<p>D is living off campus in Chicago. Found a really nice condo to rent with some roommates. It may sound extravagant, but it is cheaper than the dorm. There is a doorman there 24/7. Great security which makes mom happy 
I know I’ll need to give a tip at Christmas, but what about the rest of the time?<br>
When do you tip the doorman? Seems like such a simple question, but I haven’t been able to come up with an answer.
Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Ordinarily, you don’t tip him on a day-to-day basis. If he does something extraordinary – helps your D move in, goes out of his way to make sure a package is delivered, puts the fresh flowers her new BF had delivered in water – then maybe. Otherwise, from the years I lived in NYC, it’s just at Christmas.</p>
<p>I agree with Very Happy^. I lived in a couple of “doorman” buildings. I do think it is good to tip those who help when you move in - it can ensure good service in general.</p>
<p>Yes, tip at Christmas (and don’t forget other building staff). I wouldn’t tip for making sure a package is delivered though, that’s usually within the duties of a doorman. Here in NY, the doorman is expected to help carry a stroller down (or up) the stairs – we have a small set of stairs to the main building entrance, I don’t mean up to the apartment–, help carry groceries, bags, etc. in, and of course, hold the door open.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the info! There are several doorman and also the maintenance staff. Do you do a separate envelope for each? I’m glad we’ll only have to worry about this once a year :)</p>
<p>Generally, at Christmas-time, the building will do one of two things. The building management may provide the opportunity to pay a tip for the entire staff that will be collected by management and then passed out by them to the entire building staff (keeping in mind that the bigger the building, the bigger the staff – cleaners, porters, doormen, superintendant, handyman, etc.). Alternatively, the building management may simply give out a list of all of the building staff so that you can individually hand out tips to everyone.</p>
<p>In my experience, if a building has a large staff, tipping at Christmas-time, even with very modest tips (say $40-50 per doorman, more for the super, and a bit less for everyone else) can quickly become a very large amount of money.</p>
<p>Yes, I can see it can add up quickly. I will wait till the holidays, see what guidance we get from management and take it from there.</p>
<p>And you thought the condo was going to be cheaper than on-campus housing!</p>
<p>In our building we get a “Christmas card” sent out by the building management company with the list of staff (very helpful of them). It’s up to each of us how much we tip each person, or whether we tip at all, of course. Our layout is more than $300 annually, but we never tip at other times, unless the handyman is doing an extracurricular job for us after hours in which case we pay him (not tip).</p>
<p><em>LOL</em> VeryHappy! When I multiply out what these guys must get at Christmas it’s staggering! I guess expensive housing is part of the price you pay when going to school anywhere the housing is pricey in general. Sadly, even with the gratuities, the condo will be less than the dorm. Even more so when you consider I don’t have to pay for the meal plan. D prefers to cook for herself, and gets her own room to boot.</p>
<p>To OP mom, one building I lived in assessed the holiday gift charge as part of the maintenance (who knows if this was legal but they did it), and everyone paid. Twenty years ago, in a building that just gave out the staff names, I gave the super the most, asst. super as much (he really was a helpful guy - the super not so much and he got the apartment on site) the doormen equal amounts next, and porters/handymen smaller amounts. It did add up since for a 24 hour doorman, there are many in total. We paid less with the building wide assessment for more personnel.</p>