Tip the concierge?

Old Sep 5th, 2003, 10:08 AM
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Tip the concierge?

We will be staying at an upscale hotel in both Canada and Alaska and have already had the concierge make dinner and theater reservations for us. Should we tip her, and how much? She's done a great job and we want to make sure she knows we appreciate it.
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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 10:46 AM
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An American $5 bill is always appreciated in Canada. If the tickets and the dinner would work out to, say, $400 by the time you consume them, a $10, either Canadian or, even better, American, would generate a smile in Vancouver.

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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 10:58 AM
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maybe I'm overeracting or just being dense, BUT why would you tip someone in Canada in US money? I hope you were kidding...
I do think Americans need to remember and factor in the exchange rate, so If you thought US $10 is a good tip, make it $15 Canadian
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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 11:19 AM
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I don't see how a $5US would be better than a $10CDN since the Canadian dollar is improving. This sounds more like American arrogance more than logical tipping. Canada is not a third world country desparate for U.S. dollars.
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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 11:23 AM
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I can't imagine offering a US dollars tip in Canada. To me it is like saying,"we know your money isn't any good -- so here's some of ours which is better."
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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 11:23 AM
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That's not what was said. Looks like more illiteracy than arrogance. It was stated that a 5 would be nice but then IF it was 400, 10 would be appropriate with a 10 US being more appreciated than a 10CN.
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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 01:53 PM
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Thank you my American cousins, (at least I believe you are mostly Americans), for respecting Canadian sensibilites. While most of us travel frequently to the states and like to keep som US$ handy, to us it is just that - i.e. money for playtime. In general commerce though we deal in Canadian money and that's what we put in our banks. In any event, aside from tipping, although almost all tourist oriented places will willingly accept it few places in Canada give fair exchange for US cash and this is partly to cover the inconvenience of handling it and partly simply a way of getting even for the implied insult.

Finally - BAK - I almost always agree with your comments but this time you were wrong and I'm speaking from a person who worked in the tourist industry for 30 years.
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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 02:01 PM
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I'd tip no less than $20. She has done you a service. Also, haven tipped in the past, $10 for a dinner res, we were given 4 comp desserts from our concierge, in a highend place well worth $30 - part of the concierge restaurant relationship.
 
Old Sep 5th, 2003, 04:40 PM
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No, Loki, I think you might be the illiterate one. I clearly read BAK's post that said, "an American $5 bill is always appreciated in Canada". I say that the same person would normally prefer to have the equivalent amount in his own currency!
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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 04:53 PM
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I totally agree. Tipping should be done in local currency. Imagine tipping somebody a $1, what is s/he suppose to do with it? True in Canada and Mexico, they could get rid of it fairly easy, but it will also mean a loss of certain % of the money due to exchange charges. During some of my travels especially the last day, I did realize too late that I did not posses enough of local currency, and if the bill was too small to charge, I would actually leave more in US$, just to cover the inconvinience for the person, but local currency is always a better option for both sides involved.
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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 05:41 PM
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The slowness of brain of most of the people above astounds, but does not surprise, me.

Perhaps if I type s l o w l y.

Five bucks, US, from an American, is around seven dolalrs Canadian, a generous tip for a resonably small amount of work, it's still just five bucks out of the pocket of the traveller who gives it, but it's about 40 percent more for the person who receives it.

And there's a hands across the border gesture applied to it.

So what would the yanks have the nice lady who wants to thank the concierege do? Figure out the exchagne rate, and hand over six dollar coins, three quarters, and two dimes?

Or hand over five Candian dollars, and think what smart folks they are because they tipped about forty percent less than they would have at home, while, in essence, shortchanging the woman getting the tip?

Yeah, it would be awkward to give a tip in Canada in rubles, but a tip, in Vancouver, in US dollars, to a person in the hospitality industry, will get spent or converted with no trouble at all, the the recipient of the tip will be appreciative.

It boggles my mind ...

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Old Sep 5th, 2003, 06:30 PM
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My Canadian friends LOVE getting US money....especially at an even exchange. So listen to BAK....knows what he/she is talking about.
 
Old Sep 5th, 2003, 09:53 PM
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Okay, BAK & iceeu2, as a former Bellman, (admitadly that was when the US$ was almost the same as the CAN$), and a former desk clerk and catering manager - here's what happens when we received US$ in tips.

First of all most of us didn't have the luxury of putting the US money aside for a future trip so at the end of the day the few US$ we might have accumulated were taken to the front desk and exchanged for Canadian. This wan't such a big thing but we always felt that the American giving it to us, (and sometimes the givers were Japanese), felt they were giving us something we would treasure simply because it was "ta da" US dollahs! Occaisionaly though, the giver would apologize and say 'I only have US - is that OK?' and of course we would be more than happy to accept it in the 'hands accross the border' spirit you mention. I can tell you with 100% certainty that getting our tips and gratuities in our own currency was not just preferrable but in some ways more respectable. In no way did we feel that the US$ was somehow intrinsically more valuable than what we could get for it at the front desk at the end of the day. So yes, $5US was intrinsically more valuable than $5 Canadian, but we would have preferred $7CAN.

And just as a final aside. Except in some border places like Niagara Falls or Windsor, some 70% of the tourists in Canada are Canadians and less than 25% are Americans. Consequently there was and is no great number of US$ being spread around as tips. It is true though that Americans tend to tip about 10% more generously than Canadians and that is always appreciated regardless of which currency the tip is given in.
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Old Sep 6th, 2003, 07:52 AM
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The arrogance of your logic, BAK, is what is astounding, but not surprising.

As two people in the Canadian hospitality industry pointed out, that crisp U.S. five dollar bill doesn't help them buy lunch, get a coffee or pay for the subway/cab on the way home. Therefore, it is nice, but rather useless on a day to day basis unless they use it elsewhere where U.S. money is taken gladly (which may not be common in the day to day life of a typical Canadian).

On a larger level, it is extremely condescending if you have the Canadian money in your pocket (which you should if you visiting Canada). If were treking across Africa or parts of the Carribean or Latin America, then MAYBE I would give them crisp U.S. dollars because of the volatility of their own currency. BUt we are talking about Canada, a sophisticated economy and our largest trading partner.
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Old Sep 6th, 2003, 01:32 PM
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I think the fallacy of this whole argument is that some people seem to be saying that the Canadian would rather have a $5 US bill than a $5 Canadian bill. Well, duh! Of course if you're going to tip a lot more in US than Canadian, the extra amount might be appreciated. But I still say why not tip in the equivalent amount in local cash.

I wonder if people who seem to interchange Canadian and US bills as if they were equal just because they are both called dollars did the same thing in Italy a couple years ago. "Let's see now $1 US is equal to 2000 Lira. The guide says to tip about 10,000 Lira for handling my luggage, so I'll just give him $10,000 US instead." How is that different from thinking "I should tip $5 Canadian so I'll just give him $5 US instead?
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