The combination of American "tipping culture" and NYC leads to the stressful question of "how much should I give the doormen?" around this time of year.
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The combination of American "tipping culture" and NYC leads to the stressful question of "how much should I give the doormen?" around this time of year.
If you are new to NYC you might be surprised to find a card from your building staff about now... a very early "Christmas card" featuring everyone's names and job titles.
This is so you can prepare your tips.
If your building has staff you are supposed to prepare a cash tip for each person. Please do cash never a check.
1/
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The combination of American "tipping culture" and NYC leads to the stressful question of "how much should I give the doormen?" around this time of year.
If you are new to NYC you might be surprised to find a card from your building staff about now... a very early "Christmas card" featuring everyone's names and job titles.
This is so you can prepare your tips.
If your building has staff you are supposed to prepare a cash tip for each person. Please do cash never a check.
1/
I keep thinking that we should do away with this whole thing and just have a flat service fee so it's predictable. But, it's a non-starter at the co-op board meetings since no one wants to raise fees and it's hard to predict what the impact will be.
A building can have as many as 12 or more full time staff and even a modest $20 adds up.
So how much? I go with 2/3rs of maintenance divided between everyone. Which might be a little stingy.
2/2
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The combination of American "tipping culture" and NYC leads to the stressful question of "how much should I give the doormen?" around this time of year.
If you are new to NYC you might be surprised to find a card from your building staff about now... a very early "Christmas card" featuring everyone's names and job titles.
This is so you can prepare your tips.
If your building has staff you are supposed to prepare a cash tip for each person. Please do cash never a check.
1/
@futurebird I'm curious what the answer is. I know what I should give the garbage collectors and the mail carrier, but I've never thought about building staff bc I've never lived in a place that had any.
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@futurebird I'm curious what the answer is. I know what I should give the garbage collectors and the mail carrier, but I've never thought about building staff bc I've never lived in a place that had any.
In NYC garbage and mail get no holiday tips. But also you rarely even know who that person is as it can change from day to day.
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I keep thinking that we should do away with this whole thing and just have a flat service fee so it's predictable. But, it's a non-starter at the co-op board meetings since no one wants to raise fees and it's hard to predict what the impact will be.
A building can have as many as 12 or more full time staff and even a modest $20 adds up.
So how much? I go with 2/3rs of maintenance divided between everyone. Which might be a little stingy.
2/2
People on fixed incomes, and people who are going through hard financial times may not do a tip. No one is upset about this.
It's a kind of chaotic system.
But that's what the "card" is about.
