Chambermaid tipping
Dec 11th, 2013, 01:20 AM
#41
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Expressing disagreement with a number of people who happen to be American does not constitute American bashing.
I could interpret this discussion as Americans expressing contempt for European social norms, but I don't.
I see people discussing an issue on which they take different positions, and some of those people expressing their positions in a manner that is undiplomatic.
I could interpret this discussion as Americans expressing contempt for European social norms, but I don't.
I see people discussing an issue on which they take different positions, and some of those people expressing their positions in a manner that is undiplomatic.
Dec 11th, 2013, 01:52 AM
#43
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Interesting that it seems that people who live here (ie Europe) don't have valid opinions...
I've never even considered tipping in a hotel room. The idea just gobsmacked me. That must make me a bad and ugly person.
I've never even considered tipping in a hotel room. The idea just gobsmacked me. That must make me a bad and ugly person.
Dec 11th, 2013, 01:55 AM
#44
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And it also means that no-one in my extended family or friendship circle tips either.
In Britain we also don't regularly tip barstaff. And we don't tip other hotel workers either.
Unless there's been a conspiracy of silence and I'm the only one out of step here...
In Britain we also don't regularly tip barstaff. And we don't tip other hotel workers either.
Unless there's been a conspiracy of silence and I'm the only one out of step here...
Dec 11th, 2013, 02:05 AM
#45
mjdh, you are the norm in Britain.
There was a great tipping thread last year where we listed people we could tip.
Check in staff, Pilots, Lawyers, Politicians, Taxi Drivers, Estate agents etc, but as man-at-seat says, in Europe we expect things to be at the price agreed not with all the extra extras added on.
I still hate the idea of a bell-hop and the thought of tipping him for an unwanted service makes me sick.
There was a great tipping thread last year where we listed people we could tip.
Check in staff, Pilots, Lawyers, Politicians, Taxi Drivers, Estate agents etc, but as man-at-seat says, in Europe we expect things to be at the price agreed not with all the extra extras added on.
I still hate the idea of a bell-hop and the thought of tipping him for an unwanted service makes me sick.
Dec 11th, 2013, 02:06 AM
#46
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It has nothing to do with American bashing. If we visit the US, we adapt to the local custom on tipping. We expect you to do the same.
Our tipping customs are different.
We have decent wages, healthcare for everyone, excellent schools that cost next to nothing. So people here don't generally hand out extra cash to cleaners or waiters.
Do you tip the person behind the counter at McDonalds in the US? Now there's someone who could use the extras.
Our tipping customs are different.
We have decent wages, healthcare for everyone, excellent schools that cost next to nothing. So people here don't generally hand out extra cash to cleaners or waiters.
Do you tip the person behind the counter at McDonalds in the US? Now there's someone who could use the extras.
Dec 11th, 2013, 03:54 AM
#47
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Bell Hops.
Now there is an interesting one. WTF is that all about, like the Soviet Union 30 years ago just employing people, in jobs without a function, just for the sake of it.
I carried my bags across Miami International, to the hire care, out of the hire car, across the huge hotel car park, into reception and then for some reason a numpty appears wanting $10 to carry the bags 20 feet to the lift and then 30 feet out of the lift to our room. Whe the bloody hell was he at Miami International?
In fact, sod serving staff in America, I think I have posted before, for a $30 tip I would go in the kitchen and get the plates myself, quite happily.
You want common sense come to Scotland.
Now there is an interesting one. WTF is that all about, like the Soviet Union 30 years ago just employing people, in jobs without a function, just for the sake of it.
I carried my bags across Miami International, to the hire care, out of the hire car, across the huge hotel car park, into reception and then for some reason a numpty appears wanting $10 to carry the bags 20 feet to the lift and then 30 feet out of the lift to our room. Whe the bloody hell was he at Miami International?
In fact, sod serving staff in America, I think I have posted before, for a $30 tip I would go in the kitchen and get the plates myself, quite happily.
You want common sense come to Scotland.
Dec 11th, 2013, 06:22 AM
#50
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"You certainly did."
janisj, no I did not. Your reading comprehension skills are questionable, and you most certainly painted my words on your forehead. I can see them from here in your stridently defensive writing.
"Do you tip the person behind the counter at McDonalds in the US?"
Standing behind a counter at a fast food restaurant is not personal service. Reasonable people with a decent IQ know this. The question is silly, but yes, those folks deserve a salary increase.
"I still hate the idea of a bell-hop and the thought of tipping him for an unwanted service makes me sick."
Without a bellhop, I'd be a crippled old woman, riddled with arthritis, who would never be able to enjoy travel. In other words, I'd be sick without one. I need that service, I want that service, and I love the fact that many hotels offer that service. If you don't want that service, all you have to say is no thank you. I don't see why a polite refusal should make anyone "sick." (Very strange.)
American bashing? Please. There are plenty of Americans who don't tip and never will tip, and the list of reasons is as long as the country's diversity. Whenever the subject of money comes up, especially in the form of a gratuity, opinions about it vary dramatically. I find these discussions revealing. You can see who has a generous spirit, and you can see who does not.
One fact for sure: tipping a low-wage personal service employee will not catapult that individual into a higher tax bracket. IMO, a gift of gratuity is a very small way to say thank you, and like I said above, in all my world travels, I've never met anyone who didn't appreciate the gesture.
janisj, no I did not. Your reading comprehension skills are questionable, and you most certainly painted my words on your forehead. I can see them from here in your stridently defensive writing.
"Do you tip the person behind the counter at McDonalds in the US?"
Standing behind a counter at a fast food restaurant is not personal service. Reasonable people with a decent IQ know this. The question is silly, but yes, those folks deserve a salary increase.
"I still hate the idea of a bell-hop and the thought of tipping him for an unwanted service makes me sick."
Without a bellhop, I'd be a crippled old woman, riddled with arthritis, who would never be able to enjoy travel. In other words, I'd be sick without one. I need that service, I want that service, and I love the fact that many hotels offer that service. If you don't want that service, all you have to say is no thank you. I don't see why a polite refusal should make anyone "sick." (Very strange.)
American bashing? Please. There are plenty of Americans who don't tip and never will tip, and the list of reasons is as long as the country's diversity. Whenever the subject of money comes up, especially in the form of a gratuity, opinions about it vary dramatically. I find these discussions revealing. You can see who has a generous spirit, and you can see who does not.
One fact for sure: tipping a low-wage personal service employee will not catapult that individual into a higher tax bracket. IMO, a gift of gratuity is a very small way to say thank you, and like I said above, in all my world travels, I've never met anyone who didn't appreciate the gesture.
Dec 11th, 2013, 06:35 AM
#51
"Tipping indicates that you have the need to exert of superior influence over an employee with which you have no contractual relationship. Even better if it is someone serving you in a restaurant, you have the personal pleasure of patronising that person."
That might be something a person from a non-tipping culture would think that tipping means. But it is certainly nothing that anybody leaving a tip in the US, where it is automatic, would think.
That might be something a person from a non-tipping culture would think that tipping means. But it is certainly nothing that anybody leaving a tip in the US, where it is automatic, would think.
Dec 11th, 2013, 06:36 AM
#52
Dickie's "Tipping indicates that you have the need to exert of superior influence over an employee with which you have no contractual relationship. Even better if it is someone serving you in a restaurant, you have the personal pleasure of patronising that person."
Could not be further from my truth. I leave the tip to express thanks for the service performed.
Could not be further from my truth. I leave the tip to express thanks for the service performed.
Dec 11th, 2013, 06:39 AM
#53
A few relevant facts:
US:
Federal minimum wage for non-tipped employees (a few places like California set a higher one): $7.25/hour
Federal minimum wage for tipped employees ("A tipped employee means any employee engaged in an occupation in which he or she customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips."): $2.13 (the employer is supposed to make up the difference if tips don't equal out to $5.12 [I bet]).
Social safety net - what social safety net?
Europe:
Social safety net - fraying in places but does exist especially for health care and often child care
(Using xe.com for the exchange rate).
UK minimum wage (18-21): $8.24
UK minimum wage (over 21): $10.33
France minimum wage: $12.96
Germany minimum wage: None currently, planned to be $15.93
Italy minimum wage: None
I am unclear as to what "personal service" has to do with tipping. I can't think of more "personal" service than that provided by a doctor or nurse, and I've never heard of anyone, even Americans, tipping them. I don't consider cleaning my room "personal service".
I am still baffled by the difficulty Americans have in conforming to local customs. Although I have lived in the US long enough to have acquired the tipping reflex, I do resist the reflex in non-tipping countries.
US:
Federal minimum wage for non-tipped employees (a few places like California set a higher one): $7.25/hour
Federal minimum wage for tipped employees ("A tipped employee means any employee engaged in an occupation in which he or she customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips."): $2.13 (the employer is supposed to make up the difference if tips don't equal out to $5.12 [I bet]).
Social safety net - what social safety net?
Europe:
Social safety net - fraying in places but does exist especially for health care and often child care
(Using xe.com for the exchange rate).
UK minimum wage (18-21): $8.24
UK minimum wage (over 21): $10.33
France minimum wage: $12.96
Germany minimum wage: None currently, planned to be $15.93
Italy minimum wage: None
I am unclear as to what "personal service" has to do with tipping. I can't think of more "personal" service than that provided by a doctor or nurse, and I've never heard of anyone, even Americans, tipping them. I don't consider cleaning my room "personal service".
I am still baffled by the difficulty Americans have in conforming to local customs. Although I have lived in the US long enough to have acquired the tipping reflex, I do resist the reflex in non-tipping countries.
Dec 11th, 2013, 06:59 AM
#55
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"I can't think of more "personal" service than that provided by a doctor or nurse, and I've never heard of anyone, even Americans, tipping them."
So just because you've never heard of something makes it true? Please. I am friends with several famous NYC doctors, and they are constantly being showered with gifts (very expensive), year round. The same is true for Nurse Practioners, who are gaining prominence in Primary Care. Many patients are grateful for a longer life or a healed illness. And if they credit their doctor, you can be sure there's a gift somewhere in the relationship. One doctor told me his wine collection (all gifts) rivals a prestigious collector. He said, "It's a shame I don't drink wine."
"I don't consider cleaning my room "personal service"."
Some statements don't deserve a response.
So just because you've never heard of something makes it true? Please. I am friends with several famous NYC doctors, and they are constantly being showered with gifts (very expensive), year round. The same is true for Nurse Practioners, who are gaining prominence in Primary Care. Many patients are grateful for a longer life or a healed illness. And if they credit their doctor, you can be sure there's a gift somewhere in the relationship. One doctor told me his wine collection (all gifts) rivals a prestigious collector. He said, "It's a shame I don't drink wine."
"I don't consider cleaning my room "personal service"."
Some statements don't deserve a response.
Dec 11th, 2013, 07:05 AM
#57
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"Tipping indicates that you have the need to exert of superior influence over an employee with which you have no contractual relationship."
I can't believe someone actually wrote that, or worse, believes it.
I can't believe someone actually wrote that, or worse, believes it.
Dec 11th, 2013, 07:18 AM
#60
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I have a practical problem with tipping the person who tidies and cleans my room.
If I leave a tip beforehand, I don't know how well the person will carry out their work.
If I leave a tip afterwards, I cannot know if the person who collects the money is the person who performed the service which I appreciated.
Personally, I an not unhappy with the idea of modestly tipping someone who has improved my experience in a restaurant, for example. It seems odd, however, to leave a tip for someone you never meet.
If I leave a tip beforehand, I don't know how well the person will carry out their work.
If I leave a tip afterwards, I cannot know if the person who collects the money is the person who performed the service which I appreciated.
Personally, I an not unhappy with the idea of modestly tipping someone who has improved my experience in a restaurant, for example. It seems odd, however, to leave a tip for someone you never meet.
