Has Travel Tipping Gotten Out of Hand?

by mrosen814 Posted 2012/07/23 21:00:00

Related Topics: Tips, Hotel, Travel, Lifestyle

288 votes
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	Yes, too many people expect something extra	129 votes	45%
	No, hard-working people deserve tips	142 votes	49%
	I never or rarely tip	17 votes	6%

It seems like everyone nowadays expects a tip, especially when traveling. One often feels pressured to tip while traveling for business or pleasure, be it the bellmen, doormen, housekeepers and more. It's not surprising to see an envelope in one's hotel room for adding gratuity or a bucket next to the coffee shop cash register, beckoning for your change.

A USAToday.com reader wrote: "How about tipping the produce guy that hauled in a ton of potatoes at the grocery store? I vote no, you just can't tip everyone that does not make a lot of money." What do you think? Has travel tipping gotten out of hand?

TRAVEL.USATODAY.COM reports:
From the bellman to the server to the rental car shuttle driver -- does everyone expect a tip these days?

+15

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thefatguy 2012/07/24 06:13:08

Yes, too many people expect something extra

+4
I used to wait tables as I worked through college so I tip well to food servers who do a good job. But, I ignore the tip jars at food places where I have to walk up to the counter, order, wait for my food and/or beverage and take it back to my own table. What do they expect a tip for? They ought to tip me! And, I hate valet parking. I can park my own d@mn car! I don't let friends drive my car; why would I let a stranger? If I have no choice I do tip them but I resent it. Shuttle drivers, no. I carry my own luggage. Bell hops, no. Again, I carry my own bags. Housekeepers, no. I don't let them come in my room during my stay - got ripped off once. Bartenders, yes.
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More polls by mrosen814

Say_wut... to SebaThe... 2012/07/25 08:19:47

Hahahha maybe just a tiny bit ^^ :3

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SebaThe... to Say_wut... 2012/07/25 19:15:53

D: :O but..why? :C :P

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Say_wut... to SebaThe... 2012/07/26 07:47:32

Nah I was just kidding ^^ I really do :3

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SebaThe... to Say_wut... 2012/07/26 18:56:27

Oo yay C: thank you XD

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Say_wut... to SebaThe... 2012/07/27 01:56:22

Hihi np ;3

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SebaThe... to Say_wut... 2012/07/27 01:57:32

Hiloooo XD :3

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Say_wut... to SebaThe... 2012/07/27 03:35:28

+1
XD ^^

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SebaThe... to Say_wut... 2012/07/27 03:51:10

+1
Lol :3

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Gordon to Say_wut... 2012/07/24 14:50:05

+1
The European system is much better because people are paid a living wage in restaurants, etc.

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Say_wut... to Gordon 2012/07/25 01:20:09

+1
Yeah :)

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MOMMA THOMAS 2012/07/24 05:28:40

No, hard-working people deserve tips

....WE CONTOL REASONABLENESS.

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~HopelessRomanticM17~ 2012/07/24 05:07:26

No, hard-working people deserve tips

If you get good service...they deserve some money for serving you! That's at least how I see it.

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realist 2012/07/24 05:05:53

Yes, too many people expect something extra

+1
Service is rarely good enough to expect to be paid for 'good service'.

I'll tip if the service is flawless and the food is great, or if the price is very cheap. Otherwise it falls into the category of standard, or worse...and that does not deserve a tip.

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Angryface01 2012/07/24 04:30:13

No, hard-working people deserve tips

+1
Your ad shows Euros... oddly, I was chased down in London, Gloucester, Edinburgh and in Dundee whenever I left a tip... they chased me down to give me my money back...

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Sybil 2012/07/24 04:09:53

Yes, too many people expect something extra

I found the tipping expectations were overboard in Cuba. Love it there except for that.

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lum-the-oni 2012/07/24 03:42:17

No, hard-working people deserve tips

+2
i really only tip waiters and waitresses

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Flamingolady 2012/07/24 03:10:20

No, hard-working people deserve tips

It does not bother me to tip in other countries. I was very perplexed in Antwerp, Belgium when a server informed us, that it was an insult to tip. We apologized, but she was in too much of a hurry to make us feel bad.

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Inquisitve Kat 2012/07/24 01:38:57

No, hard-working people deserve tips

+2
I think people just feel it on their wallets more, because of the economy... so we are quicker to grumble about it.
I have a rule of thumb... if I can't afford to tip, I don't eat out.

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Gordon to Inquisi... 2012/07/24 14:52:13

+1
Ditto with my wife and I.

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Sgt Major B 2012/07/24 01:33:40

No, hard-working people deserve tips

Now, having selected this answer, allow me to point out that I tip HARD-WORKING people. A tip is determined by the quality of the service I receive, not the fact that you're a breathing employee of the establishment.

I'm in no way obligated to provide additional monies to compensate for the fact that some employers are cheap SOBs and operate using wage-tip credit.

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ID51 2012/07/24 01:07:55

Yes, too many people expect something extra

+1
Yes, when the person who takes the order at a counter in a mall eatery expects a tip AND the person cooking the order also has a tip jar - it's overkill.

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in vino veritas 2012/07/24 00:57:20

Yes, too many people expect something extra

The mother of all extortion/tips is paying to use the toilet or else they run you out of the building in heartless Europe,I saw a young girl run from a subterranean after the male attendant refused her access for no money,I tried to give her a Euro but she fled and didnt hear me,this was Germany and we were locked into the stalls,true story just last summer.

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Katherine 2012/07/24 00:36:08

Yes, too many people expect something extra

I'm usually a pretty good tipper,
but this makes me think about whether we should be doing it.

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Andy 2012/07/24 00:29:16

No, hard-working people deserve tips

+1
Some make poor wages... tipping is the only means they can make it

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Persephone 2012/07/24 00:14:41

I never or rarely tip

In my country it isn't exactly customary to tip. Most people, including myself, only leave tips at restaurants or when we have food delivered to our door. And it's mostly because we want to, not because they're expecting it.

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Heisenberg 2012/07/23 23:58:07

No, hard-working people deserve tips

+1
People who earn their living off tips usually get paid less than other professions do.

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Paul Jordan 2012/07/23 23:35:21

Yes, too many people expect something extra

I'd rather the employee pay them and increase my price.

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Squatch 2012/07/23 23:32:51

No, hard-working people deserve tips

I am a really good tipper, although I do not really travel that much since I have a 4 and 1 year old at home. When we eat out around here I will usually tip a bare minimum of 25% and if it is a small check 50%. If I leave you 5$ you usually were a crappy server.

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tobe 2012/07/23 23:00:18 (edited)

Yes, too many people expect something extra

i don't tip if i carry my own food and don't get my cup refilled. we've got a restaurant here that you get your own food and drink and they come by and ask you as soon as you get to the table if you need anything (which you don't because you just got it) and then when you leave the check out asks if you want to add a tip to your bill for the server. that one trip to the table when you sit down is the only time you see the server.

on the other hand, I am not a tight wad. when i eat at a diner or cafe (my 2 favorite kind of eating establishments) and I have a hard working waitress who has brought me my food and filled my cup and treated me halfway decent then I do leave a tip. Im quite aware that tips are the majority of her income. I don't go to places that deduct tip from the bill though. Thats cocky and I don't want anything to do with it.

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Sperry23 2012/07/23 22:35:46

Yes, too many people expect something extra

+1
Better they should be paid a living wage by their employers.

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mikeeonly 2012/07/23 22:32:19

No, hard-working people deserve tips

A lot of the people who perform services such as in airports survively solely on their tips. Believe me, if you were wheel chair bound as I once was, you wouldn't mind tipping them after they push your fat ass all the way through some Intl. airport. I guess this is kind of what you were referring to. Good question though.

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Professor Wizard 2012/07/23 22:14:59

Yes, too many people expect something extra

+1
Tipping in general has gotten out of hand.

When I was a teen - - you got maybe 5% tip... Today people are demanding 20%. All the while the prices of the items have gone up with inflation.

Tips used to be for exceptional services... today they are mandated customer supplementation to wages.

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none 2012/07/23 22:11:31

No, hard-working people deserve tips

Do a good job get a tip, don't do a good job no tip. You don't get something for nothing.

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Michelle 2012/07/23 21:40:36

No, hard-working people deserve tips

If someone gives good service, I have no problem giving them a tip. However, you should not feel obligated to tip terrible or rude service.

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Zeruke 2012/07/23 21:33:19

No, hard-working people deserve tips

I do give tips but I myself don't care about getting tips.. for that matter Im not allowed to take tips because of company policy since its a home health company that takes medicare and doesn't want to be seen as getting influenced by clients

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Don Leuty 2012/07/23 21:31:30

No, hard-working people deserve tips

I have not problem rewarding good service. I also have no problem leaving a 2-cent tip, when that is what the service is worth.

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Heisenberg 2012/07/23 21:28:12

No, hard-working people deserve tips

+1
Why do we give free money to the lazy and begrudge the workers?

Tip HEAVILY everyone that works.

Working people are a dying breed.

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Sister Jean 2012/07/23 21:17:26

No, hard-working people deserve tips

+1
no

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HarleyCharley 2012/07/23 21:08:52

No, hard-working people deserve tips

+1
for good service...

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the judgebigdogeagle 2012/07/23 21:02:41

Yes, too many people expect something extra

+1
Thats how some people make up the extra. When I worked in a ice cream parlor,the wait staff only got about $1.30 an hour.They made the rest in tips.

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