What to Tip?

I was thinking $50 for each of the doormen and porters and $100 for the super. Also $25 for the postal carrier.

I am very curious though to know what others tip in the neighborhood.

I give the doormen $50, the super $200, the mail carrier $25, the dry cleaner deliverer $25 and the newpaper deliverer $20.
I give the other building staff 50 each as well.
Most people in the area do not live in buildings with big staff.

Our building has 150 units, and we have 6 staffers to tip. Is it appropriate to just give them $30 or are we gonna look cheap. I mean, even if 100 people give them a $20 that’s still $2,000!

I think you give what you can afford, of course, and also based on merit to some extent. When I lived in a full-service building, we had 4 full-time doormen, 2 relief doormen, a porter, a handyman and a super. That’s a lot of staff and a lot of cash. And the relief guys, who work an average of one or two shifts a week, certainly don’t warrant the same tip as the full-timers.

I had a studio apartment (vs. a 1 or 2-BR), and only got packages delivered every once in a while; I never had dry-cleaning delivered and rarely, if ever, needed anything beyond pet food accepted during my absence. I bought coffee, tea, soda and sometimes bagels, egg rolls or other requested small items for the desk-bound doormen and never accepted money from them. I baked cookies and gave iced tea.

And I *ALWAYS* said thank you when the door was opened for me – you cannot believe how many rude people just walk through without even the slightest acknowledgement. Yes, that’s their job, but that doesn’t mean you can take leave of your manners – how hard is it to say “thank you”?

So when I didn’t have $600 to spare come the holidays, I would take heart in the fact that I treated them well and fairly and did small favors througout the whole year, delivering a modest tip with a cache of more fresh baked goodies, specially packaged, and hope that I wasn’t looked upon as “cheap”. I know at least one doorman who did think I was cheap; but then again, so was he, as he never did anything durig the year without expecting a bonus in his hand. It goes both ways…

Tada, maybe you should get a little more rest and be less negative about the people who help to keep you safe. Your little tirade proves that you are not grateful for anything that people do for you. I’m sorry but it’s okay to be a dull doorman. They are not there to sing and dance for us. They’re there to open the door and receive our packages. Your perception of the super may be a little tainted. Perhaps you should try and talk with him in the same manner you would a family member or significant other. I’m sure that negativity your conversations with him. Lastly, maybe you should consider moving back to your other building, since their method of telling you who works in the building is so much better than the current one. I’m sure your neighbors feel your disdain for where you live and don’t want you in their community anyway.

Tada, no I don’t get a thank you note from my building staff. Just a grateful “thank you” and a handshake. That’s all I need. God knows I don’t need more paper. Our management company also sends out a list of building staff. There are a lot of new shareholders in the building who may not know exactly who does what, but since they help keep the building running, these guys should be acknowledged. If your building’s staff is so horrible, you should take it up with the management company and your board (though I’m guessing that you’re the problem, not your staff.) Happy Holidays!

Just because people don’t talk with building support staff as they might with their family members or significant others (which, Loving Brooklyn, I have to admit I find just a bit too intimate), doesn’t mean they can’t live in a particular place or voice an opinion. I don’t really get some of the “go back where you came from” stuff that goes on. Isn’t this blog just a sort of cyber cocktail party/drive by thing? Everyone needs to calm down. C’mon — where’s the Christmas spirit? Sniping at a blog contributor and then talking about an absence of warm and fuzzy feelings is odd.

Okay, so I’ll take the move back where you came from comment. I meant the rest. I just think you cannot compare the methods of how different building distribute staffing information. Both ways were aimed at informing the tenants of the existing staff. It’s fine for Tada to voice his opinoin, just like it’s fine for me to disagree with it. I also did want to help him/her to try to start thinking of the people who service the building in a different light. Just because the moment you come home the doorman is smoking could mean that you were interrupting his cigarette break. The US Department of Labor mandates that people receive a certain amount of breaks from doing their job. Perhaps the doorman is on his break, but has to end it a little earlier to service the tenant that is coming into the door. There are just varying perspectives to each situation. This Tada fellow seemed to look at everything in the negative. I was just pointing out that mere fact. I guess I took it a little personal and that’s where the “move back” comment came from.

If you’re that new to the building (a week or two?), then you don’t really have an obligation to tip, unless the staff was particularly helpful to you during your move. I always hand tips directly to the recipient.