maybe some of you remember this post. welp, here's another tipping question: what about the bag boy? the one who helps you out to your car? i'm sure most of you are perfectly capable adults and have never needed to asked for help out, but this suburban motherhood gig is a little new to me, and i feel accomplished if i get out of my pajamas by 8 PM.
i had just purchased my weight 10x over in foodstuffs and had fox, et al. in tow, so when the checker asked if i'd like help out with my groceries, i thought about it and said, why yes, i think i will. i could tell that they don't often get that response because the checker was taken aback and had to call someone over the intercom to come shuttle my business. "attention, there's an able-bodied woman up here who says she needs help..."
so while i hauled my boy and his accessories, the nice yet awkward emo kid pushed my cart and loaded up the civ. i panicked for a second... should i tip? maybe i'm a little over-sensitive to the subject these days--you don't tip anywhere in hong kong, but i thought it would be better to err on the side of caution. as he finished up i thanked him and gave him $2. shocked, he thanked me. even if helping scrubby suburban mommies to their vans is in his job description, i don't feel too badly that i tipped the poor kid. i was grateful for his help, and it only set me back a cheeseburger's worth. but for future reference, what say you?
8 comments:
my mom always tips the "grocery carriers" and has taught me to do the same - although you don't see that too much anymore. i remember being little and my mom had her groceries carried out every time. if she ever got groceries at night she would say she was tipping for the escort and safety not really for carrying the groceries. anyway why not give them a couple bucks? my beef is similar to your older post. i got a salad at quizno's and there was a tip jar on the counter - um, why do i need to tip you for something i just paid you to do. besides having a tip jar on the counter is tacky - sorry for the long post. i went off there .
nah, i think you're too nice. or maybe i'm just mean... but i've had help before and never given a tip, or seen anyone one else tip for that matter. sounds like the kid never got a tip on the job before, too. you probably made his day.
I know a lot of groceries stores (like Lowe's Foods, not sure if they have that out here) don't allow their employees to take tips. I know when I was younger and worked at a Winn Dixie (again not sure if they have that out here) we were told we couldn't take any kind of tip, not money, gift or anything else someone offered. But you did probably make that kids day!
i don't know, erin. i don't ever recall my mom giving tips to the grocery boy... and my mom is the queen of all tippers. but i could be wrong.
did you google it? cos you know google has all the answers. ;)
When we lived on military bases it was 'socially required' to tip the bag boy - as they were not paid any hourly wage at all. I don't think etiquette rules require you leave a tip, But the way I look at it is this: $2 isn't going to put you out but it will make his/her day.
As far as To Go orders, yes, it doesn't take a lot of effort (compared to serving a whole meal dine-in) for them to put it together but they do have to gather everything up, box your meals and bag it all - so I usually leave $1-$2...pretty much for the same reason above.
This is the first time I've commented although I am a long-time blog stalker :)
i think you probably made his hour, at least. i think anytime someone wants to make my day a little easier it's worth a couple bucks. good on ya.
I think if you want to tip then great but it should never be expected. The way I figure it is that if the person (in this case the bag boy) is already getting paid to do his job then no tip is necessary--I don't get extra tips to do my job it's just expected that I do it and do it well.
You tipped the young lad. What a great lady you are. Note to self next time, tip the guy pushing my cart.
Post a Comment