Pages Navigation Menu

Tips on Tipping

Posted by on Jul 12, 2011 in Ask Nelly Knowsit, News, Opinion | 2 comments

 
Dear Nelly,
What are the etiquette rules reguarding tipping? I always tip my waitress 15-20% but I’ve heard people talking about tipping their hairstylist, massage theripist, etc. Haircuts and pedicures generally cost me $25 for half an hour of work and massages are much more. Aren’t they making enough money per hour from me? -In Need Of A Pedi
 
 
Dear Pedi,
Tipping can be a very troublesome task! Over the years, I have met many kinds of tippers:
The Jerk: Gives you a smartalek verbal tip. “Don’t eat yellow snow.”
The Highroller: Leaves you so much you feel like they might be trying to buy you and you instantly feel creeped out or guilty.
The Highroller Poser: Lays a great big tip down in front of their friends, but snatch it back when no one is looking.
The Well Meaning Citizen: Takes out a cell phone and uses a tip calculator to give precicely the “correct” amount.
 
And the list goes on…
 
I am not a rich woman, despite my well coiffed appearance. That being said, I firmly believe in compensating people for a job well done. Therefore, I am less concerned with percentages than I am with the service I receive. I will not leave a tip at all if the person serving me has been rude, disrespectful, or has a poor attitude. If the person has made a mistake and tried in good faith to correct it, they will be tipped. My main focus in the tipping arena is the PERSON who is serving me, and how they perform their services, not the cost of the service.  Most people in service professions do not get to keep all the money you are paying for the service.
 
Here’s my advice: If you only have $25, and you NEED that pedi, why not bring your own coffee to work, and save that $4 you’d spend on a latte in case you receive an exceptional service? If the service is bad, you keep the dough. Don’t have ANY extra wiggle room in the budget? Then go for a lesser service, like a polish change to freshen up your look, but still leaving room to reward a job well done. The bottom line is, if a service professional does a great job, and it makes you happy, it’s a great idea to make them happy with a little extra cash!
 
For an exhaustive and utterly complete list of tipping ettiquite, with customary amounts to use as a guide for almost ANY service, check out this site: http://www.findalink.net/tippingetiquette.php
 
Till next time, my dears!
-Nelly
 
Got a Question? Ask it here!
[onw_simple_contact_form to_email="EMAIL HIDDEN FOR SAFETY PURPOSES" subject="Question"]
 

Nelly Knowsit

Nelly is curently a domestic goddess, artist, writer, and silly know-it-all, who wishes to entertain the readers at nearly any cost to her personal dignity.

More Posts - Website

Comments

comments

468 ad

2 Comments

  1. Mark Keefer / July 12, 2011

    Ok, Nelly. This is a running debate I have with a lot of people. The Sonic carhops. Its a complex issue that I’m quite sure even Congress could not solve. So, some questions and comments for you.

    1. Do you always tip the carhop something? What if the change is only like a dime?

    2. How much does a carhop deserve? They didn’t take my order. They didn’t make it. It was put on a tray for them and they walked 30 feet with it.

    3. My wife refuses to tip them anything most of the time. And if I tip the carhop anything more than, oh say .50 while she’s in the car with me, she gets mad. Settle this.

    4. I had a carhop ASK me if I wanted my change back one time. Is that not the rudest dang thing ever? Hell yes I want my change and now, you aren’t getting a dime. You know why? Because tips are earned and not expected.

    Reply
  2. Nelly Knowsit / July 13, 2011

    I am glad you asked about this, Mark!

    1. I nearly always tip carhops. They are on their feet nearly the whole day serving us, and they make peanuts for pay.

    2. I usually base my tips on two conditions. Firstly, the weather. When it is blazing hot or freezing cold, they get a little more than when it’s a fantastic Spring day. (Not that we’ve had any of those lately.) Secondly, I usually tip the older carhops a bit more than the cute teeny boppers. This will be contraversial to some, but should get you out of hot water with your wife. The reason being, they simply do not get tipped as often, and they are just as deserving.

    3. The carhop is there to serve you, just as a waitress in an indoor establishment, and while most people only have the carhop make one trip to their car, they are technically responsible for ANY number of trips you may need, such as to correct an order, bring extra condiments, etc. I believe they deserve at least the minimum you would offer a waitperson anywhere else. ( Let’s face it, a 10 cent tip on a large drink during happy hour isn’t going to break most people.)

    4. It might be bordering on distaste for the carhop to ask if you wanted change IF that would have been giving them an unusually large tip. But if it was only a bit of change, I think they just don’t want to start counting out change unless they have to, and they probably are hoping you are going to just give them that extra few cents.

    So, there you have it…the dangerous waters of Sonic tipping may now be slightly clearer than mud.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: