Tipping: service provider asks for tip (1 Viewer)

[johnnycakes]

This is a first for me, but I want to get some quick consensus before I explain this aspect of tipping in America to my Chinese wife. I assume you all know my wife is Chinese. I found her in China and she moved to US in 2010.

We had a bathroom vanity delivered to the house this morning. The truck arrived just as I was leaving for work. It's a WoodPro 2-bowl dresser vanity. $2,238.60 paid back in early November. The vanity has been in their warehouse for over a month,, now, while we got the rest of the bathroom done in marble.

Anyhow, the delivery guy comes with the vanity just as I leave for work. At the time, there was an electrician at the house working in the same bathroom.

The electrician helped the truck driver bring the vanity up to the bathroom (2nd floor).

Before he left, the truck driver asked my wife for a $30 tip.

What's your play and why? I need to explain this to her.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

He asked for a tip?

Is call and tell his work that he solicited a tip.

 

[Otis]

2500 bucks for a vanity????

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I would have probably planned to tipped him $20 or so, but the minute you ask for one? Hit the bricks, Sully.

 

[Da Guru]

A quick "No speak English" always works well in these types of situations.

 

[Cjw_55106]

I would never tip anyone who asks for one.

 

[shadyridr]

Yep $20 tip. But if he asked i wouldve kicked his ### out.

 

[Sinn Fein]

If you tip him, you have to tip the electrician imo

 

[Limp Ditka]

Thanks for providing the price of the vanity in your OP. There's no way I could have answered the question without that vital LOOK AT ME!!!! information.

 

[comfortably numb]

Uhmmm.

Some confusion obviously....

Your wife is Chinese and he OFFERED $30 for...just the tip.

 

[Todem]

Ridiculous.

Just ridiculous.

 

[shadyridr]

Ridicurous

 

[ChiefD]

Holy smokes. I can remodel my whole kids bathroom for $2300.

 

[shadyridr]

Holy smokes. Your kids have their own bathroom?

 

[Quez]

Did the vanity have the top, sink, & faucet?

 

[xulf]

This is a first for me, but I want to get some quick consensus before I explain this aspect of tipping in America to my Chinese wife. I assume you all know my wife is Chinese. I found her in China and she moved to US in 2010.

We had a bathroom vanity delivered to the house this morning. The truck arrived just as I was leaving for work. It's a WoodPro 2-bowl dresser vanity. $2,238.60 paid back in early November. The vanity has been in their warehouse for over a month,, now, while we got the rest of the bathroom done in marble.

Anyhow, the delivery guy comes with the vanity just as I leave for work. At the time, there was an electrician at the house working in the same bathroom.

The electrician helped the truck driver bring the vanity up to the bathroom (2nd floor).

Before he left, the truck driver asked my wife for a $30 tip.

What's your play and why? I need to explain this to her.

Wait, what?

 

[Short Corner]

Did she go to the night stand for her strap on?

 

[johnnycakes]

Thanks for providing the price of the vanity in your OP. There's no way I could have answered the question without that vital LOOK AT ME!!!! information.

It helps make the the topic thread-worthy. And you still haven't answered the question.

 

[jon_mx]

Holy smokes. I can remodel my whole kids bathroom for $2300.

Yeah, that is one farging expensive vanity.

 

[jon_mx]

This is a first for me, but I want to get some quick consensus before I explain this aspect of tipping in America to my Chinese wife. I assume you all know my wife is Chinese. I found her in China and she moved to US in 2010.

We had a bathroom vanity delivered to the house this morning. The truck arrived just as I was leaving for work. It's a WoodPro 2-bowl dresser vanity. $2,238.60 paid back in early November. The vanity has been in their warehouse for over a month,, now, while we got the rest of the bathroom done in marble.

Anyhow, the delivery guy comes with the vanity just as I leave for work. At the time, there was an electrician at the house working in the same bathroom.

The electrician helped the truck driver bring the vanity up to the bathroom (2nd floor).

Before he left, the truck driver asked my wife for a $30 tip.

What's your play and why? I need to explain this to her.

Wait, what?

Notebook updated.

 

[Harry Manback]

You don't ask.

 

[jon_mx]

I kind of like the part where he 'found her in China' as if she was lost.

 

[culdeus]

that's a really expensive cabinet. I would think you could have had a custom one built in for less, perhaps as much as 1000 less and done months ago.

 

[matuski]

Did $30 get your wife a happy ending?

 

[jon_mx]

Did $30 get your wife a happy ending?

I am pretty sure he did not love her long time. It was only the tip afterall. What she should done was ask how much for the whole thing. Then just say, "No thank you." The guy would be too confused to ask any further.

 

[Limp Ditka]

Thanks for providing the price of the vanity in your OP. There's no way I could have answered the question without that vital LOOK AT ME!!!! information.

It helps make the the topic thread-worthy. And you still haven't answered the question.

It does what now?

 

[jon_mx]

Thanks for providing the price of the vanity in your OP. There's no way I could have answered the question without that vital LOOK AT ME!!!! information.

It helps make the the topic thread-worthy. And you still haven't answered the question.

It does what now?

Well you see it not only makes it clear he got screwed over on the price of the cabinet, but for further insult his wife paid $30 to the truck driver to bang her. See, thread-worthy.

 

[grateful zed]

china is a big country, can you be more specific?

 

[eoMMan]

Drop your pants and show him the tip he wanted.

 

[johnnycakes]

china is a big country, can you be more specific?

Hunan province. She is a great cook... other Chinese families around here hire her to come make dinner for their family.

 

[glumpy]

Nice vanity. Here in NC I would consider the request for a tip to be highly irregular and would respond accordingly--but IIRC Massachusetts is a union State, and not only is a tip expected but even the amount could be standardized. Is this the case?

 

[johnnycakes]

Nice vanity. Here in NC I would consider the request for a tip to be highly irregular and would respond accordingly--but IIRC Massachusetts is a union State, and not only is a tip expected but even the amount could be standardized. Is this the case?

. I'm trying to give the driver some benefit of the doubt here. I'm thinking he was not required to bring the thing up to the bathroom... probably only deliver to the door. So he probably (and perhaps correctly) feels a tip is in order since he did more than was required. And he probably sees (1) she's a woman and most women probably don't tip when he delivers; and (2) she's Chinese... tipping is not customary in China, even in restaurants. So he probably (and correctly) felt he needed to ask in order to get anything. To which my response would be, "ok... then he should have said up front, "I only need to bring this to the door... for $30, I'll help you get it up to the bathroom".

 

[fourd]

china is a big country, can you be more specific?

Hunan province. She is a great cook... other Chinese families around here hire her to come make dinner for their family.

Do they tip her?

 

[Quez]

Does it have the sink, granite, and faucet?

 

[johnnycakes]

china is a big country, can you be more specific?

Hunan province. She is a great cook... other Chinese families around here hire her to come make dinner for their family.

Do they tip her?

I think some do, but I don't know how much.

 

[johnnycakes]

Does it have the sink, granite, and faucet?

We use granite in the kitchen and marble in the bathroom.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Thanks for providing the price of the vanity in your OP. There's no way I could have answered the question without that vital LOOK AT ME!!!! information.

I always tip 20% of the price of the object being carried.

 

[jon_mx]

Thanks for providing the price of the vanity in your OP. There's no way I could have answered the question without that vital LOOK AT ME!!!! information.

I always tip 20% of the price of the object being carried.

When I go to a hotel, I tip the door man 20% of my room cost.

 

[Joe Summer]

For that price the tip should have been included.

 

[Angry Beavers]

For that price the tip should have been included.

He should have installed it and hooked up the plumbing as well....

 

[Gawain]

For a made in the USA vanity (what size, 60"), that's not excessive. Now, if you want a China made vanity to go along with your China made wife, I can hook you up.

 

[johnnycakes]

For a made in the USA vanity (what size, 60"), that's not excessive. Now, if you want a China made vanity to go along with your China made wife, I can hook you up.

Yes, 60" wide.

ETA: And the Chinese-made stuff we do have tends to be vintage Chinese in one way or another. Most recently, our daughter came back with an antique copper mirror that has different markings on it.

We have a front spotlght that lights up the front of the house at night. My wife said that was bad feng shui and she wanted to take it down or move it so it didn't light the front door. I said I thought the house looked good from the street lit up like that. The result was this ancient Chinese copper mirror (about 8" - 10" in diameter) that is hung on the front door to ward off evil spirits. I hope it works.

 

[Johnny Bing]

I probably would have tipped the electrician for helping the delivery driver out. Given the fact the delivery driver arrived without enough man power to carry in the vanity, I would have told him that his tip went to the electrician for stopping what he was doing to carry in your product.

Especially when you are likely paying the electrician by the hour.

 

[chet]

Nice vanity. Here in NC I would consider the request for a tip to be highly irregular and would respond accordingly--but IIRC Massachusetts is a union State, and not only is a tip expected but even the amount could be standardized. Is this the case?

. I'm trying to give the driver some benefit of the doubt here. I'm thinking he was not required to bring the thing up to the bathroom... probably only deliver to the door. So he probably (and perhaps correctly) feels a tip is in order since he did more than was required. And he probably sees (1) she's a woman and most women probably don't tip when he delivers; and (2) she's Chinese... tipping is not customary in China, even in restaurants. So he probably (and correctly) felt he needed to ask in order to get anything. To which my response would be, "ok... then he should have said up front, "I only need to bring this to the door... for $30, I'll help you get it up to the bathroom".

I was going to ask what he was required to do. If he was required to bring it up to the bathroom then tell him to pound sand. More likely, however, is that he was only required to leave it at the door in which case a tip is in order.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Did you pay more for the vanity or your wife?

 

[Foosball God]

If you tip him, you have to tip the electrician imo

The electrician is the only one that deserves a tip. He's the guy that did something over and above.

 

[johnnycakes]

Did you pay more for the vanity or your wife?

Depends what you consider costs of acquisition.

 

[johnnycakes]

Nice vanity. Here in NC I would consider the request for a tip to be highly irregular and would respond accordingly--but IIRC Massachusetts is a union State, and not only is a tip expected but even the amount could be standardized. Is this the case?

. I'm trying to give the driver some benefit of the doubt here. I'm thinking he was not required to bring the thing up to the bathroom... probably only deliver to the door. So he probably (and perhaps correctly) feels a tip is in order since he did more than was required. And he probably sees (1) she's a woman and most women probably don't tip when he delivers; and (2) she's Chinese... tipping is not customary in China, even in restaurants. So he probably (and correctly) felt he needed to ask in order to get anything. To which my response would be, "ok... then he should have said up front, "I only need to bring this to the door... for $30, I'll help you get it up to the bathroom".

I was going to ask what he was required to do. If he was required to bring it up to the bathroom then tell him to pound sand. More likely, however, is that he was only required to leave it at the door in which case a tip is in order.

I agree with that. It was called for. But he asked for the tip afterwards... Does that change the equation, or should my wife simply have tossed him a $20 and said thanks for the help? Probably didn't take more than 10-15 minutes of labor.

 

[JB Breakfast Club]

The type of delivery is the key question here. Delivery can be to the inside of the front door or to the actual room within the house. These are different levels of service, and that is built into the delivery charge. I'm going to guess the situation here:

- delivery service was to the front door

- delivery guy saw your China doll wife and knew she couldn't move it from there

- delivery guy went ahead and delivered to the final room as additional service, which is a $30 upcharge to their delivery service fee

- delivery guy asked for the $30 upcharge but planned to pocket it as a tip instead of adding it to the invoice

I've had similar situations with furniture delivery...I'll ask for help moving out the old couch. They'll say "I'm not really supposed to", which is probably true from a liability stand point. $20 later, the old couch is at the curb and the new one is in its place.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Did you pay more for the vanity or your wife?

Depends what you consider costs of acquisition.

Isn't that what I asked?