tipping etiquette for business owners

February 19, 2018 12:23 PM

There are four guys outside in our back yard taking down some trees (featured in one of my previous AskMe questions--good riddance, horrible trees!). Three of the guys are working their asses off and doing a very careful, meticulous job. One of the four is the owner of the company, who appears mostly to be supervising. In addition to paying the agreed-upon price for the job, I'd like to tip. The question is, do I tip the owner, too?
posted by jesourie to Work & Money (7 answers total)

I'd tip the guy working the hardest in front of the other guys, mention loudly it's for all of them, and ask him to distribute it to the others. I bet they'll already have a system in place for sharing.
posted by bigplugin at 12:32 PM on February 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Owners don’t get tips. Tips the other guys.

HOWEVER, if you’re not 100% sure the other guy is the owner then I’d go with the advice above.
posted by raccoon409 at 1:01 PM on February 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Seconding bigplugin. In particular, if I wanted to tip I’d tip the guy climbing, or the one who spent the most time up in a tree if there were two.
posted by SaltySalticid at 1:03 PM on February 19, 2018

Nope, don't tip the boss. I would tip the three workerbees equally and generously in front of the boss, so he knows how much you appreciate their work. And of course a personal thank you to each of them.
posted by stillmoving at 1:31 PM on February 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks all! I tipped everyone but the owner and no one seemed surprised/put out by that.
posted by jesourie at 1:47 PM on February 19, 2018

If you know the one guy is the owner, say: "Hey, you did a good job and your guys worked really hard. I'd like to give them a little tip." I don't think this is the time or place to shame anyone, or make a point. The owner isn't supposed to be working hard, that's why he hired the other guys. You're going to to be writing this guy a check. No need to tip him.
posted by humboldt32 at 1:52 PM on February 19, 2018 [4 favorites]

In lieu of tipping the owner, leave positive reviews on Yelp and Nextdoor.
posted by kitty teeth at 1:55 PM on February 19, 2018 [3 favorites]