Well, time for another rant.

I do hope the guy was happy of getting $25 just for opening a bottle. That's probably what some people get for an entire day of work (in the USA).

Tipping based on a %age of total charge also makes no sense, your example being a very good one.

Does your guy opening a bottle provide more or better service than the pizza delivery guy ?

Is service in a 3* restaurant 50 times better than in a snack ?

I wouldn't think so.

I have worked in the service industry and I agree with tipping to an extent. Bellhops (who deliver to the room/car), bartenders ($1 avg per beer - more if the he/she gives buybacks from the bar), waitresses and busboys (for meticulous service) always get tipped well.

However, I am still up in the air about tipping hotel maids. Here in the U.S., maids in most hotel chains are unionized workers so they are paid decent wages and benefits. Those that aren't unionized (Marriott is one, I believe) are paid comparable wages. Am I required to tip them anyway? I don't leave my room a mess so there is actually very little to do. Is this expected in major hotels in metropolitan cities outside the U.S.?

Just want to comment on shuttle drivers for car rental vans and hotels. My husband is elderly and slightly handicapped and we are exceedingly grateful when a driver doesn't make my husband feel like less than able by waiting till we ask for assistance. We are very appreciative of the driver grabbing our bags and putting them on and off the van. We tip him well for the kindness and we feel he deserves it. I don't think any person in the service industry can please all the people all the time, so one just has to use one's own judgement as to when a tip is merited and when it is not.

Here are my thoughts regarding hotel/airport shuttles:

If the trip is from the airport to the hotel and it is part of a regular run with other people, then I generally do not tip. After all, the driver did nothing extra just for me.

On the other hand, I have stayed at several hotels where I made an appointment and the driver drove me either to the office or another location with just me in the van. In that case, I felt a trip of $2-3 was appropriate.

Once on a business trip in Florida, we had the hotel shuttle drop the three of us us off at a local bar/restaurant and he offered to pick us up again in two hours at a specified time. In this case, we appreciated his offer, saved the money on a cab and gave him $5 when he returned to the hotel.

Phx-
As an ex-hotel worker, let me clear up some misconceptions here. Not all hotel housekeepers are unionized first of all. Second of all, even if they are they are NOT making huge amounts of money, I assure you. They are easily the hardest working staff in the hotel: cleaning a hotel room is tiring, physical labor. If you had a clean room, you should leave a tip, it's as simple as that.
As far as outside the U.S. it simply depends on if you are in a tipping culture. Each city would vary.

Max of $5/bottle tip for wine. Maybe $10 if it's a fabulous dinner, the sommelier helps you choose a bottle, and the wine is decanted.

No, it's not as simple as that, at least to my way of thinking. Clean accommodation is a standard component of the product we're purchasing; it is not customarily optional.

There's nothing wrong with tipping the housekeeper, if that's what you wish, but this is a case of "could" instead of "should", IMHO.

Of course, if extraordinary cleaning is required because of your actions, you should tip appropriately.

As I'm sure the duties of an airport baggage handler must be. Would you advocate sending a tip jar around the carousel?

[This message has been edited by taucher (edited 09-23-2002).]

[This message has been edited by taucher (edited 09-23-2002).]

So what is standard for a hotel maid - and when (after each day, or after entire stay)?

I must admit I'm spotty on this, depends on how I feel, if I have some small bills, etc.

And PokerHammy - how bout those blackjack dealers? We need to give them money if they deal us a blackjack or a couple winners in a row? I don't see them giving us money when they hit four or five 21s in a row.

Well, poker dealers are different from the other "house" dealers because a poker game is player based, and only players and not the house takes the winnings, so there are less ill feelings toward the dealer when you don't win. I'd still give blackjack dealers tips when I have a decent amount of winnings just to share the wealth. Not that I think the dealer has any control of the cards. Can't really blame them for making 21s, it's not as if they really want to do that since they know when you win they get tips and when you lose they get nothing.

--While playing in the casino on a small luxury cruiseship, I would often tip the dealer during a lucky streak at blackjack. One time the dealer was waiting for the same flight as we were &the flight was delayed a long time. She told us that the dealers feel totally ripped off & helpless. When the pax tips the dealer and the money drops into the slot, the assumption by the pax is that the dealers pool the tips. Not so. That money goes right into the coffers of the casino. (Casinos normally are independent contractors & not part of the cruiseline). The dealer said that she had to sign an agreement that she would not reveal that they were keeping NO tips & that all of that revenue was going to the corporation. Said that the next time we cruise, we should very discreetly give the dealer cash directly if we were pleased with the service.

I tip the customary amounts for normal service, tip verey well for exemplary service and at places I know I will be returning to, and even pre tip something to assure goo service. For example when hosting a big meal at a restaurant I will tip the person in charge $100 and slip them my CC to make sure we receive tip top service with the promise of more to come if all goes well, and also to make sure that no one else will beat me to the bill. I excuse myself to go to the rest room while people are having coffee and amaros to sign the bill and retrieve my card. I just love the feeling I get being able to say , when we are ready to leave, of getting up and having people ask "What about the bill?", "It is all taken care of". My pet peeve is not the tipping but those who like to do accounting of what everyone had at the end of the meal and splitng the bill, really ruins a good meal IMHO.

Having said the above I recently stayed at the fairmont property in banff and no matter what you did they wouldn't take a tip there. There were all dressed in nice uniforms and despite the no tipping policy I would be hard pressed to say that I have received better or more jovial service anywhere else. These young people really appeared to be sincerely happy to help and went out of their way to make you feel welcome at every stage and like a VIP. Juts great service and all with a no tipping policy. Would be interesting to know their secret.

Hotel maid: $0 unless extraordinary services are performed.
Casino personnel: $0 unless you have extraordinary luck, then max of 1-2% of your win.

I wanted to reiterate this question. I know the same maid doesn't usually clean the room every day. When I leave a tip after the end of my stay, does the maid who happened to be there just take it or split it with the others? If that is the case, the housekeeping staff must fight for who gets to work on Thursdays and Fridays because that is when most business travelers check out. Working on Mondays and Tuesdays must suck.

A coworker claims that after he leaves $5 each day, the maid leaves extra towels and shampoo/soap for him. Other than that gesture, there is nothing different done to his room. What is the point of getting some extra towels? How many can one person use in one night? I carry my own soap and shampoo so the extras are also worthless.

On another note, I also like the restaurants that print tip calculations "for my convenience" on the receipt. It will say something like:

It is simple to gauge your tip but can often times be intimidating to people who feel obligated to leave an amount printed on the receipt.

Here is a new one for you. I saw a tip jar at my local Blockbuster Video. All the girl did was rudely ask for my membership card and scan the DVD. She didn't recommend any titles or run out into the store and find the video for me.

I must say I'm a little appalled that management is not squashing down on this type of thing, unless, perhaps, they sympathize, or letting staff place a tip jar next to the cash register makes it easier to deny a raise because, "after all, you have your tips."

It's yet another example of how poorly trained labor is today. In my mind, this is precisely where the notion that cheap labor is better than more costly labor breaks down. If you paid your staff better, they would probably be more educated and more motivated to do a good job.