Apartment Building Holiday Tipping

December 28, 2005 8:00 AM

Holiday Tipping Filter: I'm a few days late to the game on this, but I'm also not Christian, so I can use that as an excuse -- my roommate and I moved into our building 2 months ago and are trying to figure out how much we should tip our building manager and maintenance guy, both of whom are super nice and have gone out of their way to help us out on stuff. I say $50 each, she says $20. What do you mefites think? I'm especially curious about the building manager b/c I've never had one before.
posted by echo0720 to human relations (20 comments total)

I'd tip each $50. $20 is kind of cheap.
posted by bshort at 8:01 AM on December 28, 2005

How much is your rent?
posted by deadfather at 8:14 AM on December 28, 2005

$20 is almost demeaning. $50 or $100 is better, make sure its a crisp new bill. These guys are in a position to do a lot for you: landlord relations, package deliveries, utility business, prompt maintenance response, telling the police you don't live their anymore, etc.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:17 AM on December 28, 2005

$50 is a good tip.
posted by strangelove at 8:19 AM on December 28, 2005

Where do you live?
posted by Miko at 8:39 AM on December 28, 2005

20 is insulting. 50 minimum.
posted by docpops at 8:40 AM on December 28, 2005

Seconding the others, I would expect $50 to be minimum, as well.
posted by strangelove at 8:44 AM on December 28, 2005

People tip their building manager and maintenance guy? Why?

Ok, I can see it if they've gone above and beyond the call of duty on a specific occasion, you might slip them a $20 at that time, but this is a job and that's all. I spend a lot of my life fixing other people's problems (I'm a sysadmin) and I don't expect a tip in any way.
posted by Kickstart70 at 8:48 AM on December 28, 2005

You could give them $20, and then another $20 each time they do something for you.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:50 AM on December 28, 2005

Ah, tipping and America. One of my favourite topics. I have one of those little charts now to help me. I worked in a pub once that got lots of US tourists. Their surprise at being told I didn't automatically expect to keep a proportion of their change when I sold them a round of drinks
posted by A189Nut at 9:00 AM on December 28, 2005

My god, yes, people tip their building staff in urban areas in the U.S. (It's basically what's left here of Boxing Day.)

And there's a science to this in NYC, based on the amount of your monthly maintenance, the number of units in the building, etc.

As for D.C., twenty bucks sounds damn cheap--but if there's 500 apartments in the building, well, it's probably okay.

But if you want to be able to call them at 4 a.m. when your shower explodes, go for $50. If you can afford it, it'll pay for itself. Just put the cash in an envelope with their name on it and hand it to them next time you see them.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 9:00 AM on December 28, 2005

Both of the places where I have lived in NYC have put out a list of the people who worked in the building at the beginning of December. The first place had a staff of about 28--I tipped $50 ( however my last year, I did not tip the manager who claimed my leaky window frames could not be replaced, the plumber who told me my dripping shower head was "not so bad" nor the porters who leered and catcalled when I did my laundry). The place I am in now has a staff of about 8 and I give everyone $100 except for the super, who has crossed himself off my tip list for the past two years--this is a guy who among other things has screamed at me when I told him that I would prefer that he wait until I came to the door when he rang the bell instead of barging in and has extorted money from anyone who comes in the building to do work--I let him know that I didn't need any reminder not to tip him. The tenants have been told he'll be gone in the spring.
posted by brujita at 9:21 AM on December 28, 2005

Growing up in a non-city environment, I'm still shocked at the number of people you're expected to tip in urban areas. Are these people who are receiving tips purposefully paid less with the expectation they'll receive tips (like waitresses)? Or are these really just annual bribes to receive good service over those who hold on to their cash?
posted by Atreides at 9:30 AM on December 28, 2005

I think tipping the "super" is a very NYC thing. I've never heard of it being done here in Seattle. However, I did give my building managers and their family a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate this year because they've been both helpful and kind. Since this form of tipping isn't done in Seattle (as far as I know), I thought cash might be a bit insulting but a certificate would feel more like a gift somehow.
posted by matildaben at 9:31 AM on December 28, 2005

Whoops, a bit late on this -- thanks for all the answers. I live in DC, our combined rent is $2000+ and we've needed the maintenance guy a lot in the past couple of months we've lived here, which is why i totally think he deserves a tip. And the building manager's really nice and has helped us out with a few things. I just don't know if he'd consider a $50 tip an insult or if he'd appreciate it. It's too late to get an amazon gift card, but that would be a good idea.
posted by echo0720 at 10:35 AM on December 28, 2005

I also just baked them cookies. Or rather, I baked myself cookies and am giving them a bunch so I don't eat them all.
posted by echo0720 at 10:49 AM on December 28, 2005

Am I alone at being amazed at this? (from Cnn.com)

# Taxi drivers: 15 percent of fare
# Hairstylists: 15 to 20 percent of bill
# Waitstaff: 15 to 20 percent of bill
# Bartenders: $1 for beer or wine, $2 for mixed drink
# Take-out delivery person: $1 to $2
# Parking attendant: $1 to $2
# Gas station attendant: $1 to $2 for pumping gas, $5 for pumping gas and checking fluids
# Room service waiter: 15 percent of bill
# Contractors (Foreman): $50
# Contractors (Worker): $30
# Parking attendant: $1 for basic service
# Sports arena usher: 50 cents to $1 per party if shown to your seats
# Clown at children's party: $15 to $25
# Dog groomer: 15 percent of bill, $2 per dog minimum
# Dance club DJ: $1 per song request, $5 to $10 if you want to hear it right away
# Massage therapist: 10 to 20 percent for a one-hour massage
# Tow truck operator (when locked out of your car): $5 to $10
posted by A189Nut at 12:41 PM on December 28, 2005

A189Nut, I'm with you. It seems so tedious to tip. Glad my country doesn't expect it.
posted by ancamp at 3:25 PM on December 28, 2005

(sincere non-USian question) is it absolutely unheard of to give a non-cash gift in these situations? Would that be offensive?
I always give my tenants a ham for Christmas.
posted by Catch at 5:03 PM on December 28, 2005

Catch - no it wouldn't be offensive, it's just easier to give cash to someone that you may not know very well, and well, they might appreciate cash more than a random gift. But I think non-cash presents add a nice touch, which is why I also baked cookies.
posted by echo0720 at 12:12 PM on December 31, 2005