Apparently, they count on guilt being a powerful motivator.
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It feels like a lot of entities play off negative emotionsâŠnot only to motivate but to manipulate. No wonder so many individuals are feeling stressed and consequently angry.
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DH and I went to a small local bakery this past weekend and I was shocked that when I paid by CC there wasnât a request for a tip.
Usually Iâm not a fan of being asked in these little placesâŠhowever, she was so nice, etc that I wanted to tip. (I do NOT always feel that way at all.)
So when she brought our croissant breakfast sandwiches to our table (so nice) I placed some ones in her hand and she smiled said not necessary but then hugged me.
(Again, I was shocked that the one place Iâd like to tip didnât ask.)
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On our recent trip to Bermuda, our family that lives there warned us that all restaurants add an 18% gratuity and then also have a line for additional tip.
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Holiday tipping season is here. ugh.
My pool guy hit me up yesterday. I donât like him and think he does a so-so job, but thereâs only 1 pool co in town and this is who they assigned to me. The guys are on a regular route, where they hit each home, one after another, so itâs not like I can request a different guy unless they change the workerâs whole route. I work from home. Yesterday he rings the doorbell to give me a Christmas card, then he goes around back and instead of spending his normal 5 minutes a week, he spent 20 and then rang the bell again (interrupting a conference call). He actually swept the pool decking this time, which he never does, and he actually spent time with the net getting things off the bottom of the pool, which he usually only swishes around for 2 minutes. So when he rang the bell the 2nd time, he stood around awkwardly, trying to chat me up. Obviously he was looking for a tip.
I donât get why there is an expectation to tip people for the holidays. That guy works for the pool company, not me. I really donât want to give this guy a tip, and I especially didnât like getting hit up for money. Now Iâm concerned that his sub-par service is going to get even worse. I thought tips were voluntary, but it sure doesnât feel like it.
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I should also say that I do give some people a holiday tip, but thatâs because I like them and feel like I can count on them. I give a 1 month tip to the guy who cuts my lawn (but nothing to the TruGreen guy who I never see), and contribute 10% of my HOA fees to the community fund for the communityâs workers (taxes/insurance is half of HOA fee and workers are other 1/2, so I feel itâs like a 20% tip on the workerâs wages). I donât give a holiday tip to my cleaning lady who works for herself, but thatâs because I give her 30% each time she cleans. I donât give a tip to my hair stylist or my dogâs, but thatâs because we only go 3 to 4 times a year and I give them a 30% tip then.
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I would only give the tip if it is your desire to do so. If his work continues to decline after the first of the year, then I would just report that to the company - completely aside from what seemed like a ploy to get a tip.
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Thatâs what I feel like doing! But I donât want to be responsible for someone getting fired either. 
I always tipped cleaning ladies the traditional tip of a cost of one cleaning. I only go to my hair salon 4 times a year, but itâs $500 after tips, so I just donât schedule during the holidays (last time was September so Iâll go again in January).
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Itâs possible to call the company and just express some dissatisfaction with service. You can also say things like âmy guy is always on time, courteous to us and respectful of our property but I feel like he is not giving 100% to the pool tasks we have agreed to with our service with youâ. Hopefully they donât just fire the guy but may have a conversation with him about onsite task completion - and hopefully not mention your name!
Youâre paying for a service - not just a ârelationshipâ!!! 
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I was a pet walker and sitter up until last year. I truly loved my job and adored my animal clients - some of their owners could be extremely challenging! Obviously, I didnât expect holiday tips, but i admit they made me feel appreciated for my work. But I did a great job, if I do say so myself!
I also would give holiday gifts to the animals.
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Our mail carrier left me a Christmas card in our mailbox yesterday with his name printed in the inside.
So, yep, Iâm putting some cash in a card with his name on it to give him when I see him next. (Sometimes we have different carriers and I want to make sure he gets the card, not someone else.)
He does usually bring my packages to the front door versus stuff them in my mailbox.
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As a retired fed employee I was well aware of restrictions on gifts. You might want to check the USPS website to be sure you wonât get them in trouble.
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I just checked, $20 or less, no more than $50 a year.
Yes, I googled the limit years ago. 
It looks like no cash or cash equivalent⊠but ok to get a gift card with no ability to cash? Correct me if Iâm reading it wrong.
Youâre right. My memory is bad clearly. Bc I had thought I read $20 or less is fine. Didnât realize it couldnât be cash.
But my mail carrier kept it last year and previous years.
Guess he wasnât concerned. 
He didnât return it. 
I would not mind tipping our pool guy, except there have been probably 5 different guys over the course of the summer who came. They were all nice and worked hard, but I donât want to be giving out 5 or 6 tips. Same thing with our dog walker. There is a space to tip them on the monthly bill and I always do, but there are 6 or 7 different people that walk the dog, I canât tip all of them.
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I totally relate to your pool guy story. I inherited a pool guy at my new house. Worst pool guy ever. Constant green on the side of the pool. I actually do the pool myself, but not this year, due to the move. I was happy to say goodbye at the end of the season. I felt like calling his company to tell them what a terrible job he does, but that would be cruel. So instead, I will definitely not be calling them to estimate on resurfacing the pool.
Back to tipping though. I have noticed lately that more casual or to go places seem to be putting the 15% option back, but the other day I swear I couldnât find the option to custom tip. That annoyed me, but I was rushing so I didnât say anything. Plus, itâs always going to be awkward asking about that.
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I recently saw a report where a reporter went to 6 counter restaurants and the employees got to keep the tips in only 2 of the 6. That is some BS. I will never tip at the counter. But on the other hand I tip large at a sit down restaurant. I truly believe that extra money to the waitstaff is better for the economy than many charities. And I try to tip in cash.
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