Tipping in the US is nonsensical and out of hand. It's truly a relief to go to a country where you pay a fixed price and the staff is justly compensated by the employer.

The point that someone else raised -- does it make any sense to tip a maid who cleans your room $1-$2 per day and then tip a waitress who carries a not-very-heavy drink to your table 15%?

And the idea that a tip is required, no matter how terrible the service, really irritates me.

Gekko, I was responding to the person who kept insisting that it is $1 a beer--I understand what you are saying, too, and it is more in line with how it works in bars I go to.

Many of the people who object to tipping in principle mention that they hate to have to tip for poor service. I, too, would hate to be tipping for poor service, but really rarely receive "poor service." Do you think there could be a connection?

<i>And the idea that a tip is required, no matter how terrible the service, really irritates me.</i>

I agree, and I won't be bullied into tipping 15%-20% for inept, rude, or arrogant service.

<i>If you do otherwise, the bartender is probably not going to like you very much.</i>

Now I see my problem, I don't care if a bartender likes me. I care if my family likes me. My friends. My neighboors. My co-workers. I guess my values are twisted and perverted.

It would be great if employers paid their employees a proper wage and took the burden off the paying customer.

Can somebody explain how one is &quot;badgered&quot; and/or &quot;bullied&quot; into giving a tip? I have never encountered this.

gekko, I think you were referring to my post regarding the dollar. If it's a least a dollar no matter what, then yes, those who get only one beer will then be expected to tip a dollar for that beer.

As I said, I have no idea what my DH tips, I just think it's odd that someone who does so little is getting so much in <i>comparison</i> to the maids. I'm not saying they don't work hard, they do...and fast...but so do the maids, and I can guarantee, their work is physically far more demanding.

This is off the top of my head now, but as I recall, they each get 16 &quot;credits&quot; a day...16 rooms to clean and assume it's an 8 hour day, and most are. That gives them $32 in tips in 8 hours of really hard physical work if everyone tips and if they tip $2 per room, as opposed to the bartenders' $$$?

I think there is truth to the face to face aspect of tipping someone mentioned. Few of us could sit in a room, watch the maid do what she does, then say &quot;thanks&quot; and give her a dollar or two as she leaves!!

For those who choose not to tip - you're right - it's not legally required. However, most service staff is paid far below minimum wage - and their income is predicated on receipt of tips.

If tipping were abolished then theemployers would have to pay minium waage and the prices of everything would rise (you don;t think the employer wil take the loss do you).

So - tipping is the system we have. It doesn;t raise the price of anything. And if anyone insists on not tipping - I agree they shouldn't eat out, drink out or use any other services that involve tipping. Since by doing so they are taking the income out of the pockets of very hard workers with minimal income. And having no effect whatsoever on the overall issue of tipping.

And yes - in any bar you tip 15% minimum - but no less than $1 per drink. (And it must be a very casuale bar - or in a very inexpensive area - where the beer is that cheap.)

I agree OO and in the future I will tip housekeeping more, your point is well taken. I will say however I am very neat and tidy and have never left a mess in a hotel room. I know that is not true of all hotel guests as I sometimes see the rooms when walking down a hallway and the doors are open as the rooms are being cleaned. Some hotel guest are worse then teenagers regarding their rooms, lol. Not funny to the housekeepers however I am sure.

Bluestar, When people refuse to tip 15%-20% for inept, rude, or arrogant service, you can bully them by telling them they are &quot;tightwads&quot; or that they should cough up or &quot;stay home.&quot; Check it out. HTTY

The person who said that looking for sense in the tipping culture was futile is correct in my opinion. Being the sort that rarely stays in hotels, I learned something new about tiping the maid staff, I was not aware of how that worked. So while I may have strong opinions on tipping in bars ;), I'm open to learning new things as much as the next person. Cheers.

LoveItaly--I got such a giggle out of your post, since I have 2 teens and live with that daily mess:D But on vacation last week, I have to admit, the kids are so much better in a hotel room. They pick up their stuff before we leave the room. At least I know my nagging has worn off on them since I don't have to remind them(at least on vacation).

BTW, I tipped $4 per day. And one day we came by when the housekeeper was still working, and I asked if we could have an extra (meaning one) thing of the soap and lotion as DD liked them. She gave us I think like 8 or 10 of each! DD was happy to have all that Disney stuff, lol!

OO, I ask this in all innocence, but aren't maids paid a regular minimum wage, unlike waiters and bartenders? And isn't that minimum wage about three times what most waiters are paid? I'm not saying that housekeepers don't work hard, but their salaries are not based on tips like waiters. Or am I wrong?

Many summers ago, when I worked as a server during college, I earned $1.02 per hour ... most all of which was consumed by taxes, so functionally I worked ONLY for tips.

NP, often the houskeeping services are contracted out. Sometimes to the lowest bidders who aren't very scrupulous about how they treat or pay their workers, many of whom speak little English and don't really know their rights.
(By the way, that's true even here in the UK, where the common excuse for not tipping is that people are paid a &quot;living wage&quot;. A bad joke, that, to suggest hotel maids actucally make a living wage for the notoriously expensive city.)
In hotels, bell staff usually make the best tips.

Do the maids get more than $15-$20 a shift? Because bartenders don’t. I tip about $1 a round if I’m not sitting at the bar. At the bar, I take care of him/her when I leave. We do have certain bars we go to regularly and I do want the bartenders I like to like me. If there is a bartender I don’t like, I don’t usually go when they are there. In a very crowded bar or at a party you will be getting your drinks faster and better if you’ve tipped them. If a bartender is horrible to me, I don’t tip. If a waitress or waiter is horrible to me, I tip them very little. It’s happened maybe 3 times in my whole life.

Patrick, yes, they make something over minimum but I don't remember what. I didn't realize bartenders did not make a wage as well as their tips?? By the way, asked DH about what he tips bartenders, and even at down and dirty Gruene Hall, it'd never be less than a dollar and generally a percentage otherwise. Bartenders in the hotel are paid a wage, I'm 99.9% certain, but will check that too when my &quot;source&quot; returns home this evening.

LoveItaly...they are just happy to have anything, but you are a dear. I really wasn't trying to boost their income...I was just trying to make sense of what everyone did and what they got in return. :)

Bell staff make enough money that those jobs are highly coveted!

After my father died, my mother worked for a brief time as a desk clerk at a local, chain motel. She was tempted to take a job as a housekeeper, changing beds and cleaning rooms, as she would have been paid $2 an hour more! She didn't do it as her knees were very bad at the time. Meanwhile she never got tips although she was making $2 an hour less than the maids, and she was the one who had to put up with and handle the many complaints.

By the way, I'm not suggesting that cleaning rooms and changing beds isn't a more difficult and less glamorous job than working as a desk clerk -- just wanted to point out that payment comparison.

I wouldn't/couldn't work on the front desk if my life depended on it!! Our son did it a couple of summers while he was in college and it was an invaluable lesson in dealing with people (sometimes difficult people)effectively, and experience he uses daily now as an IT team lead.

Front desk in Hyatts and probably most large hotels, make considerably more than housekeepers. One is physically demanding, the other equally difficult for the stress level. :) I'd go for lower wages and less stress myself! :) Of course by all accounts here, front desk in Vegas does get &quot;tips&quot;, so they must make out very well indeed. :)

OO, you'll love this. My mother was a little naive. One day we stopped to see her while she was on the job. We saw two cars pull up -- a businessman in one and a well-endowed &quot;flashy&quot; younger woman in the other. She stayed in her car. He came in and rented a room for the night (it was the middle of the afternoon). Mom told him there is a $5 key deposit unless he left a credit card number (he was paying in cash) but he said he'd just leave it in the room when he left. The two of them went to the room. My mother said &quot;I can't understand why someone won't return in the morning to get their $5 back.&quot;
She couldn't guess what I meant when I said that he would be long gone by morning.

Meanwhile they also had a brief series of episodes where someone was renting rooms and performing illegal abortions. Now those were beds you wouldn't want to change!

No, this was clearly not a HYATT!

OMG!! Lawsy, now there would be some hotel stories. Your Mom, if she was anything like mine, got a quick lesson in &quot;life as she is lived!&quot; @-)