Who, if anyone, do you "tip" during the winter holiday season? I ususally give the paper carrier between $10-$20, and the trash guys the same. My hairdresser gets an extra-large tip when I use her service during the season, but I don't give her anything extra, as I tip her very well during the year; whereas I don't the paper and trash guys. The water guy gets $5. I don't think the mail carrier is allowed to accept monetary tips. Sometimes I feel like a cheapo giving these amounts - especially when I see those articles in the newspaper about how much to tip! So, what do you all do?

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2003

Answers

You make me look like Scrooge! I don't think that I've ever given anyone a holiday tip. I've never even seen the paper carrier or the trash guys, and when I get my hair cut I just go to one of those SuperCuts places where you never get the same stylist twice. So I'm in no way an expert, but your amounts look fine to me.

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2003

Hi Polly and everyone,

Hmmm. I tip my hairstylist 20% or more routinely (she's very reasonably priced to begin with, and lucky for me, also very good!). I'm tipping the housecleaners $5 each per visit (there's 3 of them), but sheesh, they're so expensive! I'm going to give them each a bouquet or something the last visit before Christmas (plus a tip). I think Mr. S. tips the mail carrier and the paper deliverer at Christmas (not sure how much). For other non-Christmas times: We always tip our shearer VERY GENEROUSLY, and also the guys who deliver our hay, etc. We share eggs and vegetables with anyone who does commerce with us (especially our friend the restauranteur and microbrewer who shares his spent grain with us...feeds our ducks and chickens!). The kid who now watches our critters gets $7 a day ($3.50 times 2 visits a day). I just think it's a good idea to spread positive feelings around. Sometimes it's just money, but hey, if I'm at some service place and I get good service, I will ask for the manager so I can rave about the good service I got...so rare these days! What else? We usually tip waitfolk 15-20% in restaurants...unless the service is really marginal, in which case they get NADA.

Oh, if I stay in a hotel, I tip the maids a few bucks for each day they swap the towels, make the bed/turn the bed down. If I'm staying just one night, no dice.

btw, those articles in the paper (at least ones that I've seen) seem crazy! But then, what isn't crazy these days?

-- Anonymous, December 04, 2003

I give the newspaper guy $5. I used to tip the mailcarrier but I wasn't sure he was getting the money because he never said thanks or anything and I also heard they should not get tipped. I cut my own hair and Gary's so that's easy (Oh, I've got to cut his hair tomorrow, it's getting too long)

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2003

I guess I'm a scrooge too. I don't tip my "hairdresser" anything extra at Christmas. I just give her a generous tip when I have my hair done (hennaed and trimmed). I don't give the mail carrier anything, though I often wonder if I should. I don't get a newspaper, except those horrible "stuffers" that I don't want anyway, but can't figure out how to stop.

I tend to only tip 15% in restaurants (usually rounding it up though), unless the service is particularly good (or bad). Food prices go up all the time, but why should the PERCENTAGE go up? The exception is the pizza delivery folks, because I've seen the horrible wages they get (worse than any server in an actual restaurant), but I rarely get pizza anymore because of my sensitivity to wheat, so they lose out anyway!

Water guy? What water guy? I've had city water and well water, but never a water guy that I know of. What does he do? Should you be tipping the guy who fills your propane (LP gas) tank?

Ya know, I bet ANY of them would accept homemade cookies. But does anyone have time or inclination for that? ;-)

-- Anonymous, December 23, 2003

City water?! What's that? Oh yeah - those lines that one town or the other has been promising to run out here for the last 40 years. Ain't happened yet. They tell me next summer. Yeah, right.

Our well water isn't fit to drink; so we have a man who delivers 5 gal carboys of water to our house monthly - usually somewhere between 8 and 10 of them - for drinking purposes. It's a bit more expensive than refilling jugs at the grocery store; but if I did that, I'd have the whole car full of jugs and no room for groceries!

If the propane guy happens to show up in the month of December, he gets a card and $5; otherwise not.

-- Anonymous, December 23, 2003