Tipping now more important than ever

[Toofarfromthesea]

6 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

Probably worth far more than face now, contact a reputable coin dealer, not an auction house or pawn shop. There is a publication called Spinks that lists the current prices achieved for coins and banknotes. They are a dealer/auction house, but they will estimate on emailed photos. 

 

Nah, I've checked it over the years and the value is negligible.  Too bad.

[KBs mum]

22 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I was talking about tips in the US when the tip can't be put on a card.

 

As to my medical marijuana dispensary, the cash-only has nothing to do with the police.  It stems from the disconnect between federal law under which marijuana is illegal and certain states that have made medical and/or recreational marijuana legal.  The fed's policy is not to enforce the marijuana law in states that've made it legal, but they make it inconvenient by intimidating banks into not letting the legal, and closely regulated dispensaries, have access to credit card processing.

 

Is medical marijuana legal there?  And if so, is it covered by the NHS?  I get no insurance coverage for my medical marijuana, strictly cash on the barrel head.  Plus cash tip, LOL.

There's no such thing as medical marijuana, same as there's no such thing as medical opium. What is available are medically approved extracts containing various medical extracts in guaranteed strengths and quantities that have been proven to work in double blind trials. These are available on the NHS. No tip needed, but the nurses will appreciate a thank you gift of a card and chocolate biscuits or similar if you find yourself in hospital for a few days. 

Edited March 7, 2022 by KBs mum

[Toofarfromthesea]

25 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Yup, the whole point of retiring is doing whatever you want.  With the only person I have to answer to in any way is my wife.

 

Do I get a lollipop or something for having post 1000?

[KBs mum]

2 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I was really talking about Mr. Lanky and his strange story about having a meal with a group, presumably with friends and acquaintances, all of whom tipped, but who stood on his "I don't tip" "principle"    And places where tipping is part of the culture and peoples' income is dependent on tips, but some mounts the "I don't tip" principle.

Nobody has said they don't tip where it is part of the culture, some avoid areas where it is part of the culture to avoid the issue. 

I've also made myself unpopular by not joining in with a group tip. Where it is not a part of everyday expected wages I have no hesitation in not tipping unless service was very good. I would certainly not be bothered either way if somebody tips or not. They may  have lower or higher standards than me

[KBs mum]

10 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Do I get a lollipop or something for having post 1000?

No. But don't blame me, I don't decide on the forum rules🍭🙂

[Peter Lanky]

22 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I was really talking about Mr. Lanky and his strange story about having a meal with a group, presumably with friends and acquaintances, all of whom tipped, but who stood on his "I don't tip" "principle"    And places where tipping is part of the culture and peoples' income is dependent on tips, but some mounts the "I don't tip" principle.

In believe I also said that I would not dance naked on the table if the others decided to do so as it is not standard practice among most people, and before lecturing me on the finer points of public nudity, I am using a humorous analogy to lighten the somewhat serious tone of some of the posts, and have not been in situations where this may occur.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Do I get a lollipop or something for having post 1000?

If there was a lollipop emoji, I would give you one.

 

I was hoping to make the 1000th post, but I see I am way late.😒

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, LGW59 said:

you!

No - there was no “judgement of worth” involved.  I simply said that I thought it was sad for a lot of grown men to spend their free time listing serial numbers on passing railway cars.  
 

Up until I was about 12 years old, I and a number of friends used to hang out by the railroad tracks - listing all the Pullman sleeping cars which passed (every car carried a great name (emblazoned on its side):  a river, a mountain, some geographic oddity, even some historic personality;  we also kept track of freight cars - a great variety of lines: “Pittsburgh and Lake Erie”, “Denver and Rio Grande Western”,  “Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac” — and then by type of car: box car, flat car, gondola, refrigerator, cattle, automobile, tank (with oil company names as varieties). 
 

That pre-adolescent hobby was satisfying — I still think it kind of sad it that  that sort of activity fulfills mature people’s need.

[ilikeanswers]

7 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Here's a tip, if you have any roubles get rid of them quick. This is now worth

-10p. it's worth 50p, minimum fee/ commission is 60p. . . 

Was worth 90p

 

I would also add Ukrainian Hryvna to that list. May not exist at all by the end of the year😂. Unless they become collectors items. 

 

3 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

I think he is talking about getting a hundred bucks or so in dollars to handle these types of incidentals, not getting thousands of dollars and creating currency exchange risks.

 

The smaller the amount it usually is worst value so I would never go to the bank for anything less than a thousand😂. We do have currency exchangers that offer better deals but nothing compared to my cards. These days even if you don't withdraw at the airport you can usually use your card till you reach an ATM and so far I have not had any issues that required me to have cash before leaving the airport. 

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, KBs mum said:

...

Please remember that those advocating against a tip based system are from cultures that work perfectly well without, and where the employee and customer may be on similar wages....

 

 

Remember -- you are on Cruise Critic, discussing tipping on cruises--- are you suggesting that you (customer)and your cabin steward (employee) are in any way "...on similar wages..."?

[lissie]

4 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

 

And tips.

That is pretty much the issue - cashless is walking around all the time with zero cash - can't see that happening in the usa 

[lissie]

5 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I missed the part where you were asked for a tip.  OTOH, since you seem to indicate you knew a tip was indicated, by your looking for an ATM, maybe telling the guy you didn't have any US money and you'd get him on the way back and then following through might have been a better choice.  As it is the driver may have thought that since you were treating his service like it was worthless, he'd give you worthless service.

I was about to spend 6 weeks in the USA -  Iwas looking for ATM for some cash. There wasn't anything at the aiport without a large upfront fee . At the  day hotel there was nothing within walking distance.  He didn't ask on the way in - he  did on the way back - might have been a different guy - have no idea. 

 

His service wasn't worthless - the transfer was included in the cost of the motel.  I'd just forgotten that its the only country in the world you're supposed to tip a taxi 

[lissie]

4 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Wow, sounds like your banks are terrible.  Here, I just go to one if the branches that does forex.  If I want pounds, pesos, or euros they have them.  If I need something a little more exotic like zlotys or forints I might need to come back in a couple of days.  But there is no fee and the exchange rates are  real market rates.

 

And I don't have to tip them to get such excellent service.😜

Well we've had closed borders for 2 years - still closed to non-Kiwis - so there was zero market  for forex  cash - why would they bother holding it? 

 

And yes its a country of 5.5 million- the rates are about 10% worse than market rates plus you pay 1% fee (from memory). I've done for very specific  countries- the last time was 2012 in Myanmar as they had no ATMs at that stage. 

 

I now use a master debit card which allows me to carry balances in multiple currencies 

[ilikeanswers]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Remember -- you are on Cruise Critic, discussing tipping on cruises--- are you suggesting that you (customer)and your cabin steward (employee) are in any way "...on similar wages..."?

 

In Australia they probably earn more than me😂. 

[LGW59]

2 hours ago, lissie said:

I was about to spend 6 weeks in the USA -  Iwas looking for ATM for some cash. There wasn't anything at the aiport without a large upfront fee . At the  day hotel there was nothing within walking distance.  He didn't ask on the way in - he  did on the way back - might have been a different guy - have no idea. 

 

His service wasn't worthless - the transfer was included in the cost of the motel.  I'd just forgotten that its the only country in the world you're supposed to tip a taxi 

Ridiculous 

[KBs mum]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Remember -- you are on Cruise Critic, discussing tipping on cruises--- are you suggesting that you (customer)and your cabin steward (employee) are in any way "...on similar wages..."?

As the cabin stewards on the line I go on are sometimes European, yes. 

Even if from a different part of the world, income is relative. Their pay may be considered higher in their part of the world than my pay is here. They may be well off back home. 

 

To suggest that as they should be grateful for charity in the form of tips instead of getting a mutually agreed higher wage is bordering on offensive. 

 

[ilikeanswers]

4 hours ago, lissie said:

I was about to spend 6 weeks in the USA -  Iwas looking for ATM for some cash. There wasn't anything at the aiport without a large upfront fee . 

 

I have noticed there is more of those "independent" ATMs. Terrible fees, terrible rates 😖. Poland was the worst so many of these ATMs. Good thing now there are apps that can direct you to fee free ATMs.

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, lissie said:

I'd just forgotten that its the only country in the world you're supposed to tip a taxi 

Completely untrue.

[Peter Lanky]

9 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

No - there was no “judgement of worth” involved.  I simply said that I thought it was sad for a lot of grown men to spend their free time listing serial numbers on passing railway cars.  
 

Up until I was about 12 years old, I and a number of friends used to hang out by the railroad tracks - listing all the Pullman sleeping cars which passed (every car carried a great name (emblazoned on its side):  a river, a mountain, some geographic oddity, even some historic personality;  we also kept track of freight cars - a great variety of lines: “Pittsburgh and Lake Erie”, “Denver and Rio Grande Western”,  “Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac” — and then by type of car: box car, flat car, gondola, refrigerator, cattle, automobile, tank (with oil company names as varieties). 
 

That pre-adolescent hobby was satisfying — I still think it kind of sad it that  that sort of activity fulfills mature people’s need.

It is not a hobby that retired people suddenly take up, but generally the same people who did it as 12 year olds 60 years ago when we still had steam locomotives.

Rather than 'fulfilling' their needs, it generally only occupies a small part of their leisure. Many are also volunteers on heritage railways, which are dotted round the country to allow younger people to have the experience of steam as they once did.

 

There are many hobbies that I find rather odd, such as playing bingo, caravanning, watching soap operas, visiting the same holiday destination every year, celebrity worshipping and many more that to me personally seem a waste of fresh air, but I would never consider called those activities sad, when people clearly like doing them.

 

[Peter Lanky]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Completely untrue.

I guess it's down to definition of the words 'supposed to'. I can't answer the question myself as I've not been to every country, but I suspect it may be the only one where it is completely normal and 'expected', where elsewhere it is at the discretion of the customer, though there will be rogue drivers in any country who will give grief to anyone who doesn't. In large cities like London and possibly even Manchester and similar others, it may have become a bit of a habit among hose who use them regularly. Of course people also see it on TV where they often believe everything is real life.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Peter Lanky

[lissie]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Completely untrue.

Really which countries ones would they be? You either pay by the meter/app - or you negotiate up front - I haven't' been to every country but I've been to a fair few. I tip in plenty of countries - but not taxis  

[lissie]

13 minutes ago, Peter Lanky said:

I guess it's down to definition of the words 'supposed to'. I can't answer the question myself as I've not been to every country, but I suspect it may be the only one where it is completely normal and 'expected', where elsewhere it is at the discretion of the customer, though there will be rogue drivers in any country who will give grief to anyone who doesn't. In large cities like London and possibly even Manchester and similar others, it may have become a bit of a habit among hose who use them regularly. Of course people also see it on TV where they often believe everything is real life.

I used to travel in London cabs quite regularly - it was a perk of working late hours in the city. Never tipped - never occurred to me to do so - no driver ever mentioned it. 

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, lissie said:

Really which countries ones would they be? You either pay by the meter/app - or you negotiate up front - I haven't' been to every country but I've been to a fair few. I tip in plenty of countries - but not taxis  

I tip taxis in the UK, France, Spain, Thailand, Australia, the Caribbean etc. Not to the US level, but always something.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

I tip taxis in the UK, France, Spain, Thailand, Australia, the Caribbean etc. Not to the US level, but always something.

 

I can definitely say for Australia it is not normal to tip taxi drivers unless they go beyond their remit and from what my AirBnB hosts me told me in Spain it was not the norm there either. While we didn't end up getting a taxi in France I was advised only in Paris is tipping normal for taxi drivers and it is only one or two Euros. I haven't been Thailand myself but I have a Thai friend who visits family regularly and they don't tip tuk tuk drivers or taxi drivers though they do say tourists tend to tip😂. It seems you are tipping according to what you think is normal not following what the locals are doing. 

Edited March 8, 2022 by ilikeanswers

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I can definitely say for Australia it is not normal to tip taxi drivers unless they go beyond their remit and from what my AirBnB hosts me told me in Spain it was not the norm there either. While we didn't end up getting a taxi in France I was advised only in Paris is tipping normal for taxi drivers and it is only one or two Euros. I haven't been Thailand myself but I have a Thai friend who visits family regularly and they don't tip tuk tuk drivers or taxi drivers though they do say tourists tend to tip😂. It seems you are tipping according to what you think is normal not following what the locals are doing. 

If a taxi fare is €14.70, and I give €15, and don't worry about the change, I am doing no differently to what I have observed locals do throughout the world.