Tip the Damned Maid! (An article about tipping)

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I won't get too involved with the maid situation but I work for a charter company. 90% of the time I load and unload bags and watch the line guys/gals get a tip from the passengers while I get a handshake. It doesn't bother me personally (I'm not going to quit my job to become a line guy for the tips) but man I have some co workers that get VERY upset about this. What are the collective thoughts on this.

Also for the line guys, the few times the pax don't tip line guys am I expected to throw you a couple bucks?
 
I would be hesitant to tip the maids at the hotels our airline puts us at because we're on the contract rate in the same block of rooms and many, many crews have noticed that we often get a sub-standard level of housekeeping service. Honestly, most of the time it's fine, but I feel like the hotels we contract with mostly keep their service level at "minimum" for airline crews because our business is merely dependent upon whether they want to keep us around at the price that our company deems affordable.

Naturally, there are exceptions. But this is the level of service I usually see. I feel no compulsion to leave a tip. Especially since I don't know who receives that tip. Was it the maid that cleaned my room before I got there? I don't want to reward service that I have no real gauge of.

Bonanzaman said:
I won't get too involved with the maid situation but I work for a charter company. 90% of the time I load and unload bags and watch the line guys/gals get a tip from the passengers while I get a handshake. It doesn't bother me personally (I'm not going to quit my job to become a line guy for the tips) but man I have some co workers that get VERY upset about this. What are the collective thoughts on this.

Also for the line guys, the few times the pax don't tip line guys am I expected to throw you a couple bucks?
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As a line guy, I honestly didn't care. Yes, tips were great, but we were paid a living wage and it was just an added bonus if it happened. Sadly, we had known tippers and that meant that when their airplanes rolled in, line guys were fighting to get there first.

I remember one guy who tipped a $20 to each line guy consistently. But he also looked you in the eye, shook your hand and said "Thank you". To me, that meant more than the money.
 
I've never tipped the maid on a trip... but I also don't do room service and I don't want my bed turned when I'm there. The less I see of them (knock knock "housekeeping you want me for towel?") the better!

One or two bucks for the van driver is the norm for me unless I'm out of ones (most common reason for not tipping when it occurs), or unless they were seriously awful.
 
Good lord, i actually read this whole thing. I can't believe this is seriously a thing, and it's seriously a thing i never knew about.

I guess I'm classless when it comes to tipping the cleaning people.
 
Why don't pilots regularly tip their mechanics? I've only had that happen twice, and both were kind of extraordinary circumstances. Everybody except the mechanic gets to go home and the poor mechanic is left with your broken toy. I think tipping your mechanic should become standard practice.:sarcasm:
 
knot4u said:
Why don't pilots regularly tip their mechanics? I've only had that happen twice, and both were kind of extraordinary circumstances. Everybody except the mechanic gets to go home and the poor mechanic is left with your broken toy. I think tipping your mechanic should become standard practice.:sarcasm:
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It sounds like this maid tip thing has been standard practice and I'm in my 30's and never heard of it.
 
knot4u said:
Why don't pilots regularly tip their mechanics? I've only had that happen twice, and both were kind of extraordinary circumstances. Everybody except the mechanic gets to go home and the poor mechanic is left with your broken toy. I think tipping your mechanic should become standard practice.:sarcasm:
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I tip my bike mechanic.
 
There's no way to say this without sounding cheap, but tipping is out of control in America.

There's a really good restaurant chain here in northern California called Tender Greens. But you go up to one end of the counter to order your food, then walk to the other end to pay for it and pick it up. At no point is anybody "waiting" on you in any real sense. Yet they have a tip jar and a tip line on the credit card receipt. WTF?

I once received terrible service at a busy bar with some friends. We left the waitress a tip that was less than 50% of what is considered "standard". It probably wasn't even her fault, but they were short staffed and the place was slammed. She came back to our table and saw the tip and acted very indignant, asking what the problem was. The problem was, the service was terrible. Should we have tipped her 15% just because that's the minimum standard in spite of receiving awful service? We left her a few more dollars out of pity, but what a miserable situation.

I'd rather pay more for a service or product knowing that the worker is receiving a living wage without the tip. Let the tip truly be about service, not about "you have to do it because they make slave wages".
 
I don't tip counter service restaurants.

If you want to see tipping out of control, try Las Vegas.
 
knot4u said:
Why don't pilots regularly tip their mechanics? I've only had that happen twice, and both were kind of extraordinary circumstances. Everybody except the mechanic gets to go home and the poor mechanic is left with your broken toy. I think tipping your mechanic should become standard practice.:sarcasm:
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If you do more than slap a sticker on the airplane, I might just.
 
Autothrust Blue said:
If you do more than slap a sticker on the airplane, I might just.
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Cal Goat said:
gcom.gif
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"Our ACARS is frozen. Here is the procedure to unfreeze it."
"We're going to defer it."
"No, you don't understand, all you have to do is (redacted)."
"No, we're going to defer it, you're too close to departure time."
--departure time rolls by, still no approval or release on the MEL from Central Command--
"Welp!"
 
Cal Goat said:
There's no way to say this without sounding cheap, but tipping is out of control in America.

There's a really good restaurant chain here in northern California called Tender Greens. But you go up to one end of the counter to order your food, then walk to the other end to pay for it and pick it up. At no point is anybody "waiting" on you in any real sense. Yet they have a tip jar and a tip line on the credit card receipt. WTF?

I once received terrible service at a busy bar with some friends. We left the waitress a tip that was less than 50% of what is considered "standard". It probably wasn't even her fault, but they were short staffed and the place was slammed. She came back to our table and saw the tip and acted very indignant, asking what the problem was. The problem was, the service was terrible. Should we have tipped her 15% just because that's the minimum standard in spite of receiving awful service? We left her a few more dollars out of pity, but what a miserable situation.

I'd rather pay more for a service or product knowing that the worker is receiving a living wage without the tip. Let the tip truly be about service, not about "you have to do it because they make slave wages".
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I love me some orange leaf frozen yogurt! Man that place is good. It's also very self serve. I dispense my yogurt, and add my own toppings. The only thing the worker does is weigh it and take my money yet there is still a tip jar. Yeah kiss my butt.

That's terrible. I wouldn't have tipped her at all. I spent about 5 years delivering pizza. Tips were the only thing that made the job worth doing. To do a tipped job you have to have the right mind set. It is not a requirement. I can have pizza delivered or go out to eat and stiff every waiter and delivery driver. All day every day. There is no requirement, and shouldn't be any expectation of a tip.

When I drove I never expected a tip. I always HOPED for a tip, but that's it. When I got stiffed nothing changed. I wouldn't act indignant, huff and puff, or treat the customer with anything less than professional respect. As a decent human being (despite what ATN thinks) I would never behave differently towards a customer who failed to tip me.
 
poser765 said:
No, it's simpler than that. We disagree with him...thus we are scum, unprofessional, young punks, or just low class.
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Naturally. I may be all of those things, but I truly believe in being rational about such matters. It's a topic I've thought much about having been on both sides of the equation. I've laid out my reasoning, and although imperfect, I believe it to be the best course of action for me at this time.

My point being, I'm not just a cheap, low class, unprofessional punk scumbag.
 
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