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Home › Articles › General Family Finance › Here's a Tip

Here's a Tip

How to Tip Everyone from the Hair Dresser to the Bellman

By Lisa A. Goldstein

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The parking lot attendant, yes, the owner of the salon, no. As a busy parent, worrying about who to tip and how much is the last thing you want on your mind. So how do you sort out whom you tip and whom you don't?

First, it's important to keep in mind that many people such as wait staff, taxi drivers and hairdressers rely on tips to supplement their income because their salaries are minimal, says Fleming Allaire, aka Dr. Manners, an etiquette expert.

So who gets a tip? Basically, anyone who performs a personal service for you, says Lydia Ramsey, an etiquette expert and author. After all, the word tip is actually an acronym for the phrase "to insure promptness." "I tip for attitude and level of service," she says. "The better the service, the bigger the tip. After all, that is the point."

Lauren Hirsch, 30, of Wynnewood, Pa., tends to over-tip when she brings her kids, because of the mess that her children often leave and because she frequently orders something special for them and feels she should compensate for that. "I tend to be particularly friendly toward a waiter in a restaurant that isn't specifically geared toward children," Hirsch says.

But keep in mind, no tip is automatically required – it's simply a reward for good service. A good tip, however, will usually get you better service in the future.

Exceptions

There are a few exceptions to the general rules, however, such as at holiday time, Allaire says. You might offer extra bonuses for people who help you throughout the year, like babysitters and newspaper carriers. In general, people tend to be more generous during this time and raise their usual tips, Ramsey says.

Another exception is the tip jar. Ramsey describes them as a good way to recognize service people who are doing a variety of jobs. "I think [they] should be reserved for places that offer some level of service directly to the customer, but where it is difficult to tip one on one," she says. "Since servers can work as a team, this is the only fair way to reward them." As a rule of thumb, she says to use 10 to 15 percent of the cost of food or services.

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