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Tipping Point: How Big a Tip to Give for the Holidays
Who should you tip and how much should you tip during the holidays? Those are questions consumers grapple with every year and there’s no clear-cut answer. But there are guidelines, depending on the kind of worker you’re tipping.
In Consumer Reports’ previous national surveys, we found that about six in 10 Americans tip at least one of 14 common service providers. Those providers are apartment superintendents, barbers, child-care providers, school-bus drivers, teachers, fitness trainers, gardeners or lawn-care workers, hairdressers, housecleaners, mail carriers, manicurists, newspaper carriers, pet-care providers, and sanitation workers.
Housecleaners were the most often tipped and the best compensated; in our most recent survey, their median tip was $50. Those in most other professions typically received a holiday tip or gift with a median value of $20. Least likely to be tipped were garbage collectors.
Slightly more than half of respondents didn’t tip at least one of the providers whose services they used, and 39 percent didn’t tip any of those on our list. Some nontippers said they reward only exceptional service, and about one-fourth said they don’t tip at any time, period.
Why Americans Tip
Americans don’t always tipping out of appreciation, according to a recent survey by Care.com, a website that helps people find babysitters, senior-care workers and pet sitters. Of 1,148 people surveyed nationwide earlier this year, 85 percent said they tip to reward good service. But 21 percent said they tip because it’s expected, and 11 percent feared that not tipping would mean they’d get worse service in the New Year. (More than one response was permitted.)
Most Americans will tip as much or more this holiday season than in the past, the Care.com survey showed. Eighteen percent of respondents said they’d tip more. The survey showed that 41 percent of parents budget for holiday tips. Among those tippers who decided not to use cash, 77 percent use gift cards or gift certificates, up from 45 percent in 2014; doing so often provides the givers with rewards or incentives from rewards programs.
One in five respondents said they spend more than $250 on total holiday tips, 34 percent budget between $101 and $250, and 8 percent spend more than $400, total. The top reason that respondents in both surveys gave for not tipping was a tight budget.
Tips on Giving Tips
- Be sure to check the gift-giving policy at a child’s school before giving teachers a present.
- Be aware that the U.S. Postal Service restricts the gifts that mail carriers can accept. Presents worth up to $20 are fine, but carriers can’t accept cash.
- Don’t give food unless you’re certain the recipient can eat it. With many people changing to more restrictive diets, your symbol of generosity might end up regifted or thrown out. Similarly, not every recipient would appreciate wine or spirits as a gift.
- If you’re giving cash, go to your bank to get nice, crisp bills, which present better and show a bit more effort on your part.
- If you really can’t afford to buy a gift or give cash—and don’t feel you have the talent or time to bake or make a gift—a heartfelt note of thanks is better than no recognition at all. As Daniel Post Senning, great-great-grandson of etiquette maven Emily Post, says, money isn’t everything. “We like to say that holiday tipping is really holiday thanking,” he points out. “Words mean a lot, so you can say something even if you’re not a crafty person or baking person. A geniune and thoughtful thank-you goes a long way.”
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2015 Consumers Union of U.S.
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