chicagojlo

When we first came we tipped everyone, somehow we thought it was the done way! Now we tip depending on how much we paid for delivery. The movers got tipped on the basis of how far over their quoted time they went. Longer meant less tip. The furniture guys who used my bathroom didn't get any cash from me.

pejpm1

Aside from the regular people (cab drivers, waiters, bar staff) the only people I tip are the grocery delivery guy ($5) and I also gave the super in my building $100 when we first moved in...apparently thats the done thing, and he and the doormen have been great so far! Really making sure we were happy with everything and helping us out. I wouldnt tip a furniture delivery person...dont know why, but i dont really understand tipping someone for doing their job. I can understand when it's a barman or waiter or someone who makes a substantial portion of their pay through tipping, but to me that doesnt include delivery guys.

Also, I dont mind tipping cab drivers... but not when a cab ride is part of the commute. In London, if I were to get a cab to work I wouldnt usually tip...my dad is a cab driver and he says that this is generally accepted amongst cab drivers as you cant expect someone getting a cab every day to pay a tip. I asked the same question of an NY cab driver just out or interest (I had already tipped him) and he said that NY cab drivers expect a tip everytime regardless. A couple of weeks out of every 5 I need to be in the office for 6am so I get a cab, and I kind of resent having to pay a tip just to get to work!

Although in general I do like how a well placed 10 or 20 here of there can get stuff done more quickly...

chicagojlo

Surely London is one city where people taking a cab should be tipping, after all it's not like it's your only option as it is in some cities!

pejpm1

erm, you havent read what I said. I'm not saying you shouldnt tip...the vast majority of people do tip in london cabs, I'm saying that people that get a cab to work regularly are cab drivers 'bread and butter'...without them, cab drivers would be worse off. Most cab drivers picking somone up in say, Fulham going to the City or Mayfair at 6am wouldnt usually expect the person to tip them...my dad has people that he regulalrly picks up, some of them spending 25 quid a day on getting to wor...he doesnt expect them to give him extra every day...i was wondering if it was the same here..

chicagojlo

I think I read it correctly. You are saying that a cabbie doesn't expect someone who takes a £25 cab every day instead of a £3 tube ride to tip, simply because they are taking the cab every day and giving the driver regular business. Well maybe it's me but if I was driving people who could afford £25 a day in a cab to work I'd expect them to cough up the £1 or £2 a day for a tip too! Cheap gits!
Whereas if they lived in some little town with 1 bus a day as I used to...

And Chicago cab drivers at least expect to get tipped regardless.

sambapink

Oh god I feel terribly now.. I didn't tip the fellas who delivered our shipment from the UK or the ones who packed up our house.. I'm normally quite good at knowing when to tip... blimey how rubbish am I !!!

pejpm1

Well, most cab drivers would disagree....someone spending 25 quid a day is worth a lot more to cab drivers in general than someone who takes the occasional 8 quid cab and rounds it up to a tenner. It has nothing to do with the persons ability to afford it.

jumping doris

We were the same and then the people OH works with told us we shouldn't feel we had to tip delivery drivers as that was their job, unless they did something extra. We have had a couple of big mirrors delivered today and the guy was really reluctant to even get them off the van!

We tipped the packers in the UK because they were amazing. They were with us for 3 days and one of them even went and did some shopping for me! (Stuff I wanted to go into the container and hadn't had time to buy). We gave them money and all the booze we hadn't been able to drink.

The people who unpacked the container at this end moaned endlessly and we didn't even want them to unpack the boxes because we were having stuff done to the house. They criticized the UK packers constantly....nothing got broken, not even a scratch.
I didn't tip them.

chicagojlo

Most people I've met who work for tips don't seem to think that way. If you appear to be able to afford it and don't pay you are considered to be cheap. If you can't afford the tip you shouldn't be taking the cab in the first place.
But I've met a lot of rich people who are very cheap and it usually explains how they got so rich in the first place.

pejpm1

I'm talking about London, I dont know about the US, but London cab drivers dont 'work for tips'. Cab's are already expensive in London as the cab drivers are very well trained, have been through at least 2-3 years of the 'knowledge' to get their badge, always know where they are going and get paid accordingly. You are already paying for the service that they are providing. It's not like they just happen to be driving in the same direction as you and are doing it as a favour. I can understand NY cabs expecting tips, as the base fare is usually very cheap as the service is much worse. A London cabbie would not expect someone getting a cab to work everyday to tip. As i have already said, it has nothing to do with what someone can afford as it isnt anyone else's place to decide what someone can afford.

I've met rich people who are cheap, and I've met rich people who are extremely generous.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

It comes down to what YOU feel comfortable with. It is an expression of your appreciation. As for the comments of people "just doing their job" -- many of these people are low paid -- and the tip is appreciated. The UPS & FedEx people -- they are NOT low paid. But I do give a Christmas tip to the regular postman.

Also -- I never tip independent contractors -- if the plumber is self-employed, no tip needed.

On taxi drivers -- the standard pick-up and steady big fee -- I can understand not tipping. However, taxi drivers [at least in LA] do NOT make a good living. Strange as it may seem, you might want to tip more for a short trip! At the taxi stands, they have to take the customers in order -- and if you just need a short trip, the driver has an "opportunity cost" of losing the person next in line going to the airport.

If the worker thinks of you as "cheap", so be it. But do what you think is appropriate.

pejpm1

I definitely understand that...i few months back i was bringing some computer equipment with my boss from a hotel back to our office which is literally 5mins walk from there. It was too big to carry so we needed a cab, but I was going to walk to the corner, hail a cab that was already passing by and ask him to take us....before I could do that my boss already got in the first cab in the line of cabs waiting outside the very posh hotel clearly waiting for a fair to the airport and had probably been there for a while....I could tell the cab driver was really annoyed so I gave him 10 for a 4 quid fair....obviously i dont think that cab drivers should be able to just choose their fares, but people should try and be considerate...although equally, i cant stand it when you hail a cab, they pull over, and then say 'sorry mate I'm on my way home' or some other bullshit if they dont want to go that way....when i used to live in dulwich i had that pretty much everytime i wanted to get a cab home...

Octang Frye

During the last recession, I worked for a moving company here in Denver. It was named for students, but most were guys released from jail in halfway houses.
All sorts of crimes. My then landlord was a manager there.

Usually, those who could afford it least tipped the most. The wealthier usually didn't. Although I did get tipped a nice couch from a heart surgeon in Evergreen. 'Wanted the solid oak coffee table my colleague got.

Moving is actually a bit of an art. If anyone wants help in Denver, I'd be willing to help out. I learned a lot. There's a way the truck has to be loaded and in a particular order. If you do it right, nothing gets damaged...

\ Trucker's Hitch - the most useful knot I've ever learned.
\\ Moved grand pianos.
\\\ Man, I have some stories about the items we would find, usually in single women's houses/condos. Let's move the bed out... DVDs, whips, hand-cuffs...
Erm, let me get those.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

There was an article recently in the LA Times -- although it is legal for a cab to stop for a "wave over" -- the cab MUST obey all red curbs, "no stopping signs", no double parking, etc etc. So, in the lucrative areas with potential pick-up business, it is impossible as a practical matter.

sambapink

Right.. after feeling terrible for not tipping our removal men (see previous post!).. I have a handy man here at the moment... he has come to fix a few niggling things around the house.. Now its a rental property and the landlord will pay him... Should I tip him..? Also how much... I only have $20 bills ... Arrrggghhh.. I'm like Mel.. I find it all very uncomfortable!!