Tag Archives for tipping.
Hotels have been on a mission to cut back on housekeeping costs. They don’t want to do full cleans of every room every day. They’ll make you request it (and sometimes fill out paperwork) so that there are fewer rooms to clean, and they can hire fewer housekeepers who don’t work as many hours.
And hotel owners are pushing tips for housekeepers so they don’t have to pay the housekeeper as much.
Here’s an Uber tipping scam you need to watch out for. Tipping is still voluntary in the app, and there is no automatic tip for rides. But some drivers, apparently, are warning riders about an automatic “30% tip” if they don’t choose their own tip. That motivates riders to enter a tip.
Tipping is out of control. We now get presented with an option to tip even at self-checkout. At the Austin airport I was asked to tip when buying a water from a machine that was programmed not to accept $0 as an input.
The U.S. tipping culture always seemed strange, with customers supplementing worker wages, but this used to be limited to personal services provided by low wage workers. Now it’s everywhere.
Some people like to give out chocolates to their flight crew, or agents in the airline lounge. Others prefer to hand out small Starbucks gift cards. This isn’t expected. Most people do not do this. But for those considering it, is it a good idea? Is it appropriate?
U.S. tipping culture is insane, it’s gotten out of control and what’s worse is that it’s getting exported to the rest of the world. Workers should be paid by their employer, not by an uncomfortable system where customers are supposed to pay extra – on top of posted charges – paying some amorphous amount meant to supplement an employee’s wages.
Some people believe that the scheme is meant to encourage better service, to align incentives, because apparently companies are bad at managing their workers, creating a customer-focused culture, or providing the incentives needed to deliver a quality experience.
A recent discussion created online buzz wondering whether it’s necessary to tip the person who cleans airport lounge showers between each use? The poster prompting the discussion tipped $5 at a Delta Sky Club and felt bad for not tipping $10. This seems to be thinking about the issue all wrong.
Airport self-checkout kiosks demand tips. I’ve even had one that wouldn’t allow opting out.
In fact, websites now solicit tips. You never even deal with a human. You book a hotel, and boom – please add on to the charges!
Nearly everyone on a flight has paid a different price for an identical seat going to the same destination. Different people have different willingness to pay. Airlines have become good at figuring out how much they can charge each customer for each flight.
Why shouldn’t airports get in on some of the action. And the simplest way to do it is just to ask a customer, did we charge you too little? Would you like to pay more?
A limited-service hotel’s self-serve continental breakfast had a tip jar beside the cereal tower, and even pre-seeded the jar with cash to imply that other guests are offering tips.
We’ve all experienced tipflation: an expectation that we tip more, and more often, than ever before. When you walk up to an iPad to pay for a purchase you know what’s coming next. You’re literally standing in line to pay for something you picked up from a shelf yourself, and you’re about to be asked to tip for it. How does this make sense?
And then you’re presented with choices, maybe 20%, 22% and 25%. When did tipping expectations go so high?
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
