Some tipping points

This past weekend, my husband and I went to the Cape to celebrate his birthday. It’s one of our favorite spots and has been ever since we honeymooned there so many years ago.

The hotel we stayed at was beautiful, and the best part was that breakfast was included. It was my favorite kind of breakfast, where I could make my own waffle and decorate it with all kinds of icing—lemon/lime, cherry, chocolate. I even wrote “Happy Birthday Hubby” on the waffle and smothered the edges with whipped cream. The breakfast buffet also had crispy bacon (my favorite!) and lots of fresh fruit. It was such a delicious start to a special day.     

When we left the hotel room, my husband, as usual, left a five-dollar tip in front of the television for the maid. It got me thinking about how much the tip should be these days, especially since so many people pay with credit cards and rarely have cash, me included. After doing a bit of research online, I found that the suggested tip for a maid is typically two to three dollars per night, so his five dollars was right on target.

I also learned that it›s best to leave the tip every morning to ensure that the maid who actually cleans the room gets it. This cleared up a concern I’ve always had—what if one maid works Monday through Friday and another on the weekend? If we only leave the tip on Sunday when we check out, the weekend maid benefits, but the one who works all week might not. Unless, of course, the maids have some kind of agreement to share tips, similar to how waitresses sometimes do. This new understanding makes a lot of sense and helps ensure fairness.

I was a waitress for almost 10 years at Newport Creamery, first at Midland Mall, and then in Newport after I got married and moved to Portsmouth. Tips were an essential part of our wages since the restaurant paid us much less than minimum wage at the time. Being smiley, conscientious, and quick on my feet, I was fortunate to earn a high percentage of tips, which really helped. It was a great feeling to know my hard work was appreciated and rewarded, and I loved to watch the change add up.  Because the bulk of the customers sat at the counter, and because this happened some 50 years ago, the tips were generally in change, although every now and then a one-dollar tip would appear, causing a little skip in my heartbeat. Because I would wait on 100 or so customers, the tips added up to be quite a bit. Also, we had an understanding that tips left by customers after our shift ended would be saved and given to us. It was always exciting to go into work and find a little plastic cup filled with four or five dollars in change waiting for me. I would have great fun at home rolling the coins, celebrating with each 20 dollar roll of quarters.

It seems the percentage of suggested tipping has gone up, with 20% being the average.  To facilitate tipping for people who do not excel in math, the restaurants now put suggested tip amounts on the bottom of the receipt so it can easily be added to the bill when using a charge card, usually providing amounts for 15%, 20%, and 25%. Easy peasy.

Tipping seems to be more common now, even at fast food places. I always assumed the workers were getting at least minimum wage, so it doesn›t feel like a necessity, but I usually go along with it because, well, I›m compliant by nature. I tipped when I picked up a pizza the other day, when I treated hubby and me to ice cream sundaes, and even at the Chinese take-out. I guess, in a way, I’m paying it forward for all those tips I earned so many years ago.