Deleted
Oh, the tipping thing.
I just look into what will be expected of me before I do anything and I factor the expected tip into the projected bill. If you think hotel tipping is crazy, try cruises or guided tours. I havenât done one of those in a while, but I remember the tipping being very high relative to the other charges on the bill for both.
If itâs too much or not worth it to me, I donât do the thing.
A few extra steps before we do things, but Iâm a planner and like to know what to expect, so itâs okay.
I have found that in the last three years, if I tip 50 cents or a dollar at a quick service place, the staff seem to like me more, so I do that. I didnât bother before.
When I visited a private game reserve in South Africa with my parents a couple of times, my folks asked me to figure out how much we should tip. !!! For a four-night stay, the suggested tip was close to $1,000. The service was exceptional, but wow. I guess they figure anyone who can afford a safari can afford the tip. My dad said to give them what they suggested.
1 Like
I think that is crazy! Very good friends just came back from a high end (not billionaire high end, but definitely not budget) safari in Africa and the daily tip was only about $10-$15 for the guide, per person. That seems reasonable.
These were pretty nice resorts. There were nice touches like a full lunch buffet in the bush - top-notch food and white table cloths. We were paying for more than guides.
We were told that South Africans say that only celebrities and Americans go to these reserves, because theyâre the only people who can afford it (of course, the favorable exchange rate helps a lot!).
The suggested tips are also factored into the employeesâ compensation, which is likely lower.
Not true everywhere but itâs worth looking into it.
1 Like
In my experience, that business model is mostly true only in the US.
2 Likes
The fun part of watching any of the Below Deck series is the tip meeting and trying to predict the tip based on the charter guest behaviors and crew performance.
2 Likes
I love that show!
I just got back from a month in Japan. (Still recovering from jet lag.) One thing I noticed was that one of the hotels I stayed in was charging a 10% service fee and said that was in lieu of tipping. I thought that was a very weird excuse, given that tipping is not expected.
Iâm afraid Japanese hotels have picked up some of the deceptive tactics that western hotels use. Several hotels charged service fees on top of the quoted price, and I also had several hotels that sprung local hotel taxes on me, apart from the quoted rate, that I had to pay in cash when I checked in. They werenât high, but I would have expected them to be included in the quoted price.
Our college daughter is starting a summer job with a well known streaming/production company and reviewed the online employee handbook today - because her job as a production assistant for a series documentary shoot will involve a lot of errands for the crew (includes a corporate credit card), she paid close attention to the card usage and tipping guidelines. I found them interesting:
Sit down restaurants: 18%
To go - whether coffee or food for the crew: 0%
Luggage - $2 a bag up to $20 max
Housekeeping - $2 per day
Taxi/Uber: $2 if bill is under $15 and $5 flat for ride exceeding 15 minutes up to 45 minutes. Over 45 minutes tip 10% of ride or $10 - which ever amount is lower.
If she tips over the allocated amounts, it will be billed to her at the end of the shoot. I canât imagine the dirty looks she is going to get when she picks up coffee or to go lunch/dinner for all the crew and doesnât tip!
5 Likes
Haha thought this was appropriate to share
2 Likes
Hilarious!
All proving, again, that tipping for everything is DEFINITELY out of control!
2 Likes
This meme reminds me of an interaction between my mom and I over twenty years ago when we were discussing the two churches we attend; us a large one, she and my dad a significantly smaller one.
My mom was utterly shocked when I mentioned that we have autopay for our weekly offerings as an option which we appreciated bc we donât always (even 20 Years ago) keep a check with us, etc.
So it wasnât a tip that we were doing, but I seriously bet you can contribute to the pastorsâ annual Christmas gifts etc via auto deposits.
We no longer attend church (heathens that we are) but that meme did make me chuckle!
Our Catholic Church really pushes for autopay!
Thatâs pretty bad. It is expected that people will tip for to go orders, albeit less than sit down. I donât think Iâd want to pick up from the same place too often, lest they remember her as picking up big orders and never tipping a cent.
I really donât understand the logic of tipping to go orders. Pre-pandemic, to my knowledge, it was rare. During the pandemic, I routinely over tipped because I wanted to support the restaurants and their workers during very tough times for them. Now, if I walk in and pick up my order, what did the service staff do for me? They did not: offer helpful suggestions, enter my order (accurately â I did that), refill my drink, serve my food while it was hot, bring out extra plates/silverware, process my payment or clean up after me. Paying someone 15-20% plus of my bill for that is fair. Now, if I use curbside where they bring my order to my car, Iâll pay 10% for the convenience of not getting out of my car.
7 Likes
Guess to many people are sharing passwords for the streaming service and this is how they save money. 
As a family, we tip 10% ish for to-go for dinner/lunch type food. I am more annoyed at being provided the suggestion to tip for a pastry or something out of a to-go case - especially when the tip starts at 15% or even a cup of coffee.
We always tip daily housekeeping and glad to see that is on her approved tipping sheet too. I could see my daughter tipping for a big to go order out of her own pocket. Just thought it was interesting to see what approved tipping amounts were for a company, so posted.
2 Likes
I see the logic of a smaller tip on the to go orders. The server packages the order up and brings it out to you, sometimes collecting the money. Shoot, they do more than at our local Stoup Brewery, where you input the order and pay on your phone, grabbing your own water and utensils. All they do is bring the plate out to you, which is easier than putting it in a box with condiments and silverware.
It used to be that if you didnât keep a tip log, the IRS would assume an 8% tip on your overall sales, and tax you accordingly. Being an ignorant teenager, I didnât know that, so when the older, experienced waitresses would say, âHoney, youâre so much quicker than I am, would you ring up this big bill for me?â I would do it under my employee number, getting taxed 8% of the sales on a tip I never received. 
I went to a hydroponics store to buy fertilizer that places like Loweâs or Home Depot do not carry. I saw a tip jar with some tip money in it!!
Fortunately, the store does not use that computer programming that has tip selections when using a credit card like many restaurants/cafes do. I probably would not have tipped anyway but it would have made me feel awkward.
Tipping that a hydroponics store?!!
1 Like