Inappropriate tipping (?)

The ground had layers of sandstone in it that had to be smashed thru.

At one point I was laying on my stomach smashing into the hole with a hammer to soften it up. My neighbor came with a big iron bar to help smash.

The shovel dude dug thru everything without stopping and had a perfectly shaped hole for the tree root ball like it was no big thing.

 

Everyone is a professional at something.

 

Well, the world needs tree hole diggers too, son.

 

I rarely get takeout, but if I'm picking it up, all the kitchen staff is doing is making/boxing/bagging the food — like they would for any order. Especially at a pizza place. The cashier takes your cash and hands you the food; that's her job.

Delivery and table service is obviously different ... they're providing you with a service, and the workers providing the service should get a tip.

Besides, back in the day I dated a waitress and I've known several delivery drivers. Their tales of rudeness are legion, and they're not paid much to begin with.

 

When I was working at a summer camp back in my mid 20s I went out with a buddy to help a guy unload a truckload of shingle packs off the back of his roofing truck. They were probably about 50 pounds a pop and handled a lot like live weight because they moved around some when you lifted them up. My buddy was a Oklahoma Ruff Nek and still to this day coaches rugby. I was not unfamiliar with manual labor and was pretty damn good and picking shit up and putting it down as well.

Well this 40-something, beer gut, dip in mouth, SOB just rolls out of the truck, gets in the bed and just starts picking these things up and tossing them 20-30 in the air and landing them feet at our feet. We just looked at each other with a "holy fuck" look. He unloaded 100 in minutes and it took us a lot longer than that to get them stacked.

Everyone is a professional at something.

 

This is my thought, as well. I might drop some change or a buck in a tip jar occasionally, but other than that, I figure they aren't spending a whole lot of time waiting on me. Hell, if you're going to tip on takeout, you should tip the cook. He's doing all the work.

 

Back in the 1980s, I did that in Salt Lake City and got a silent stare. I was younger and didn't know many details of their fucked up Mormonism. No alcohol, no caffeine, funny underwear, golden plates. Holy shit, I am glad I didn't move to Utah.

 

Always at least 20% when dining in somewhere. If the service is bad, I still leave 20%.

While skimming this post, I think it was Cranberry who said '$5 per wipe down' in regards to cart kids. My job the last few summers has been being a cart kid at a very, very nice muni in Colorado. Most people tip, while some don't which is fine. I walk out everyday with a very nice chunk of change. Good enough that I have yet to quit said job and find a more adult thing to do. We carry bags from the drop off, load up carts, send them on their way, offer to wipe down the clubs, and carry the bags back to the curb.

Some people throw down $2 to $20 pending the situation. Always awkward I feel for people to tip cart kids and even more fun when a golf buddy will call out his/her friend for not shelling out a few bucks to the cart kids. I never get upset when not getting tipped, but please tell me your clubs are fine before I clean them.

 

One time I stiffed a guy when I was willing to tip him ...

Had a big-screen television (back when they were bigger than shit and heavy) delivered, shipped from the manufacturer because it was a warranty situation.

The guy rings the bell and brings it inside the front door on a dolly. We were in a split level then, and it was going to go downstairs, which would have been 6-7 stairs down. I said, "If I grab this end, can you just help me get it to there?" and pointed to the bottom of the half-flight of stairs.

He kind of laughed and said, "How about right here. This is as far as I go" and then lingered there for 10 seconds or so.

I said, "Oh, you're waiting for a tip?" He kind of shrugged his shoulders a little bit, then I said, "Well, your tip is down there" while pointing downstairs, and "Too bad this is as far as you go."

 

You were right to do that. He did the minimum. He got the minimum.

 

I remember the first time I went to Ireland. I was tipping the bartender like I would here, and my cousins told me no one tips over there? Well, no one except dumb Anerican tourists, maybe.

I wish we weren't such a tip-dependent society and we just paid people what they should be paid, but that horse done left the barn long ago.

 

That's not true, they do tip in Ireland. Not much, but they do tip.

I have a friend from Ireland working over here as a bartender. He hates when his countrymen come into his establishment.