do you even gift?
December 18, 2013 6:46 AM   Subscribe

gifts ideas for my baristas & purveyors of food?

i live in an awesome neighbourhood, and i see my baristas and grocery people daily, sometimes multiple times. they're so friendly and have seen me in all states of disarray, and i have such an affection for how much better they make my day by being so awesome.

i'd like to get something for them for the holidays, but i don't really *know* them. and it seems silly to get them food or coffee cards when they're surrounded by it day in, day out? maybe not though? there's about 4-5 ppl at each spot who i just think are tops, so this is kind of a group-gift approach.

do you have teams of people like this in your life? how did you acknowledge them? i am going to write them a thoughtful but not-creepy-gushy card (i am well aware how weird that can feel when you're in a kind of service-industry role). outside of that, am really open to ideas.

come at me, green! thanks in advance :)
posted by crawfo to Shopping (20 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
In my coffee slinging days, a fat tip was appreciated and the cards were never perceived as creepy.
posted by little_dog_laughing at 6:51 AM on December 18, 2013 [4 favorites]


Cash, rather than a gift card, seems especially appropriate here. It's a way of acknowledging that they have lives outside of work, and interests you don't know about.
posted by jon1270 at 7:06 AM on December 18, 2013 [6 favorites]


There are two parts to this.

1) the gift/tip
2) the sentiment, and delivery of it

It's your call what your budget is, but I'd suggest that any tip or gift that was unusual would be seen as a nice gesture.

People often surprise themselves by how much they appreciate a sincere attaboy. I've seen grown adults - company men with 20 years of experience - grow bitter through the lack of it and melt like putty when they get it. A genuine sentiment of thank you, be it verbal or written goes a long way. I'm not suggesting it replaces a tip/gift, but frontline service staff don't get generally get showered with genuine thank yous from real live customers. They shovel shit for the most part and motivate themselves on the highlights of their job.
posted by MuffinMan at 7:08 AM on December 18, 2013 [2 favorites]


To clarify - by 'unusual' I really mean unusual in its generosity.
posted by MuffinMan at 7:10 AM on December 18, 2013


Cash in a very nice holiday card.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:24 AM on December 18, 2013


I give my coffee cart guy a big tip (equal to what I spend in two weeks) in a nice card. He always puts the card up in the window, and seems pretty thrilled.
posted by kimdog at 7:28 AM on December 18, 2013 [3 favorites]


Yes, cash-in-a-card - but you may want to discreetly check whether everyone at the establishments in question are allowed to accept tips.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:39 AM on December 18, 2013 [2 favorites]


New socks turn gradually into nylons and you don't notice and you are too footsore at the end of the day to go buy new ones.

Socks. Nice, thick, cushy socks. People who work on their feet all day [as I have] lives are made easier by nice, thick, cushy socks.
posted by vapidave at 7:42 AM on December 18, 2013


I always thought it was really cool and thoughtful when somebody gave a big tip (around ten bucks) during the holidays with or without a nice card.

That said, if you write a card, it'd probably be best to keep it short and sweet. Like, "You guys always make my day a bit better every day! Happy holidays and thank you!" More than that might have made me feel weird when I was a barista.
posted by smirkyfodder at 7:51 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yes tip, but please also consider writing a note to the owner/managers of these establishments explaining exactly how their employees make your day better.
posted by dogmom at 7:58 AM on December 18, 2013 [7 favorites]


If you go cash do so in a card; not in the jar. Oftentimes coffee folk split tips on a per-shift basis. If some new kid or someone who doesn't typically work that shift is there, you could be thanking the wrong folk.

And also a note to the owner or manager. This goes along way for what little raises people get in that industry.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:05 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]


If you go cash do so in a card; not in the jar. Oftentimes coffee folk split tips on a per-shift basis. If some new kid or someone who doesn't typically work that shift is there, you could be thanking the wrong folk.

Seconding this. Please hand the card directly to the person.
posted by fozzie_bear at 8:34 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]


I wouldn't worry overmuch about the tipping out thing, since presumably you don't have one exclusive barista who is the ONLY person who ever serves you coffee. When I did this, we tipped out per shift, so yes, someone who wasn't me could get a share of "my" tips, but everyone in the shop on a given shift was working together to make each customer's coffee. And in fact typically the person manning the register had the least to do with the finished product.

In fact, unless it's a one-person coffee shop, I would adamantly NOT tip with a card or hand a cash tip directly to the cashier.If I was on the espresso machine and saw the cashier pocket a huge tip, I would be fucking FURIOUS. And if it is a one-person shop, who is this mystery barista who's going to come along and poach your barista's tip?

In fact, I would be sure to leave cash specifically so that it could be shared among the baristas on shift.
posted by Sara C. at 8:47 AM on December 18, 2013


Socks. Nice, thick, cushy socks

Wow, please don't do this - I would find this pretty creepy and/or "thanks Mom" as a gift. If I didn't presume creepy I'd conclude that you likely were re-gifting something you didn't want or giving me whatever you had around the house.

Also, what I like in socks is pretty specific. Stick to cash for people you don't know.
posted by arnicae at 9:22 AM on December 18, 2013 [5 favorites]


I wouldn't worry overmuch about the tipping out thing, since presumably you don't have one exclusive barista who is the ONLY person who ever serves you coffee. When I did this, we tipped out per shift, so yes, someone who wasn't me could get a share of "my" tips, but everyone in the shop on a given shift was working together to make each customer's coffee. And in fact typically the person manning the register had the least to do with the finished product.

I don't think anyone is saying "give the card to the cashier." When I was a barista, a customer went around to each of us giving us a card with a tip inside, the people at the espresso machine, etc. I was taking out the trash when he gave me mine.

So, don't be shy about giving your barista a card when they look busy; they'll appreciate it!

And honestly, where I worked there was at least one incident of suspected tip theft on the part of a supervisor (who put the tips in the safe) and another time we saw a homeless man take some of our tips out of the jar. If you want to be sure the money gets to the people you see every day, give it to them directly.

That is, if you end up giving money to everyone.
posted by fozzie_bear at 11:02 AM on December 18, 2013


Yes, I think if you go with gift cards (something that can't be divvied up), you're going to need one for everybody on shift that morning.

I still think cash in the tip jar or in a card and handed to the manager for fair division among the staff is highly preferable to deciding that "your barista" is the person you give your order to each morning, and tipping that person individually.

I don't think you need to worry a whole lot about tip jar theft or managers skimming tips. Neither ever happened at the (very typical) shop where I worked. YMMV if your coffee shop is in Times Square or you happen to know the management are assholes.
posted by Sara C. at 11:14 AM on December 18, 2013


My most regular customer bought a bunch of tiny hand sanitizer and candle gift sets to give to each of the baristas she sees most often. She also baked a loaf of banana bread for everyone to share.

Thanks!
posted by Night_owl at 12:23 PM on December 18, 2013


I brought home made cookies to my local UPS store, with a card. They seemed utterly thrilled.

I'd do hand-written cards with a short sincere note about how much you appreciate the friendliness and helpfulness all year, with a bit of cash tucked inside, or accompanying small boxes of truly awesome chocolates.
posted by bearwife at 12:35 PM on December 18, 2013


The way my morning coffee place works, I never know who or how many of them will be working at any particular time. I'd be inclined to go with a hefty tip ($20 would be lovely and seem generous, even if once divvied up it wound up being less than $1 per person) and a generally-directed card: "dear everybody, thank you so much for being here and being great, I hope you all have wonderful holidays and look forward to seeing you next year" or something like that.

And, as mentioned above, putting your appreciation of them in writing to their management is gold.
posted by Lexica at 7:57 PM on December 18, 2013


I've done nice boxes of chocolates with a note for coffee shops before - they seemed pleased at the thought.
posted by fever-trees at 10:52 PM on December 18, 2013


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