Tipping and giving

[GeoffH]

Most times I would say I'm a number 3 tipper, the exception to that is my regular barber who charges 40p for a hair cut and 20p for a beard trim.

I always round that up to 100p and he always gives me the chair right underneath the fan 

Edited February 16, 2020 by GeoffH

[Arizona Kid]

On 2/16/2020 at 9:49 PM, davewe said:

Based on Mike J's list above I am usually a #1 style tipper. But I recently had an experience on the other side of the fence.

You see I build and work on guitars and other instruments. When I moved to Dumaguete it sort of happened organically. People would see me on FB and send me a message asking if I could set up or fix their instrument. Eventually I started charging a small amount: a fraction of what comparable work in the US would cost. I wanted to have fees that Filipinos and retired expats could afford. Currently my clientele is 60-40 foreigners to Filipinos.

Anyway, recently I had a Filipino customer. He was very happy with what I did for his instrument and gave me an extra 50P. I was flattered - honoured really. Generally we assume the tipping dynamic in a restaurant is: we the customers have the money and the waiter/waitress does not. Yet in this case I was tipped despite being (probably) better off financially than the customer. I have no great conclusion but it was a nice experience. 

I would love to have a skill like you have. Unfortunately I can't even hammer a nail without smashing my thumb in the process. WTG. 

[davewe]

1 hour ago, Arizona Kid said:

I would love to have a skill like you have. Unfortunately I can't even hammer a nail without smashing my thumb in the process. WTG. 

Thank goodness hammering is not often involved in lutherie, otherwise I'd have no thumbs lol.

[Gator]

On 2/16/2020 at 12:03 PM, Jack Peterson said:

 Service Charges are to me an affront to Staff. We all have to pay the Service charge if there is one But We can never be sure what % the staff get if any, so as it is the Staff that do the Front of House Job, they get a Tip, and I might Add it is usually only 30 peso Max, anymore can get silly, say 20 tables served at Lunch with tips coming is a good boost to whatever meagre salary they get    

Actually I was working on a new post about this very issue.......the 10% service charge and it’s distribution. I’ll regress a bit - a few nights ago I went to a resto/cafe on walking street that I haven’t been to in a while. The new management there has now imposed the 10% service fee. Due to the lousy service as well as the cold and overcooked food, I questioned the manager about it as I didn’t want to pay it and didn’t plan to leave a tip (I typically leave about 10% or more if the service and food is good; or at least as good as you can expect here, lol). 

The manager told me it was now the law that all restos and hotels add the fee and he chose to not hide it in his menu pricing. After doing a bit of research I found adding the fee is NOT mandatory and the only thing that is mandatory is how it’s distributed among the staff. The law has been in effect for several years, but it was recently changed. The last law essentially stipulated that 85% went to all employees (contract and salaried) and 15% went to management / owners (owners to help cover for loss and breakage). Now the law stipulates that 100% goes to the staff. But, what constitutes staff? Contract workers are not staff so they don’t get a share. That can include wait staff, OJT’s, dishwashers, prep cooks, bus boys, etc. 

So my solution now is if a resto adds the 10% charge I ask the server if they get a portion or not. Depending on their answer, and of course the level of service, determines if I leave a tip or not. 

[hk blues]

8 hours ago, Gator said:

So my solution now is if a resto adds the 10% charge I ask the server if they get a portion or not. Depending on their answer, and of course the level of service, determines if I leave a tip or not. 

But doesn't that kinda put the server on the spot?  Especially if the owner is within earshot. 

When I was in Hong Kong there was a strict implementation of 10% service charge (may have been 15%, I've forgotten already) -  once or twice I questioned this and they dropped the charge but I didn't feel any better about it and even wished I hadn't bothered as It had no effect and it wasn't about the money.  Now, i just pay up and shut up!