Tipping is out of control!

But it’s customary to tip the porters (and airport curbside check in).
I know that now. But (as I suspect is the case with quite a few people) I had no idea that tipping was customary the first time I used curbside check-in. I thought it was just an outside version of the indoor counter.
 
In my part of Canada we don't have the $15 minimum yet, but DH used to work in restaurants here and they all made more than minimum because if they didn't they would have no staff. I normally tip 10%, with above and beyond service getting 15%.
They must like me I do 20%, at least, in Canada. As an aside, I find the service very slow in Canada in restaurants. Could be it's the norm to dine slower than in the US, and less apt to be hurried out when done eating.
 
When tipping in the US I do tip more if they do a good job because they make like $3 an hour?????

if that's your reasoning then you need to see what state/city laws apply in individual areas you are visiting. where i'm at servers are being paid $11.50 and will get $12.00 1/1/19, in another part of my state an individual city (with lots of tourists) has a minimum of $15.64 (ALL workers-including tipped), san francisco pays $15 an hour to tipped as well (unless they worker for a company that contracts w/the city&county in which case it's in the works to increase their minimum to $17 an hour). in all these cases there's no formula to count the tips as a means to offset the minimum wage/tips are ON TOP of minimum wage.
 


Is that the norm in Canada? That’s very low tipping in the states and honestly, the majority of my travel to Canada has been Toronto for work and I tipped like I do in the states not like I tip in Europe, and I probably overtop there too.

In all honesty my DD worked in a chain restuarant and most people tipped 15%, and all the servers made at least minimum wage. I do believe that tipping in Canada is out of hand. The poor person at the gas station that pumps our gas in -25 temps people do not think to tip,
 
They must like me I do 20%, at least, in Canada. As an aside, I find the service very slow in Canada in restaurants. Could be it's the norm to dine slower than in the US, and less apt to be hurried out when done eating.
Yes, I agree. Eating out in Canada is a much more relaxed experience, we don't usually linger after almost never eat dessert but aren't rushed to get out so they can flip the table. We do feel we are being rushed and forced to eat faster in the US. I find servers hover more when we are on holiday down south.
 
That is quite confusing.
It sure is. I think my point is def. the tipped employees aren't making a whole lot but it's sorta a misconception that all tipped employees are making $2.13 an hour and that's it. There are def. many many other factors involved. Not saying our system is incredible just that there's a misconception out there.
 


Servers here make minimum $12-$15 / hour PLUS tips. Many servers make much more. The servers are NOT poorly paid like they are in the USA. They WANT you to tip like in America but are paid much more as a base wage here. Ronandannette quoted a article that was in one of the national papers here recently. https://nationalpost.com/news/the-1...myth-some-hard-truths-about-tipping-in-canada

What a load of rubbish that article was. If waitresses routinely made 100grand tax free under the table, there would be such a run on such jobs it would make a stampede for cheap TVs at walmart after Thanksgiving look tame. 3/4 of the population of Canada would be banging the restaurant doors down to become a waitress.
 
Especially at this time of year, it seems like everyone expects a tip. I have so much anxiety about the rules of tipping! Anyway, had to call AAA yesterday to fix a flat tire and the guy who showed up seemed to be waiting around for a tip after he finished fixing the tire. I haven't had to use AAA since I was 18 (my ex-husband could fix anything, if I broke down I was supposed to call him), so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to tip or not. I didn't have any cash on me so there was no chance of a tip happening anyway, but the way he pointed out a couple times that he had arrived quickly and was awkwardly hanging back made me think he was waiting for a tip. So I looked it up online afterwards and apparently you are supposed to tip the roadside assistance person. Do you tip AAA?

AAA I always tip whenever I call them.
 
It sure is. I think my point is def. the tipped employees aren't making a whole lot but it's sorta a misconception that all tipped employees are making $2.13 an hour and that's it. There are def. many many other factors involved. Not saying our system is incredible just that there's a misconception out there.
A misconception that many of them take full advantage of, just like servers here do. They like to use the tipping percentages they hear from the US and apply them here. In the end many of them making more money that many good salaried jobs, and not paying the fair share of tax on it either. I don't leave cash tips everything on the card so there is s record.
 
The problem is. People who work in the United States earn less per an hour in Australian Dollars. Then per an hour then my disability pension divided up on to 40 hours provides me with. That is why you tip. Because businesses literally do not provide people with a living wage in the United States. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/opinion/editorials/disney-strike-living-wage.html
I won't be getting any pension or very little this week though!
When I work my pension get lowered. I get about 27 dollars an hour where I work as entry level worker in Australia.
I get my clothes laundered
Free meals
and a tools allowance
I make $27/hour, or almost, here in the US. I'm not entry level. I am the highest paid hourly employee of the company and 5th in seniority. Started 4 months after the place opened up in 1995.

I don't tip anyone other than in a sit down restaurant. $27/hour barely pays the bills with a family. Thus, we rarely ate out, but when we did, it was the only time I tipped someone (move the decimal point of the total bill including the tax, round to the nearest $1 and double it, so I do tip more than 20%.)

I haven't had to have my car towed since the 1980's. I'd never pay for AAA just for a flat tire coverage. I'll change my own flat tire and I've taught my daughter how to change her own flat tire.

I would never think of tipping AAA, or a mechanic, or garbage man, mailman, any job other than waiter/waitress.

My (ex)wife asked me as I was supporting my 18 year old daughter as she changed her own brakes, how I learned how to work on cars and such. Ah, I just did it. It's not rocket science. It amazes me how people can't do such simple tasks as change a tire or replace brakes. I remember on this board someone posting a "budget buster" problem that they needed brakes on their car and it was $700. Couple of bolts and you could have done it yourself and saved $600.
 
I've started feeling the same way about Five Guys. Not only have their prices increased enough to feel the bite at lunch but they always have this large tip jar at the register. I walk up to order, get my own drink, and my food comes in a paper bag. When the onus of all the table-side activity falls to me, then I see no reason to tip.
It's $15 for a burger and fries (yes, a fantastic burger and best fries aside from Thrasher's at Ocean City, MD.) I've never known it to be cheaper than that. That's way more than "feel the bite". That's dang expensive!
 
I haven't had to have my car towed since the 1980's. I'd never pay for AAA just for a flat tire coverage. I'll change my own flat tire and I've taught my daughter how to change her own flat tire.
Newer cars aren't having spare tires come with them. I know you can pay for the spare tire package in at least some but I'm not positive it's all. Honestly the amount of people that would pay for AAA just for the sole purpose of someone coming out to change their tire is probably fairly miniscule but I can't deny that it's becoming more and more common for cars to not have spare tires. On the flip side more tires are being made to drive with certain limited problems that can help get a person to a tire or mechanic shop.

Funny story- my car jack was bolted down in my trunk. Sorry didn't have the tools to unbolt it when my car got a flat in the middle of the road and had zero clue that's how it was in my trunk. Thankfully a police officer stopped and I was able to call my husband who wasn't far away who came and he came and used his jack. The very nice police man actually helped my husband out so the job would get done faster.

The 2 times I've fully had my car towed it was completely inoperable. There wasn't anything I could have done on my own.

I did call AAA when I couldn't get my car to shift into gear and I had no idea what was going on but I ended up googling how to get my car to shift manually. In the gear shift area there was a hole with a plastic covering. I was able to move that aside and use an old school tire pressure guage like this:

upload_2018-12-11_14-14-58.png and used the circled part of my picture to push down on the mechanism to shift. I then cancelled the call with AAA (it was about 10mins total from the time I had called them). I then drove my car to my mechanic and had the shifting solenoid replaced (which ended up being the problem). My car is a 2002 I have no idea if what I did would even work on a newer car.

The other time I locked my keys in my car and only had my phone with me (wallet and purse was inside the car). I know how they do it with my car being a coupe but it does require having some things available to me. The college dorm room parking lot was sadly lacking in the materials I needed.

The other time my mom locked her keys in her trunk, etc.
 
I haven't had to have my car towed since the 1980's. I'd never pay for AAA just for a flat tire coverage. I'll change my own flat tire and I've taught my daughter how to change her own flat tire.

i haven't had aaa in years (maybe since the early 90's) so i was curious what they charge these days:faint::faint: kripes! they charge more for a plan that will max the towing to 5 miles and cap total yearly service calls at 4 than i pay for an unlimited plan through my insurance company that is uncapped mileage wise, lets ME choose the tow company and has unlimited yearly towing/roadside assistance. granted it's got a dollar cap per instance but i've never hit that cap (and at minimum we've never been towed less than 20 miles).
 
In all honesty my DD worked in a chain restuarant and most people tipped 15%, and all the servers made at least minimum wage. I do believe that tipping in Canada is out of hand. The poor person at the gas station that pumps our gas in -25 temps people do not think to tip,
Seriously you think we ought to tip the gas jockey? At some point people are getting PAID to do their jobs. All a gas jockey does is pump gas and maybe clean windshields; tasks for which the gas station pays him. Why, oh why, should the customer have to tip?? :sad2:
 
We way over tip at the neighborhood New Mexican food place where we have breakfast once a week. I mean, great breakfast for about $20 vs. the places we eat dinner sometimes and the 20% tip alone is $20. Same amount of service, really.

I may rethink the auto tip at counter service places. I mean they cook the food, but they do get paid a regular wage.

The one I'm never sure about is food delivery, like Grubhub. There's a delivery fee, and I assume the delivery person gets a part of that, plus a wage? Should I then tip 10, 15, 20%? I never know what it should be.
 
i haven't had aaa in years (maybe since the early 90's) so i was curious what they charge these days:faint::faint: kripes! they charge more for a plan that will max the towing to 5 miles and cap total yearly service calls at 4 than i pay for an unlimited plan through my insurance company that is uncapped mileage wise, lets ME choose the tow company and has unlimited yearly towing/roadside assistance. granted it's got a dollar cap per instance but i've never hit that cap (and at minimum we've never been towed less than 20 miles).

I just paid our AAA renewal last month. We have the middle package that will tow you for 100 miles. I think we paid $125 for the year for the two of us.
 
Seriously you think we ought to tip the gas jockey? At some point people are getting PAID to do their jobs. All a gas jockey does is pump gas and maybe clean windshields; tasks for which the gas station pays him. Why, oh why, should the customer have to tip?? :sad2:
This is ironic, because I started this post complaining about tipping, but I always tip the attendant at the full service gas station. I tip them very well. Here's why: the owner of the gas station is also my mechanic. The gas/service station is less than a mile from my house and the owner has known me since I was born (small town). He has taken it upon himself to take very good care of me ever since he found out my husband and I separated and has saved me a boatload of money on various things.

The owner is the one who usually comes out to pump my gas when he sees me pull into the station and of course he doesn't accept tips, so I try to be extra generous to his employees when they help me. I also bring them cookies from the local bakery or food from the deli, drinks, etc. every other month or so, whenever the owner goes out of his way for me. This Sunday he made a special trip to the gas station to take a look at my car because I was worried about something unrelated to my flat tire and wouldn't accept money so I brought him and his employees a box of doughnuts on my way to work Monday morning.
 
What a load of rubbish that article was. If waitresses routinely made 100grand tax free under the table, there would be such a run on such jobs it would make a stampede for cheap TVs at walmart after Thanksgiving look tame. 3/4 of the population of Canada would be banging the restaurant doors down to become a waitress.

To be fair, the article did say that was a rare example. It's not the norm to make THAT much, but apparently many servers in Canada do quite well. Even in the US some servers in high end places routinely earn 70k or so.
 

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