Tipping super in a rent-stabilized building?

September 27, 2013 9:16 AM

I live in a rent-stabilized apartment in NYC. Our super lives in another building down the block run by the same company, and is pretty responsive to problems. The work we call him for isn't hanging curtains or changing light bulbs, but rather fixing reasonably-tough problems— stuff like tightening a loose faucet or fixing mild water damage in the shower ceiling from a leak upstairs. When would it be expected to tip? After repairs, or a gift around the holidays, or what?
posted by akgerber to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

When I was in this situation, I would tip $5 to $10 bucks for smallish jobs (installing AC, leaky faucet), and $20 for a larger or multi-day job (especially if it fixed a long standing problem!). I also tipped him $100 at Christmas, but was because he lived in the building, and always accepted my packages and brought them up to my apartment in the evening.
posted by kimdog at 9:32 AM on September 27, 2013

Depends greatly on the super and the culture of the building (I've never tipped a super, but I've had friends who lived in different buildings who tipped theirs). Check with your fellow occupants and see what they do, and go with that. But always give him something around the appropriate gift-giving holiday.
posted by Etrigan at 9:42 AM on September 27, 2013

My experience is pretty much the same as kimdog's.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:56 AM on September 27, 2013

Maybe I've been committing a faux pas for the past 10 years, but I say never. Among my friends, I don't know of anyone who tips their super (and these are people who do give holiday bonuses to dog walkers, cleaning ladies, doormen, etc.). The only person I know who tips their super owns their apartment, and even then, it's only at the holidays.

The work we call him for isn't hanging curtains or changing light bulbs,

That's not the super's job; that's when you hire a handyman or DIY.

stuff like tightening a loose faucet or fixing mild water damage in the shower ceiling from a leak upstairs.

That is his/her job and should not be "reasonably tough" for any super who plans to have a job for more than 5 minutes.
posted by melissasaurus at 9:56 AM on September 27, 2013

I tip my building staff between $50-100.
posted by brujita at 10:01 AM on September 27, 2013

In December.
posted by brujita at 10:02 AM on September 27, 2013

Yep, $50-$100 just before Christmas. I've never tipped the super per-job.
posted by nicwolff at 10:08 AM on September 27, 2013

I've always gone by that you tip one-off people/tasks on a one-off basis; movers, delivery people, people you are only going to see that one time get tipped that one time. Or people you see a lot but who really went above and beyond that one time and you want to say thank you.

People who you interact with regularly and are basically a part of your daily/weekly/monthly lives get a tip at the holidays; supers, dog-walkers, cleaning lady, etc.
posted by magnetsphere at 10:12 AM on September 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

I pay my super nothing per task but I give him a bottle of wine and a card with $150 at Christmas time. He responds to my texts instantly, holds a set of my keys, is nice to my dog, and leaves everything spotless. It's a great deal!
posted by thinkpiece at 10:55 AM on September 27, 2013

I tip my super $150 at the holidays, in a card. No tip for individual tasks, though in the 5 years I've lived in my building, I have probably needed his assistance maybe twice per year. I have no idea how much other people in my building are/are not tipping. (I'm in NYC too)
posted by Bailey270 at 11:37 AM on September 27, 2013

In Brooklyn, NY, I tip the super $20 for doing things I can't (at age 70) like taking the globe off a ceiling light fixture and replacing a bulb. I also look for things his two young-teen sons can do, like hauling out a big box of trash or putting together an Ikea bookcase. $10 for little things, $20 for bigger ones.

I also give him two crisp $100 bills at Christmas.
posted by KRS at 3:09 PM on September 27, 2013 [1 favorite]