Why do you care where anyone else tips? Tip where you want.

BTW, I'll let you in on a secret, if you're worried about people thinking you're cheap, if you *don't tell people you hate tipping* they'll never know

Wow, I've never been dazzled with a receipt, just a tip jar. I do tip 2 dollars per trip (after I've enjoyed the lounge and services provided), but if by day 2 the attendant is progressive and anticipates my needs and make me feel her service is personal, then I usually tip 5 dollars. I appreciate tip culture as I was once a server in my teenage days, but it should be optional, not mandatory.

Because it creates an environment where people expect tips just for doing their jobs. I don't know that the direction I want the world to move in is that we're tipping people above their normal wage, regardless of what type of work they do. Pretty soon your garbage man will pick up your neighbor's garbage every week because he tips, and he'll pick yours up when he feels like it.

I don't think that's probably a concern for most people who dislike tipping. But if that was directed toward me personally, for jobs that deserve tips, I tip well above the recommended or average tip. What we're discussing here is tipping for jobs that are not traditionally tipped, in this case a lounge attendant.

It's a pretty big stretch to say that people who don't like tipping these types of employees are worried about looking cheap.

I've actually heard of places where garbage men expect an end-of-year tip.

Thank God this does not appear to have come to our neighborhood.

uh... huh.




Wait, where's the list of jobs that are "not traditionally tipped"??? When were lounge attendants not tipped? Who decides which jobs "deserve" tips? You do, that's who. So all you're saying is that you tip people you want to tip. That's great.

This is so nonsensical, I'm not even sure it's worth a reply, but I'll try one last time.

No one said anything about a conspiracy. No one said anything about a list. And of course it's always up to an individual to decide whether or not to tip. That statement has absolutely no connection with the fact (whether you choose to believe it or not) that certain jobs are specifically paid with the understanding that tips are a part of the wage. In most states, this is the case for waitstaff. Your waiter may be paid $3 an hour (or whatever), while the busboy makes minimum wage.

In other cases, tipping for certain services is a cultural norm. It's something I always research before I visit a country for the first time, and I can assure you that there ARE lists of who should be tipped. It's a much shorter list than the one you imagine of who shouldn't be tipped, and thus easier to maintain. Here's just one example from a quick Google search: http://www.whototip.net/ (I'm not vouching for it's correctness).

One can always choose to buck cultural norms. If you try to tip in certain European countries, or leave a large tip, they'll laugh at you. If you try to tip in Japan, there's a very good chance they'll give you your money back, and some may even be insulted. So that's up to you. My perspective is still that I'm not in favor of tipping for services that aren't traditionally tipped. If you think that, over time, engaging in that practice won't create a new expectation of tipping, you're not being realistic. Try giving your child a cookie every time he comes home from school...and guess what he'll expect and ask for when you stop doing it.

By the way, it's not like if I see someone tipping the grocery store clerk, I'm going to call them out on it. I just think expanding the tipping culture to more and more jobs/services moves us in the wrong direction.

I will on occasion tip in the CL. Usually I will give a $1 when I grab a couple of beers if they are free. A couple of times I have left a few dollars if the host did something above and beyond. However, I would be extremely unhappy with the OP hotel experience of being presented a receipt for the "meal" in the lounge. I mostly likely would "lose" the receipt and walk out without signing it. If I was chased down I guess Dewey Cheatem Howe would have to sign the slip :P

Is a tip jar "begging for tips"?

Or the 2019 version, where the cashier swivels around the electronic tablet point of sale with those huge tip % icons glaring, then makes a puppy dog face with tears practically welling up in their eyes...all so they can hand you something over a counter.

Yes, love it when a place just serving beer shows you that Ipad mini with 20% being the lowest option to select. Good grief. It's like pouring a glass of water.

Yes. 100% It's tacky and demeaning. Makes me less likely to return to places that allow them.

(I'm talking about at coffeeshops and similar counter-service type operations.)

Yeah, that's what I thought. This is just post hoc rationalization of not wanting to tip.