Conference quark::human_relations

    Tipping is always tricky.  I usually figure out my tips at 12 to 15% of
    the final charge (whatever that may be) then decide if the person did
    an exceptionally good job and add in as much as twice that amount if I 
    think they did.  
    
    (I once tipped a waiter $10.00 for a $5.00 tab because he was not only 
    polite, but had put up with a friend of mine who did nothing but cause
    the poor guy trouble.)
    
    FWIW
    Skip

    Sometimes 12-15% really is a bit much, though.  When I worked as a
    chambermaid in a hotel one summer, most people who left tips left two
    or three dollars a day (and it was a pretty expensive hotel).  The day 
    I cleaned the room of a guy who left 15% (happened once all summer), 
    I was completely overjoyed, but it wasn't the norm.
    
    	Sharon
    

    I see no embarrassment in showing appreciation for a job/service he
    does... it is perfectly allright to give him your contribution (tip)
    and tell him that you appreciate his help. I come from a country where we 
    tip as a norm and find it natural to give tips when call for.  People DO
    appreciate good will gestures...
    
    I think it is a nice thing to tip him for a couple of months' help.
    
    Cheers

    The campground charge is $900.00, if I tipped 10% it would be $90.00.
    Would you suggest before and after the season or just after.  I want to
    assure a higher level of service so it wondered if I should do half 
    before and half after.  But, I don't want this to get out of hand on my 
    part.
    
    I am not embarressed to give him a tip, I just don't want to create any
    embarressment to him.
    
    We are there 6 months at a time, not just a couple of months.
    
    
    Thanks again
    

    For long-term stays at hotels (or at the "country cottages" of good
    friends who happen to retain a household staff!), I think the practice
    was to leave a small gratuity every week or so for whoever took care of
    one's room, and (possibly - this isn't exactly something I do every
    day) similar "periodic" payments to other staff members who offer
    frequent service.
    
    How this would translate to a campground I'm not sure; some people
    whose jobs aren't normally associated with tipping might indeed find it
    embarrassing to be given "a little something" now and then. [Larger
    sums seem to be less embarrassing; I don't know why that is. ;-)]
    
    Tipping on arrival seems like a bad idea; too much of an impression of
    bribery. "...and if you do your job right, there's more where that came
    from!" [I know that there are lots of questionable motives behind the
    theory of tipping, anyway, but to tip before there's even been any
    service to reward strikes me as a little over the top.] I think I'd
    stick to a cheerful greeting, maybe expressing thanks for how well
    things went last time you were there (if it's the same person) or just
    mentioning how much you enjoyed it (if a different person), so as to
    convey the idea that you're going to be a courteous and non-troublesome
    guest...
    
    -b

I'm just curious.  You go camping for several MONTHS in one campground ?
That's a whopper of a vacation !

/Eric

    Actually, it's not so unusual... My father does the same thing at
    times.  He owns a large camper trailor, trucks it up to his favorite
    camp-sight for a few months at a time... it's usually cheaper then
    paying rent, and you get to 'pick' your view from your window... sort
    of.  
    
    ;-)
    Skip

    	I agree, tipping beforehand IS a bit like bribery.  In my mind
    tipping should be a show of appreciation for good service.  At the end
    of the year, go over in your mind what you think is fair.  If $50 seems
    cheap, give more; if $100 seems too much, give less.  I think your
    quandary over how much to give will be ameliorated in this situation
    because you'll be basing it on the services rendered.  This to me seems
    a lot more concrete than trying to decide how much to give him based on
    the kind of service you *hope* to get!


    	I find there are other ways of getting better service as well.  For
    people who are in jobs where they have contact with more than a few
    people a day, they often respond well to pleasant jokes and light
    banter.  If you deal with a number of people daily, chances are you get
    your share of folks in bad moods, or folks who are continually in bad
    moods.  ;-)  Customers who make their work seem a lot less like work
    are more pleasant to be around, and so oftentimes they go that little
    bit extra for you.  This doesn't always work, sometimes you get people
    who are themselves not in a good mood and don't respond positively to
    the banter; in this case it's a good idea not to continue.  ;-)


    	Another way I've found is to try to make the best of a situation.
    If something happens that's not the server's fault, I don't take it out
    on them.  I try to be as understanding and as patient as I can.  And I
    try to be helpful when I can.


    	I think there are lots of ways you can show your appreciation
    during the year, ways that will probably get you that little bit of
    extra service in return.  As my grandmother used to tell me, "As ye
    reap, so shall ye sow."



    Brian

    Tipping at a campground?
    
    Tips are usually called for when some service provider is paid a
    minimal (not minimum) wage, for example, waiters and waitresses.
    
    Is there someone at a campground who is analogous to a waiter?
    
    ps: all tips should come at the END of the service, not the beginning.

>    ps: all tips should come at the END of the service, not the beginning.

 I suppose you could make this case, but consider spending several hours at
a bar. If you are to strictly follow your tip guideline, you wouldn't give
the bartender a tip until the end of the evening. However, as every drinker
knows, if you slap the bartender with a healthy tip when you get your first
drink, you end up getting stronger drinks for the rest of the night. Thus
a drinker may influence his service by giving a tip at the beginning of the
evening instead of waiting until the end. If you wait until the end, you
must rely on the bartender's memory so you get better service the next time
you come to the establishment.

>>    ps: all tips should come at the END of the service, not the beginning.

> I suppose you could make this case, but consider spending several hours at
> a bar. If you are to strictly follow your tip guideline, you wouldn't give
> the bartender a tip until the end of the evening. However, as every drinker
> knows, if you slap the bartender with a healthy tip when you get your first
> drink,					      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  ^^^^^

  to me, this equates to "at the END of the service", even tho' you may go
  back for *more service* as the night progresses.....

  with regard to the camper, it could work the same way...if the person is
  question does something nice (even tho' it's their job), and you want to
  "tip" in thanks, then do so.  But IMHO, to give someone a "tip" before
  they've even done anything is too close to bribery for my book.

  Debbi

    Well, after reading all these notes I have decided that you are all
    right when you say tipping before is like bribary. I'm glad I heard it
    said that way since, I think I felt that but didn't know it until it was
    mentioned.  Also, to go ahead and use the 10% rule as being a good
    amount to give.  I would have felt better last year if I had given that
    amount but, because I didn't know what to give, I gave only 1/2 of
    that.  All winter I have felt that wasn't enough.
    
    Thanks for your responses.
    
    
    For those who wonder why...
    
    These people, patrol the area several times a night, clean bathrooms
    and empty trash baskets every day, help you place your trailer on the
    site, doing site work like moving boulders, etc.  Delivering sand
    for fill on your site. Helping you get set up.  Bringing your trailor
    in and out of the site at the beginning and end of each season. 
    Keeping the quality of the campground high, i.e., constant
    improvements.  Helping out with trailer problems.
    
      
    

    
    
    If you want the same kind of "service" that your neighbors seem to be
    getting why not ask them what they did to get such "good" service. 
    "Hi neighbor, I notice that you seem to get pretty good service from
    The park ranger (or who ever). I was just wondering what you did to
    get this kind of attention." maybe they were just nice to the person at
    the beginning, maybe they invite him in for cookies and lemonade when
    they see him. Not everyone is motivated by money. Maybe you could take
    the time and talk to this person, find out what their interests are, if
    their are into fishing, maybe buy them a lure (sp) or something like
    this. Sometimes a small gift goes a lot farther in letting someone know
    that you appreciate and respect them and the job they do than money
    can.  Just my opinion,...not always right, but it works for me.
    
    Jim

    re:.10
    
    Point taken, even if I haven't ever seen the inside of a bar.  ;')

>even if I haven't ever seen the inside of a bar.  ;')

 Blind drunk by the time you get to that point, or you've got your eyes closed?

    
    I think a tip is a good idea, but at the end of the season (ie. end of
    service).  If you feel this guy does such a good job, maybe you should
    send a letter to the management company which owns the campground and
    tell them how you feel about this person.  He may end up getting a nice
    bonus or raise, and I am sure he will be shown the letter, then at the
    end of the season, tip him.
    
    I know how you feel.  I've stayed at the Yogi Bear Campground in NH
    last summer and the place was kept immaculate and the people who worked
    there (mostly college kids) were just wonderful -- always cheerful and
    helpful --- it was like going to Walt Disney world --- the service was
    excellent.
    
    Have fun camping!!
    
    Debby
    

    I recently tipped the maid at a cheap hotel.
    
    I handed her $2 on the first day and told her I would take care of her
    again when I checked out.
    
    This compromise worked out well.

    I have tipped the maid sometimes during my stay.  Once I got
    involved in a controversy.  It seems the maid's supervisor
    found out about the tip and went around "checking the rooms"
    before the housekeeper got there and lifted the tip.  That started
    an uproar and a lot more involvement than I cared for.
    
    One time I waited till checkout day and walked around, found "my"
    housekeeper and gave her the tip personally.
    
    ed

.8:
>   I agree, tipping beforehand IS a bit like bribery.
    
    Sometimes bribery comes in handy.  One time I called a taxi dispatcher
    to get to Logan Airport from Bay Village, Boston.  My cab didn't come
    for twenty minutes, so I hiked out toward a nearby hotel and flagged
    down a cab, desperate because of the delay.
    
    Upon getting into the cab I handed the cabbie $5 and said "there's five
    dollars more where that came from if you can get me to my flight
    scheduled for about 20 minutes from now..."
    
    He showed me the shortest path possible to the airport!  An inexpensive
    education...  (Only appropriate for situations like this.)
    
    -rich

    Tipping at a campground? Why does this seem wrong to me. The man is
    paid a salary to do his job. I would assume keeping the campground
    up to standard would be a part of that job. I can see if he performed
    some function/job for you that was not a part of his normal duties...
    and I can see paying for that job. For the life of me I do not see any
    reason to tip otherwise. I am also against tipping in restaurants for
    service. I believe that the staff should be paid a decent wage. I
    don't think I should have to tip to get good service. (mind you I
    do tip and generously....my dening a waiter/waitress a tip as a protest
    to the system has no impact....the only person hurt is the waitress.)
    
    If the current trend toward more and more tipping of 'services'
    continues then my 'customers' will have to tip me for my services.
    This may be the only way I'll get a raise! ;-)