The Door Man:
A person who is in charge of the flow of vehicles in the driveway, hailing cabs, and loading and unloading guest vehicles. A lot of times this is the first person you encounter when arriving on the driveway of a hotel. This is who you will be giving your valet claim ticket to if you haven't called ahead for your car to be brought around. The door man is normally the person that gets yelled at when the valets haven't brought the car around after a "reasonable" amount of time.
How much to tip:
Because the door man wears different hats you will want to tip him according to the job he does. For hailing a cab and opening the doors for you and your party members, any where from $2-$5 is sufficient. If multiple cabs are needed because you have a large party, you should tip at least $5 per cab. You will want to hand the door man the tip right before you get into the cab while he's holding the door open for you.
When you arrive to the hotel the door man will greet you by opening your door for you (most of the time). After the greeting he will begin to unload your luggage onto a bell cart. After unloading the vehicle and making sure you have everything he will park the bell cart and escort you into the hotel (most of the time) and introduce you to the front desk agent. A great time to tip the door man is when he's handing you your valet claim ticket and your luggage claim ticket. You should tip the door man $2 per bag. The valet claim ticket you will (most of the time) hold on to it throughout your entire stay at the hotel because it will be the same numbers used for your car. If the door man gives you the luggage claim ticket make sure to get that into the hands of the front desk agent or into the hands of a bell man after you check into the hotel.
My 2 Cents:
The door man is also the guard of all those pretty cars parked on the driveway or on the side of the driveway. Those cars on the side of the driveway are the cars that have either been called down early for guests on their way to the drive or personally parked there by the door man. There is only ONE way to have your car parked there permanently throughout your stay. And that way is tipping very good! I'm not talking about $5 every time you come and go from the drive. I'm talking about $10-$20 dollars coming and going. (OK there are other ways like getting a bad scratch on your car when a valet was driving it. But seriously who wants to go through the pain of that? You could however, go to the establishment often and befriend the door man and because you would be considered a regular who is a good tipper, they would park your car on the side for you. But those are pretty much the only ways without tipping very well!)
Remember:
1. Make sure your doors are unlocked when pulling onto the drive way. You don't want the door man trying to open locked doors.
2. Make sure you clean up all of your trash in your car. You don't want to arrive and have all of your trash spilling out your car when the door man opens it for you. I once saw a door man walk to the back and grab a very large trash bag and started to clean out this couples car because there was so much stuff spilling out of the car onto the driveway.
3. Make sure you have everything when you leave the car in care of the valet. For example: sunglasses, cell phone, computer, etc. Those are the most requested things for the valet and door men to retrieve from parked cars. Make sure you tip the person who gets it for you too. $2-$5 will be enough most of the time. If it is of high value and you need it immediately tip them more.
4. Anytime someone performs a service, tip them. And tip them more if you feel they went above and beyond to meet your request.
5. The door man is a professional packer. He will ask you if you want anything close to you in the car like a purse of computer bag. If you say, "No." he will pack it into the back. Let me remind you again, he is a professional packer. Please, do not begin to tell him how to pack every bag. If there is something you want on top because you don't want something to be smashed let him know. He will find a way for everything to fit into your car neatly and nicely. Just because you figured out the jigzaw puzzle (after 25mins. of trying) for your 25 bags, ski's, coolers, and beach toys before your 18 hour drive doesn't mean he won't be able to do the same in less than five minutes. The door man packs cars, trucks, and SUV's everyday on the job. He's a professional, let him work.
6. The door men may or may not be pooling their tips. You should tip the door man when you check-in to the hotel. And you should tip him when you check-out of the hotel (when he begins loading your car is a great time to tip him).
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
How to Tip
My 2 cents worth:
This post will help you be either a good tipper or a great tipper. If you tip less than what is suggested in the following posts you will be considered a bad or poor tipper by the people in the service industry who are and have been assisting you.
Always carry cash. If someone provides a service for you, you should tip them. Your tips may and should vary as you encounter different levels of service. The basic/good tip will be noted in following posts. However the rule will fluctuate because of service. If at anytime you think any individual has gone above and beyond their normal line of duty, the individual has pulled strings in order to make sure your requests have been met, or just provided exceptional service you should tip more than what's suggested. And similarly, if the level of service that was provided poorly you should still tip, but tip the minimum.
You should assess the situation before tipping the minimum. Most of the time the bad service might not be under the tipped employee's control and you should still, even with poor service, tip the normal amount. Here's why: During valet service, if the driveway is backed up and full of people waiting on cars and you see every valet running and working very hard and you have been waiting a while for your vehicle; its not the valets fault and you should tip him normal amount. During bell service, if you've been waiting in your room for your luggage and wondering whats taking so long for the bell man to get there and you have the luggage claim ticket in your pocket or purse; it's not the bell man's fault. He didn't know you had luggage because you have the claim ticket. Again, not the bell man's fault. You should tip him/her the normal amount. There are more examples of bad services that people receive from dinning in a restaurant to service from a concierge that just aren't their fault or under their control. You should always assess the situation before tipping the minimum.
Tipping a manager? Please don't. Managers are paid very well by their salaries. Managers will have different name tags than hourly employee's. Either their name will show a first and last name or just a first name. You'll know because the majority of people will have a different name tag on. If you feel you've received exceptional service from a manager, write a note to their manager. This is the only time writing a note to a manager to tell of exceptional service without tipping is acceptable.
Not at anytime is saying, "Thank You so much!" considered a tip. This seems to be a common misconception of people around the United States. Some people must really believe that the employee assisting them MUST pay their bills in "thank yous". Because, I've heard some pretty sincere thank you's from people for service that I've almost literally moved "Heaven and Earth" and received just a very sincere "Thank you so much", "'at a boy!" and "you're the best (insert job position here) we've ever had!". People and specifically people in the service industry do not pay their bills with stacks of "Thank You's!". Could you imagine giving your power company a note saying, "Here's 150 thank you's I've received from my customers this month! That should pay me in full for this month and next"? Or, to your landlord a stack of "'at a boys" for next month's rent?
Not at anytime is writing a note to a manager, in substitution of a tip, to tell them what a great employee they have working for them is considered OK. Writing a note should be done if you've encountered exceptional service but you should also tip the individual. In my experience when people write notes to managers or general managers about the employee that assisted them, the employee is just patted on the back for a job well done. And again, you can't pay bills or buy groceries with "pats on the back".
And last but not least if you're in any doubt at what you should be tipping, just ask. You will get, most of the time, one of two responses.
1. They will tell you it's up to your discretion. (in this case, tip what you think they deserve and maybe a little more.)
2. They will tell you their average tip or what people normally tip. (in this case, tip the amount that's normally given and then more if you think the service was above average.)
Cheers! And don't be afraid to take care of the people that take care of you!
This post will help you be either a good tipper or a great tipper. If you tip less than what is suggested in the following posts you will be considered a bad or poor tipper by the people in the service industry who are and have been assisting you.
Always carry cash. If someone provides a service for you, you should tip them. Your tips may and should vary as you encounter different levels of service. The basic/good tip will be noted in following posts. However the rule will fluctuate because of service. If at anytime you think any individual has gone above and beyond their normal line of duty, the individual has pulled strings in order to make sure your requests have been met, or just provided exceptional service you should tip more than what's suggested. And similarly, if the level of service that was provided poorly you should still tip, but tip the minimum.
You should assess the situation before tipping the minimum. Most of the time the bad service might not be under the tipped employee's control and you should still, even with poor service, tip the normal amount. Here's why: During valet service, if the driveway is backed up and full of people waiting on cars and you see every valet running and working very hard and you have been waiting a while for your vehicle; its not the valets fault and you should tip him normal amount. During bell service, if you've been waiting in your room for your luggage and wondering whats taking so long for the bell man to get there and you have the luggage claim ticket in your pocket or purse; it's not the bell man's fault. He didn't know you had luggage because you have the claim ticket. Again, not the bell man's fault. You should tip him/her the normal amount. There are more examples of bad services that people receive from dinning in a restaurant to service from a concierge that just aren't their fault or under their control. You should always assess the situation before tipping the minimum.
Tipping a manager? Please don't. Managers are paid very well by their salaries. Managers will have different name tags than hourly employee's. Either their name will show a first and last name or just a first name. You'll know because the majority of people will have a different name tag on. If you feel you've received exceptional service from a manager, write a note to their manager. This is the only time writing a note to a manager to tell of exceptional service without tipping is acceptable.
Not at anytime is saying, "Thank You so much!" considered a tip. This seems to be a common misconception of people around the United States. Some people must really believe that the employee assisting them MUST pay their bills in "thank yous". Because, I've heard some pretty sincere thank you's from people for service that I've almost literally moved "Heaven and Earth" and received just a very sincere "Thank you so much", "'at a boy!" and "you're the best (insert job position here) we've ever had!". People and specifically people in the service industry do not pay their bills with stacks of "Thank You's!". Could you imagine giving your power company a note saying, "Here's 150 thank you's I've received from my customers this month! That should pay me in full for this month and next"? Or, to your landlord a stack of "'at a boys" for next month's rent?
Not at anytime is writing a note to a manager, in substitution of a tip, to tell them what a great employee they have working for them is considered OK. Writing a note should be done if you've encountered exceptional service but you should also tip the individual. In my experience when people write notes to managers or general managers about the employee that assisted them, the employee is just patted on the back for a job well done. And again, you can't pay bills or buy groceries with "pats on the back".
And last but not least if you're in any doubt at what you should be tipping, just ask. You will get, most of the time, one of two responses.
1. They will tell you it's up to your discretion. (in this case, tip what you think they deserve and maybe a little more.)
2. They will tell you their average tip or what people normally tip. (in this case, tip the amount that's normally given and then more if you think the service was above average.)
Cheers! And don't be afraid to take care of the people that take care of you!
How to tip a Valet
Tipping the Valet:
The Valet is the person who parks your car when you arrive to your destination. And the person who brings your car, from where the previous person parked it, to you when you're ready to leave. You will want to tip the valet at least $2.00 every time the valet parks your car and another $2.00 when he brings it to you. You should tip at least $5.00 every time the valet brings you your car if you didn't tip anything when the valet parked your car.
My 2 cents worth:
Sometimes valets will pool their tips. The rule to pulling tips will vary. But the idea and concept is pretty simple to grasp. Pooling tips means that all the valets share their tips. If 5 valets are working and valet 1 has $10.00, valet 2 has $30.00, valet 3 has $15.00, valet 4 has $10.00, and valet 5 has $35.00 at the end of the designated time frame, each valet will receive $20.00 each. Which means the pool gets divided up evenly. One great reason for the valets to pool tips is because it keeps them from fighting over who parks a car and who brings a car from the garage. Because some times people only tip when the car is brought to them and not when its parked. Also, sometimes people just don't tip at all. To clarify, some people don't tip when the car is parked or brought to them. These people are rude and impolite... and a few other adjectives I'll refrain from using.
Calling Ahead for your Car:
Sometimes people will call ahead to have their car brought to the driveway so it will be waiting on them to depart. These guests sometimes to do this to avoid waiting for the valets to bring the car around or for other reasons like running late for a dinner reservation.
My 2 cents worth:
If you do this make sure you tip more than whats been suggested to tip. The reason to tip more is because you have asked them to skip ahead of other people who are bringing their claim ticket in person and waiting on the vehicle in person while the guest who called ahead has their vehicle in the driveway clogging it up and slowing down service. Also the valet that brought the car down and parked it on the driveway could have been bringing a car down for a guest that was waiting and get tipped for it. When you arrive and the car is waiting for you because you called ahead, ask for the valet that brought your car around and hand him the tip personally. And my 2 cents worth says you should be tipping at least $10.00 if you call ahead for your car to be waiting when you arrive.
My 2 cents on Common Courtesy when using Valet Parking:
1. If you call ahead and see your car parked on the side, don't just walk to it and get in. Make sure you speak to a door man or valet and show them your claim ticket. I'm sure you'd hate to get your rental car confused with another person's and take theirs instead of yours. (oh, yes, that's happened quite a few times because of impatient people.)
2. Be patient and plan ahead.
3. NEVER tip a valet or anyone coin change! There are several things that they will do with it. Sometimes they will let it slip through their hands and let it hit the ground and spill everywhere to let everyone know you're tipping change (quite embarrassing). Other times they will refuse to take it for several reasons. One of the main reasons is because it jingles in their pockets and if other people hear it jingling, they too will get the misconception that its OK to tip coins. And last but not least, and not limited to, of their response is to accept the coins and then proceed to toss/throw them into the lovely fountain of the establishment wishing to never get coin tips again.
4. If you arrive to a place that has mandatory valet parking, DO NOT argue. Just get out the car and let them park your vehicle.
5. When staying at a hotel and you see a valet charge or parking in the garage fee, do not assume under any circumstance that any of this money is going to the valets. Some of it might be going to them to pay their hourly rate, of less than minimum wage, but that's all. Valets make their living on tips.
The Valet is the person who parks your car when you arrive to your destination. And the person who brings your car, from where the previous person parked it, to you when you're ready to leave. You will want to tip the valet at least $2.00 every time the valet parks your car and another $2.00 when he brings it to you. You should tip at least $5.00 every time the valet brings you your car if you didn't tip anything when the valet parked your car.
My 2 cents worth:
Sometimes valets will pool their tips. The rule to pulling tips will vary. But the idea and concept is pretty simple to grasp. Pooling tips means that all the valets share their tips. If 5 valets are working and valet 1 has $10.00, valet 2 has $30.00, valet 3 has $15.00, valet 4 has $10.00, and valet 5 has $35.00 at the end of the designated time frame, each valet will receive $20.00 each. Which means the pool gets divided up evenly. One great reason for the valets to pool tips is because it keeps them from fighting over who parks a car and who brings a car from the garage. Because some times people only tip when the car is brought to them and not when its parked. Also, sometimes people just don't tip at all. To clarify, some people don't tip when the car is parked or brought to them. These people are rude and impolite... and a few other adjectives I'll refrain from using.
Calling Ahead for your Car:
Sometimes people will call ahead to have their car brought to the driveway so it will be waiting on them to depart. These guests sometimes to do this to avoid waiting for the valets to bring the car around or for other reasons like running late for a dinner reservation.
My 2 cents worth:
If you do this make sure you tip more than whats been suggested to tip. The reason to tip more is because you have asked them to skip ahead of other people who are bringing their claim ticket in person and waiting on the vehicle in person while the guest who called ahead has their vehicle in the driveway clogging it up and slowing down service. Also the valet that brought the car down and parked it on the driveway could have been bringing a car down for a guest that was waiting and get tipped for it. When you arrive and the car is waiting for you because you called ahead, ask for the valet that brought your car around and hand him the tip personally. And my 2 cents worth says you should be tipping at least $10.00 if you call ahead for your car to be waiting when you arrive.
My 2 cents on Common Courtesy when using Valet Parking:
1. If you call ahead and see your car parked on the side, don't just walk to it and get in. Make sure you speak to a door man or valet and show them your claim ticket. I'm sure you'd hate to get your rental car confused with another person's and take theirs instead of yours. (oh, yes, that's happened quite a few times because of impatient people.)
2. Be patient and plan ahead.
3. NEVER tip a valet or anyone coin change! There are several things that they will do with it. Sometimes they will let it slip through their hands and let it hit the ground and spill everywhere to let everyone know you're tipping change (quite embarrassing). Other times they will refuse to take it for several reasons. One of the main reasons is because it jingles in their pockets and if other people hear it jingling, they too will get the misconception that its OK to tip coins. And last but not least, and not limited to, of their response is to accept the coins and then proceed to toss/throw them into the lovely fountain of the establishment wishing to never get coin tips again.
4. If you arrive to a place that has mandatory valet parking, DO NOT argue. Just get out the car and let them park your vehicle.
5. When staying at a hotel and you see a valet charge or parking in the garage fee, do not assume under any circumstance that any of this money is going to the valets. Some of it might be going to them to pay their hourly rate, of less than minimum wage, but that's all. Valets make their living on tips.
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