A Guy Just Brings The Wood? Do I Have To Tip Him? How Much Do You Tip A Wood Guy?

There are tile guys in our house a lot lately. Bathroom re-do.

Anyway, yesterday one of them politely asks if we could order he and his co-worker a pizza. Not a problem. So, I place the order he wanted and then I wondered what the etiquette of this deal was. I mean, they've been in our home working since right after breakfast and now it's lunchtime, and maybe this one should be "on the house."

The possibilities could be bad if I blow this one. I mean, they could be zipping along doing their fine craftsman thing and then I make them pay for their own pizza and then they rig it up where a year from now the whole tile thing comes crashing into my tub.

Smart money was on paying for their pizza. Frankly, I had no problem with that...I just didn't know the deal. Like Todd in My Blue Heaven, I don't believe in tipping. I believe in over-tipping.

And the Sonic girls on roller skates? Automatic over-tip.
Same for polite waiters & waitresses. I'm a firm believer in helping out the high school or college kid. Plus, I want people handling my food in a good mood because I don't want the Sneezer plate.

But my barista at Starbucks? I don't know how much to give. They get whatever change is left but I'm not sure why I'm compelled to do so. And I am compelled. I mean, there's a jar there that says "tips" right on it.

And, back when I used to get haircuts that didn't go to charity, the nice person that cut my hair always seemed to get a tip that rounded up to the nearest $5 increment that seemed reasonable.

Pizza or Chinese food guy? I tend to go $2 per box they bring me, which is around 20%. More if the weather's bad. A lot more if they're supplying a youth event with food and they bring in 60 pizzas. Is that enough?

Tattoo artist? I realize not many of you are faced with this dilemma, but I go heavy here. If there's going to be ink permanently placed in my skin, I want this person VERY happy with me. But nowhere in the place is there a sign about tipping, and I don't know if the tat & peircing crowd has an "Emily Post" to help out with tipping guidelines and practices.

Dry cleaners? I only use the drive up window to get my suit cleaned for when I do weddings (which is about once a month in the summer) and I haven't been tipping that nice lady. Should I be?

Working at the golf course in the summers when I was a kid could get you a tip if you kicked a guy's ball out of a bad lie or some other situation that could cost him his $20 Nassau. A guy gave me $5 one time to flick his ball out of a sandtrap I was working in while he pretended to look for it in the woods. I was making $3.35 an hour so I didn't ponder the ethics of that little deal, which required a quick raking of the trail the ball left in the sand. He got his money's worth when his buddies asked me if I saw his ball and just pointed to it on a nice tuft of grass while he was fake-looking for his ball under some bushes nearby. Similar things happened about once a week.

The guy that brings our firewood every year?
The newspaper delivery guy?
Mailman?
I think they all fall into a "Christmas tip" bundle of some sort.

And we don't even have cab drivers...at least for general transport. Maybe special airport runs or things like that. But I'd bet New Yorkers have to tip every day on that deal. But we don't tip pilots...and those are guys I want to insure proper service.

I wonder how much per year I'm spending on tips.
And I wonder how many people I'm not tipping that I should be tipping.
And I'm wondering how many people I'm tipping that I shouldn't be tipping.