Maybe it is because I live in Las Vegas and we are a tipping town, but to say that only waiters and bartenders should be tipped does not even come close to reality. Bellmen, Valet Parkers, Maids, taxi drivers, shuttle bus drivers, limo drivers, tour guides, hair dressers, manicurists, massage therapists, dealers, restaurant hostesses and showroom hosts should all be tipped. The IRS even recognizes this and taxes most of these based on a % of the revenue they generate.

I agree that a tip is discretionary, but I always tip the above for good service. I have (very rarely) withheld the tip if the service was poor or tipped a very small amount.

If you go to most of the vegas web sites, they have guidelines for tipping service workers. My employer even has guidelines that include tipping for the above categories.

And, please do not come back with the newbies sh**, as a couple of you did on the Las Vegas discussion on tips. It is rude and tends to alienate those of us who have only joined FT in the last few months. I, for one, have lots of experience traveling and in life. I am not a 20 something person who travels once per month, rather I travel every week, usually 4 segments per week, staying in hotels 4-5 nights per week.

Bellmen - yes, for sure. This is expected, $1-2 per bag for the entire trip from car to room. Don't fall for hustlers who try to get you to double tip.
Valet parkers - $2 if they help with the luggage, open the doors, etc., otherwise nothing.
Beauty and spa services - yes, 15% is expected in Vegas. I think it's ridiculous.
Dealers - you're throwing your money away.
Restaurant and showroom hosts - never heard of anyone tipping them unless it's a bribe for a better seat or to cut the line.
Shuttle bus and tour bus drivers - no, especially if they have a big tip bucket or a sign saying "gratuity not included"

QL

This is one of my big pet peeves too. No tip in these cases.

I tend to tip my massage therapist to whom I go every month because I pay for 1 hour and she usually ends up giving me 1.5 - 2 hour massages so I feel it is worth the tip.

When I used to go in the US and they'd often stop 5 minutes before the allotted time, I usually wouldn't tip. Depended entirely on the quality of the massage and the service / attention to detail

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Great music!

As we have discussed before, my boyfriend is currently a tour guide. He has driven a shuttle bus and tour bus in the past. In all these jobs, he has never been allowed to ask for tips or put up signs regarding tips. I agree, that would discourage me as well.

But, he does receive tips from the majority of his passengers. Maybe he is a great guide!

I bet he is. And he has a very loyal girlfriend.

QL

1. What is the proper tip at a buffet restaurant where the customer orders the buffet & the waiter brings just the drinks?
I usually give a dollar tip or a bit more than that. (I eat alone, I usually drink water & the buffet price is around $5-6). Does the waitperson at a buffet restuarant earn the sub minimum or standard minimum wage? I would say that about half don't tip from my observations.

2. When I order the $1.99 breakfast special at a Las Vegas Casino for example, I usually give the waitress/waiter a dollar (my minimum for a small tab) because the meal would cost me around $4-5 where I live in LA. Note: this example is for me eating alone.

At flyertalk events, my bill is usually alot less because I don't drink alcohol. I don't like the taste of alcohol. I always give at least a 17% tip & even more if the service is very good.

Fascinating thread.

I'm one of the maid tippers, but only leave more than $1 if I've left a mess.

My personal bugbear is restaurants which add an automatic gratuity to larger parties without telling me. Particularly ones that add it ON THE SALES TAX.

I will no longer eat at restaurants which add an automatic gratuity. I have started to ask, but sometimes forget. Last month in Baltimore, the assistant manager tried to tell me that a 20% gratuity on parties of 6 was REQUIRED BY CITY LAW. I requested that the police be called.

The idea that adding the gratuity AFTER THE TAX is even more offensive -- Chicago and New Orleans add a super-tax of 10% or more to restaurant meals; Portland, OR, adds NONE. So I should tip 2% more in Chicago? Gimme a break.

Interestingly, I had a conversation with a friend a few years ago who is a head waiter in the Cincinnati area. When I casually alluded to not tipping on tax, his astonished response was "No wonder so many people seem to undertip a little."

We eat out regularly at a number of restaurants. For good service, we tip 20% at dinner, which is a lot in Lexington. We always get VERY GOOD SERVICE when we go back. If we ever have issues, they are taken care of quickly and well. Servers actually compete for our trade. That is when tipping is valuable.

There have been a LOT of tipping threads in the past, so for more info, you can do a search, BUT:

I think goodkarmaguy has it exactly right.

Also, I like the suggestion about the $750 meal now being $900. Whenever I go to a restaurant and look at the menu to decide if I want to go in, I consider tax and tip as part of the meal, usually a 20% tip at a minimum. IF the service is bad, 15%. I tip housekeepers ( ) and van drivers and basically anyone else who personally assists in getting me either physically from point a to point b or logistically there, as well. The tip varies, both percentagewise and $$$wise. I do NOT tip into tip jars, at delis or Starbucks. I WOULD, however, consider a small gift at Christmas (like chocolates or movie tickets) or on a day on which I am aware they are celebrating something special (birthday, Eid, etc.). That's something people don't forget and appreciate.

Having said all that, everyone has the right to do whatever they want to do.

I do know several people who work as "servers" and they invariably tell me that they've got customers pegged even before they've opened the front door. Also, I find it amusing (if unfair) how some of those customers then wonder why they got a bad table or why the maitre'd "copped an attitude FOR NO REASON! "

Have you ever been at a bar and the waiter did not charge you for one of your drinks? Just happened to me in DesMoines. Should you now compensate the waiter for 'forgetting' the last one?

For the sake of argument let's assume that the bartender did this on purpose.

Technically, I believe that's referred to as "comping" (as in "complementary"), and it happens to me probably every time I go to my hangouts. Here's where "what goes around, comes around" comes into play, simply because I'm one of the best tippers at my favorite spots, despite the fact that at the end of the night, I've shelled out less cash than I would have shelled out, had I been cheap. To answer your question, yes, you should tip extra for a "free" drink, double your normal tip.

[This message has been edited by anonplz (edited 06-14-2003).]

Perhaps that is why Vegas is so tip happy. If you are gambling, you get free drinks. Valet parking is free.

Oh yeah, I tip at least 50% on free drinks.

Having a relationship with the waiters and bartenders at your favorite place is another matter entirely. You're actually getting something back for your tip. I'm 100% with you on that one.

QL

I usually leave a buck a head for buffet drink service. The cost of the buffet is irrelevant: I leave a dollar if somebody filled my water and juice glass once or twice.

I leave a normal bar tip on the drink cost if I'm actually ordering screwdrivers, mimosas, etc.

I don't hesitate to leave zippy for bad buffet service. (Empty water glasses, etc.)

Same here.

I was at the Plantation Marriott Renaissance. in Florida (Fll really). What a beautiful hotel, BTW, except the unopenable windows were 4x5 and you couldn't see out of them ounless you stood UP.Duh.) Anyway, I had been on a red-eye flight and wanted to enjoy a big,fat, breakfast buffet before I took a long, morning nap. The food was good! When I came back from the buffet, the server had poured TWO glasses of water. When she came by, (10 minutes later), I said, you know, I am by myself. Yes, she said, but they are small glasses. Oh man...that means she can't be bothered refilling my glass.

FWIW she also never removed my dirty plates OR the extra place settings that I had pushed to the side of table that was set for three. Yuck.

And yes, I did post this in the Marriott Forum!

p.s. Interesting sidebar: By a weird coincidence, the water glasses were the same arty-farty specialty glasses that WE use in my high-end place! (I had thought they were unique to us! Rats!)



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Just trying to keep up with the gals in the trailer park next door.

I'll bet that most of the anti-tippers here probably hold on to thier hotel/airline status cards like it was really made out of gold, always expect to be ugraded...for FREE, and ridicule others who get "comped" elite status.