Do You Tip the Owner?
 

If you eat at a small restaurant and the owner serves you, do you tip him?

If you hire a limo company and the owner of the company is your driver, do you tip him?

If you stay at a small hotel and the owner acts as a porter, do you tip him?

If I go to a barbershop, and the owner gives me a haircut (which is usually the case where I get my hair cut), do I give him a tip? Yep, sure do.
I tip for the service, not depending upon the person giving it, as long as the service is satisfactory. Tip is the same if it's the owner, or his employee, at least that's the way I see it.

bj-21.

Offer the tip. I've heard of some owners refusing it.

QL

tipts to the owner (which I do) often go into the 'general' tip-box (shared by all employees).

Yes, you do, but in a much smaller fashion. Just as a token of appreciation.

Yes, I tip the owner (and his son / daughter, wife as well). In the most cases, the Tip goes in a box, shared by all employees (as Rudi writes), on the other why shouldn’t I honour the excel-lent work of the owner?

No, I never tip the owner. If I'm asked, I'll never patronize that business again. Tips are for employees, not proprietors.

I never tip the owner

we all, automatically, tip owners in countries where tips are included.

They are included, by law, already in the listed/imprinted prices (= in the prices you agreed to pay when making the reservations/when ordering the goods or services) in many countries, including 'my' Switzerland (Hotels, Restaurants, taxis, at barbers, etc. etc.).

For what reasons should the tipping-policy regarding owners be different in countries where tips are not automatically included?

In the NYT editorial letters today, and Thursday last week, there was an interesting point-counterpoint about tipping. Today, a Finnish writer responded to a New York tour bus driver's complaint (again, an editorial page letter) about the dearth of tips lately.

I am completely supportive of the Finn's frame of reference: wages are the answer, not gratuities.

I was raised never tip the owner, and in the past, when I (inadvertently) attempted to, was told he/she was the owner and did not need to be tipped. But I have not heard that in many years.

Besides, it has gotten confusing lately -- you may have part of the service done by the owner, part by an employee. So does it depend on whom you give the money to? I solve it by tipping all the time. Most times, it goes in a pot, as mentioned above.

And I agree with the Finns, -- the answer is in wages, not gratuities.

Miss Manners (aka Judith Martin) says you do not tip the owner.

My grandfather used to tell me it was not appropriate to tip the owner. But, I think that has been lost in more recent years. A friend of mine owns two restaurants and does well for himself financially. However, he often plays waiter because the tips supplement his income well http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

Most people don't know who is the owner, so it is hard to know if you need to tip or not. I can't think of a time when I have neglected to tip because I knew it was the owner serving me ... just because that seems rare. When my friend serves me, I tip only out of guilt, not because I think he deserves a supplement to his income for being a proprietor.

To get a little off subject, I personally do not believe in tipping at all. Some people in well tipped service positions are making much more then skilled professionals. This situation is not good for society or the economy IMHO. We need the financial incentive in place for people to become more productive members of society.

Tips (To Insure Prompt Service) used to be given before service was rendered, I believe it was to obtain service above and beyond what can be expected. I want to know how something productive like paying for extra service has become an expected payment even when service is poor.

If tips are included in the price, of course there is nothing one can do. And as you said, this is often the case in Europe. I think a tip should be offered for service rendered by employees, not the owners. The owner by definition owns the business and as such is already incented to give his/her best service so as he can make more money from me if I choose to return. To tip him, especially since he is the proprieter, is considered an insult. My German hairdresser (came to the US in the 50s) has owned his salon for 30 years. He tells me stories of how now people are offering to tip him---more often than 15 years ago. He refuses them outright. Today many proprieters are taking tips; I won't patronize their businesses.

I always tip the barber. (Most barbers own a stake in the barbershop - at least in the small barbershops in my neighborhood.)

I go to a couple of small bars/restaurants where the owner sometimes waits tables or tends bar. I tip him just like I'd tip anyone else.

Don't get me started on tour bus drivers.

Sorry, that acronym is an urban legend. See:

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.htm