that.  On occasions
    I give no tip to them.  I have never considered giving a 15% tip
    to a cab driver unless the fare was very low.
    
    I'd say it all depends on the person who is doing the tipping.
    Good luck.
                    Carol
  

       You should understand that for some workers, such as waitrons and
       cab drivers, tips represent the majority of their pay.  Waitrons,
       for example, are exempt from minimum wage requirements because
       they are expected to get tips; moreover, they have to pay taxes
       based on the tips that would be normal from each day's cash
       register receipts.  For these workers, tips are not a bonus: they
       are essential to earning a (nevertheless below-average) wage.
       
       At a hotel, you should tip the bellhop, but you aren't necessarily
       expected to use his/her services (except in the fanciest of
       places).  Tipping maids has become more uncommon than common in
       the US -- if you want to do so, though, it's normal practice to
       tip when you leave.
       
       re .3:
       
       > I have never considered giving a 15% tip to a cab driver unless
       > the fare was very low. 

       > On occasions I give no tip to them. 
       
       I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are
       unaware of what cabbies earn, rather than assume that you're just
       cheap.  For a cab driver in Boston, tips usually mean the
       difference between earning $1.50-2.00/hour and $4.00-5.00/hour --
       the latter is a crummy wage, the former is a disgrace.  Certainly
       some drivers lack social skills, others might take roundabout
       routes (though if you have a particular route in mind you should
       tell the driver from the start), but to under-tip or to outright
       stiff a driver is to take money from a person who can't afford it. 

       --Mr Topaz

    I give a minimum of $3.00 to the sky-cap for handling my luggage.
    The thought of my bags not meeting me at my destination is too much.
    If I have more than three pieces of luggage - $1.00 per.
    
    0 to 20 percent should suffice the waiter/steward/captain. Decide
    how good the service was and scale accordingly. If the food is bad,
    mention it to the servant but don't cut their tip. They should be
    paid for the level of their service.
    
    As far as maids/reservation clerks ect., I believe they make a better
    hourly wage than the above mentioned. I don't tip them at all. If
    I recieve a service *directly* from a service employee, I tip. But
    a maid keeping my room clean (the room that I sleep/wash in and
    *nothing* else) I consider a part of the room rental fee.
    
    Have a wonderful trip! ;^)
    
    Mike
    

Before one of my business trips I received a leaflet concerning
tipping (who, when, how much). Can't recall who from. Unfortunately,
I dropped it into the wastebasket. It could pay to ask at the travel
agency that serves your facility. 

-- Ron

    re: .TIPPING amounts
    I don't have it with me, but I seem to recall the AAA (or ALA, too)
    has a section in their tourbooks on tipping, right on down to them
    maid who 'tidies' up your chamber (room), doorman, bellhop, luggage
    handler at the airport,etc.
    
    I feel it crucial to know the 'appropriate amounts' when in a foreign
    city like Boston, New  York, Chicago, London, Paris, or any other
    and someone 'goes out of their way' to provide something or a service
    beyond what is 'normally done'.
    
    I was in Washington DC, and the 'doorman' wanted to know when we
    were leaving. When we left, he had prearranged (with a friend,
    possibly) for a good,clean cab; with an extrememly courteous driver
    right down to handling bags and holding the doors open (1986). You
    don't suppose I ignored either person with our 'non business' tips ?
    
    Clearly beyond expectations, but well within the spirit of of
    entrenpreneurship and courtesy.
    
    Bob