A few tips on holiday tipping
Who you should tip, and how much.
Ever Joy Palmer is an avid online shopper.
The 27-year-old seller of beauty products says she does 90 percent of her monthly purchasing on such websites as Amazon and Etsy. That means, of course, frequent visits from mail and parcel carriers.
“Basically, the only things I don’t order online is food, and that’s just because I haven’t gathered the courage to do it yet,” Palmer said. In a typical month, she receives as many as five packages. And when Christmas rolls around, the mother of two said that number can double.
All of those parcels have presented her with one dilemma that she took to social media to solve: “How much should you tip your mail carriers for the holidays?” she posted on Facebook.
With a majority of Americans (66 percent) giving tips to at least one service provider during the holiday season according to Consumer Reports, experts say the best place to start is with those you encounter the most often.
“Our goal is to show gratitude for the services they extend to us throughout the year,” said Elaine Swann, etiquette expert and founder of the Swann School of Protocol headquartered in Carlsbad, California.
Swann also said, when deciding how much to tip, it’s important to consider that workers in the service industry are often underpaid the rest of the year.
“If you only see that person every six months, it probably doesn’t warrant a big tip,” said Jacqueline Whitmore, founder of the Protocol School of Palm Beach in Florida. “It gets expensive if you’re going to try to give money to everybody.”
Lena Koropey, the founder of the business etiquette consultancy Gramercy Protocol LLC, offered the following guideline on whom to tip and how much to give depending on where they serve you:
In-house
The standard in the domestic staff industry is to provide an end-of-theyear bonus around the holidays. This includes babysitters, nannies, house cleaners and dog walkers. It also includes handymen that you use often along with landscapers and gardeners.
Koropey said, in most cases, you should tip the cost of one week’s salary. “If it’s a house cleaner, you would tip the cost of one full cleaning. If it’s a live-in, maybe it can be up to a month’s pay.”
Building
This category includes people like building managers, supers, bellhops, porters and parking assistants.
Koropey said a generous gift for building superintendents and managers can range from $100 to $200 per year, depending on how often you interact. For doormen and other building workers, tip anywhere between $25 to $150 during the holidays based on the level of service they provide.
Personal care
Rather than worrying about how much extra to tip those who provide personal care, such as hair stylists, barbers, manicurists, beauticians, personal trainers and beauticians, tip them each the cost of one service if you want to be generous, Koropey said.
Mail carriers
Some mail carriers are government workers. “They are only allowed to accept up to $20 gifts,” Koropey said. “They are allowed to accept gift cards. An Amazon gift card, for example, will allow them to choose a gift that works best for them.”