Tipping Rules

[Denali]

If you are ever in Atlanta, their Fed Reserve (midtown) shreds money on a daily basis and you can get a baggie of shredded cash, approx $1K in each.

People are selling these free bags on ebay for about $10 each.

 

[newmarket]

I don't know know if they're still around (they were 7-8 years ago), but US$1 coins were a thing, and yeah a stack of those were heavy!

They've been around forever just never very popular. You do get them as change from some vending machines. FWIW - the Pepsi machines at DTW usually give change in Sacajawea dollar coins.

They've been about the same size as a quarter since the Susan B. Anthony; the Sacajawea is the same size and it's easy to be confused.

BTW - you all tip far too much, but each to their own.

 

[Hvr]

If you are ever in Atlanta, their Fed Reserve (midtown) shreds money on a daily basis and you can get a baggie of shredded cash, approx $1K in each.

People are selling these free bags on ebay for about $10 each.

I got a bag from the Philadelphia mint when I visited a few years ago. It was a disappointing visit because the actual mint was closed. It didn't make sense. :mrgreen:

 

[Cruiser Elite]

BTW - you all tip far too much, but each to their own.

Well I'll bite - what should you tip?

 

[Denali]

Well I'll bite - what should you tip?

According to my boss, while we were debating the updated expenses & travel policy, 10%. Apparently he tips only 10% when in the US.

I laughed at him and said min 20% plus $2pp per night for hotel maid service. He never tips the room maid either.

 

[AisleSeat]

They've been around forever just never very popular. You do get them as change from some vending machines. FWIW - the Pepsi machines at DTW usually give change in Sacajawea dollar coins.

They've been about the same size as a quarter since the Susan B. Anthony; the Sacajawea is the same size and it's easy to be confused.

BTW - you all tip far too much, but each to their own.

Oh, I had them constantly in Boston, but never saw them anywhere else. I got a half-dollar coin as change on my last trip though.

 

[Ewing]

then they take forever to bring the bags up to the room dven after several calls.

I try to beat the hotel bag guy to my bags by getting out of my ride as soon as it stops and get hold of the bags myself.

This is why I never let the porter bring my bag - it just takes too long. Not because I don't want to tip.

The first thing I do when I get to my hotel room is freshen up - usually a quick shower, but at the very least a change of shirt. I don't want to hang around for an hour waiting for the bags.

The last time I travelled with a colleague, he let the porter take his bags and I took mine up myself. I was showered and waiting in the lobby ready to go while he was still waiting for his bags to arrive.

 

[GarrettM]

If you are ever in Atlanta, their Fed Reserve (midtown) shreds money on a daily basis and you can get a baggie of shredded cash, approx $1K in each.

People are selling these free bags on ebay for about $10 each.

What the hell do you do with a bag of shredded cash?

 

[moa999]

The first thing I do when I get to my hotel room is freshen up - usually a quick shower, but at the very least a change of shirt. I don't want to hang around for an hour waiting for the bags..

Exactly. You've dragged them through airports and sidewalks. Can't be that hard to do one more hotel corridor

 

[Denali]

What the hell do you do with a bag of shredded cash?

Apparently sell it on ebay for $10.

Exactly. You've dragged them through airports and sidewalks. Can't be that hard to do one more hotel corridor

But I dont drag them around, a man/woman meets us at baggage claim and wheels it to the car

I took our luggage through the Hilton LAX corridors once, life is too short to be $5 cheap. But Im guessing I travel with more luggage than most here - my husband is the "bring the kitchen sink" traveler while I can do a month travel with just one carry on.

 

[AisleSeat]

What the hell do you do with a bag of shredded cash?

For eccentricity you could get a couple and stuff them into a cushion for your pet to sleep on.

 

[JohnK]

I took our luggage through the Hilton LAX corridors once, life is too short to be $5 cheap. But Im guessing I travel with more luggage than most here - my husband is the "bring the kitchen sink" traveler while I can do a month travel with just one carry on.

Try 3 suitcases, golf clubs with golf bag cover, 3 backpacks and pram. Some times I do on my own but occasionally use the concierge/porter. Tip 50 baht or 60 baht depending on which denomination are in my wallet.

I couldn't live in a society that forces me to tip. What if I have a low paying job that is not subsidised by tipping? What if I my debt is out of control? I'm still expected to subsidise someone's wages?

What a silly culture. Increase prices and pay staff more then customers know exactly what they have to pay and tip extra if they choose for good service.

 

[dajop]

What a silly culture. Increase prices and pay staff more then customers know exactly what they have to pay and tip extra if they choose for good service.

"Sticker shock" ... lower the menu price = people spend more so if you put prices on menu at $20 for main and $10 for glass of wine, that sounds much better than $26 main and $13 for glass of wine.

It's also capitalism at its purest ... charge $500/night for a shoebox and extract a nice healthy profit, and still expect your guests to top up the wage of cleaning staff to let them earn a basic living wage. No nuisances you see in socialist countries like Australia, where profits are defrayed by pesky laws like minimum wages .... :shock:

 

[DC3]

Give a tip. Spread a little joy.

 

[badseed]

I took the AMTRAK Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland a few years back, and got chatting with plenty of locals on the train. There was a young woman from a small town in North Dakota who earned $2.40 per hour, plus tips. On a slow day the restaurants are meant to make up the difference to the minimum wage (just over $7), but in practice the enforcement is spotty. She showed me a pay slip where she received just over $100 for 22 hours of work. Many people were amazed at how our minimum wage was so much more 'generous'.

Still many yanks seem to want this permanent underclass who fawn over those with means in order to scrape together enough to pay the electricity bill. Probably plenty of Australians who'd like that too, despite the poor example set by the USA...

So yes, I tip generously in the US. I'm only there for work or on holiday whereas most of them are stuck there for life.

 

[Himeno]

According to my boss, while we were debating the updated expenses & travel policy, 10%. Apparently he tips only 10% when in the US.

I laughed at him and said min 20% plus $2pp per night for hotel maid service. He never tips the room maid either.

The IRS taxes tips in tipped employment (jobs which can pay less then min wage due to tips) on the assumption that tips are 8%. There is no need to tip more then 8%.

 

[DC3]

The IRS taxes tips in tipped employment (jobs which can pay less then min wage due to tips) on the assumption that tips are 8%. There is no need to tip more then 8%.

Not even 8% tip from some, reading the posts here. More like a big zero.

 

[Boca68]

The IRS taxes tips in tipped employment (jobs which can pay less then min wage due to tips) on the assumption that tips are 8%. There is no need to tip more then 8%.

My understanding as well, although it varies depending on the category of the establishment. Meaning 5 star hotels its closer to 10%, local pizza joint its 7 or 8% extra when audited. Although it seems to be difficult to define the variances according to my friends who have and still work in the hospitality industry there.

 

[drron]

Id rather do cash for tips. I get crisp new notes from Auspost foreign currency service. I use them for tips in the USA. Just one of my weird quirks

But surgeons always have weird quirks.:shock:

 

[Wong.a]

A message about the USA tipping culture that resonated well with me was provided by the international coordinator whom I met during my college orientation. She said that in other countries, the wages for waitstaff/services are incorporated into the price of the product, whilst in the States, it's the contrary. So I've come to accept that a 'tip' that is paid when I dine/drink/get a haircut, is an unlisted portion of the cost (similar to tax, but not legally mandated). Any heightened contributions are likened to true gratuities, like the ones we sometimes make in Australia to recognize exceptional provision of services.