For us locals, it can become a little tiring; tipping each
and every person that helps us throughout the day. I put gas, I tip the gas
pumper. I shop at Soriana, I tip the bagger then outside I tip the shopping cart
pusher. I hop in my car, and then I tip the guy blowing the whistle. When the dollar to peso ratio went up, so did
the price of nearly every product on the market. Yet the salary wages remained
the same. So these service providers do
count a lot on what we tip them. I
thought about the grocery bagger, if 50 shoppers gave 5 pesos, the total would
be 250mxn, that’s less than 15usd. I’ve
personally been in line with 5 customers in front of me, and not one would tip. I completely understand if the 5 people in the shopping line hesitate to tip if they are earning $63.77mxn pesos per day. But for us who are more fortunate. How much to tip? I bring my own sturdy recyclable bags from Stater Bros or Trader Joes, and I ask them to organize my produce. So I tip about ten percent of my grocery bill or about 3mxn pesos per bag. The gas pump guy tip, this is a tricky one because some gas stations have signs indicate, that gas pumping, window cleaning and checking your car fluids is part of the service. But the majority of station workers won’t check the fluids unless you ask. For regular pumping and front window cleaning I tip $5mxn which is about one percent of my fuel cost. If he cleans all my windows and asks to check the fuels or puts the fuel cleaning liquid in the tank then 2-5 percent of fuel cost is reasonable. As for the whistle blower, sometimes I want to tip him extra just to let me back out and drive in peace (so that’s just up to the kindness of your heart on how much you think is good, one the norm: it's 2-3 pesos).
personally been in line with 5 customers in front of me, and not one would tip. I completely understand if the 5 people in the shopping line hesitate to tip if they are earning $63.77mxn pesos per day. But for us who are more fortunate. How much to tip? I bring my own sturdy recyclable bags from Stater Bros or Trader Joes, and I ask them to organize my produce. So I tip about ten percent of my grocery bill or about 3mxn pesos per bag. The gas pump guy tip, this is a tricky one because some gas stations have signs indicate, that gas pumping, window cleaning and checking your car fluids is part of the service. But the majority of station workers won’t check the fluids unless you ask. For regular pumping and front window cleaning I tip $5mxn which is about one percent of my fuel cost. If he cleans all my windows and asks to check the fuels or puts the fuel cleaning liquid in the tank then 2-5 percent of fuel cost is reasonable. As for the whistle blower, sometimes I want to tip him extra just to let me back out and drive in peace (so that’s just up to the kindness of your heart on how much you think is good, one the norm: it's 2-3 pesos).
With the holidays around the corner, we tend to go out a
little more. When family comes down to visit, we’ll take them to the newest/trendiest
places that have opened. Some of the
places have outstanding service and others have the young hip waiters/ wannabe
actors who tend to act like they are doing us a favor by allowing us to eat at
the establishment. Would you tip for
down right bad service? What
about when you go out to a restaurant that has a bar and order drinks there,
and then your table is ready; do you tip both at the bar and the table service?
The server doesn’t bring you that glass
of what you’ve been asking for since the start of dinner, or you see your plate
is ready but the serve is too busy chatting with the host to notice your foods
getting cold. Do you tip? Or you had the most fabulous server that’s
not overcrowding, but brings you things even before you know you need
them. How much is the right amount to
tip such awesome service. What if you
asked the taco guy to crisp your meat a little longer, is that worthy of a tip? Should 20 percent be the same in Baja
California as it is in California? If
the price of food is about the same, and the cost of living here is about the
same, the 20 percent tip amount should be about the same in restaurants and bars. Is tip mandatory? No, but it should be given. Figure 20 percent is an average base. If you
get bad service and the food is good. Just pay for the food and let either the
server know why s/he isn’t going to get a worthy tip or let the manager
know. Many people walk away
without saying why they didn’t tip and the server might not understand that you
found the service inadequate and misinterpret you as a cheapskate. If the service is wonder, show it by leaving 25-30 percent of the bill.
What about
entertainers? On the weekends on the
main street, there is usually indigenous tribal dancers, break dancers and flame blowers so astounding
that they make me wonder if they perform during the week for Cirque du
Solei. Their eye-catching acrobatic
skills remind me of the arrow spinners that point you to a new cell phone shop.
However those arrow spinners get paid and these other street performers
don’t. Other street performers include
musicians. If they catch your attention
even for a moment, if they help inspire, relax or just forget about your worries; they deserve a tip, even if it’s just 1 or 2 pesos.
These types of service provider jobs are mostly extinct in the
California. The Costco or Sams Club in California
doesn’t have people to help push your cart or load your groceries. I haven’t seen a gas station with full
service in years. Ralphs, Fresh-n-Easy, Target and
Home Depot in the States have Self Service machines where you don’t need a cashier or a
bagger. When we wonder, “Where all the
jobs have gone?” My reply, some of the jobs were this type of work. If we tip 5 pesos to 15 people per week, it
comes out to 75 pesos total, that’s about $5usd. With such a small amount of revenue, we will
help 15 people per week live better lives. Let’s help keep jobs stable and let’s help
keep great service by helping give tips._____________________________________________________________
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