Re: do you tip the shop guys?

I've never heard of tipping a bodyman, especially if you have an open tab where you get billed for total hours worked. However, if you agreed on a certain service at a specific price, an he is going above and beyond, I could see throwing him a little "bonus". If you do pay him a tip, I would do it while there is still some future work to do. That way it will ensure he takes the same pride in his work for the rest of the project.

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

I do tip the guy who did most of the work. The lead guy if you will. If the job has not started yet, I talk to the lead guy and tell him I will take care of him. Any amount is better than NO amount. So that is really up to you. If the job is completed, and your happy, IMO 50.00 is nice. If you talked to the guy before hand and the job comes out as you planned, and you are very happy 100.00. You never know when you may need that guy again. LOL. Just my .02.

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

Drop off a half dozen pizzas around 11 am to your go to guy.He will know who to invite to the pizza party.

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

Keith, It sounds to me as though the person your talking about is an
employee and not the owner. If you feel he has done you some favors
then slip him a cash tip. ($100 ??). Remember though, if you are on a
time and material basis with the shop, this guy will have been paid for
all of the time he spent working on your car. Be a little bit cautious
because the owner(s) may take offense to tipping. Around here tipping
is not normal or expected.

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

I always take care of the people that take care of me... I drop my car at the dealer... Get it back it's run right ... I pickup a bottle of jack the next day and given it to the mechanic that did the work... Now when I go for warranty work the mechanic takes care of me....

The shop that was doing the work gave me a flat rate...I came in a few times to check on progress and brought lunch for the shop.... The day I got hit by the car was the day they painted it... They did not have to assemble the car as I only hired them to do the body work and paint... When I went to pick it up with the tow truck... I noticed that the car was wet sanded and most of the trim was back on.... Paid the owner what we agreed on...and asked him if I owed him anything extra for the wet sand , buff and assembly.. He informed me the shop guys did it on there own time to help me out..I gave the head shop guy in front of the other 2 employees an extra 450.00 to split among themselves...

I believe you always take care of the people that take care of you... Especially if you are happy with them and intend to use them again...

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

It never hurts to tip. I bought lunch for the guys at the shop who helped me work on mine plus worked on their vehicles if asked, barter system works very well.

Just put yourself in their position.

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

I say the best bet is buy the shop pizza one day for lunch.. Use it as a chance to eat with everyone and get to know them all.
Not all that expensive, and it's more a personal thing than it is a tip.

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

My local tire store includes flat fixes free with a set of tires. I've tipped the guy who actually does the work and gets dirty because he's there everyday with a great attitude. Service like that deserves reward.

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

All body-men love whiskey.

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

It isn't expected, but it is definitely appreciated.

Like has been mentioned and as I've experienced, a little cash in a thank you card, a couple pizzas for lunch... yeah, it's a nice gesture. But it's completely up to you if you want to do something like that. They won't think any less of you if you don't, but will take notice if you do.

 

Re: do you tip the shop guys?

We do not have tipping in NZ
We do appreciate a good job or someone has helped out or gone the bit extra.
If its the paper boy, the mechanic, or the builder, never hurts to throw a few pizzas for lunch, drop off a few beers, or a few bucks for the paper boy.

Thats not tipping, its just appreciation....something that one just does...stuff edicite.

 

As a remodeling carpenter I never expect to be tipped. In the past ten years I've gotten a few from customers that felt I did a better job than they expected. It came a s a complete surprise to me and really made me feel good. I got a gift basket made by one of the clients full of kitchen gadgets from Wilton Industries. That one made one hell of an impression on my wife!

If you feel this employee is going above and beyond I would tip him for sure. If you know enough about him to give him something that he will keep I'd do that first, if not cash. I don't appreciate alcohol as gifts.

Jeff

 

Jeff above pretty well sums it up from the tradesman point of veiw
And the bottle wiskey....yeah quietly check that out before doing it.

Appreciation has itsa ;kick backs 'as well
Sometime in the future you need something done...your job sort of gets put up the list a bit sort of thing.

Down theworkshop, at least once a week we have customers...(the local bakery) drop off a few savouries for morning tea, and retired old ladies from the retirement units down the roaddrop off hot fresh made scones and muffins.

Why? because we change a light bulb for them, check their tyres, stuff like that and dont charge.
Retail service industry in NZ has been hit hard..not as hard as the US, but there are a lot of emty shops/factories around....sure we have slowed down some months only a bit above break even.....but these little services certainly bring in more new customers, keep the old ones.....and a couple times a week realy nice morning teas and lunches lol
An old saying...
"A LITTLE appreciation goes a long way"

 

Not everyone does alcohol or would find that rewarding, but everyone eats.

A gift card to a restaurant (that you can buy everywhere now) where the wife of the worker can also benefit. A win-win situation.

 

I'd stop in to see my car once or maybe twice a week. There were a buch of guys working on it and most didnt speak english well. I brought pizza and dunkin donuts for the guys here and there and gave a couple of the main guys a couple bucks here and there. Believe me they appreciated it. Car came out great. Doesnt hurt to be nice to the guys who are taking care of your car.

 

I never thought of tipping because I was writing a big check to them every week and didn't have the extra money for tips.

Roger

 

Its not about the money or how much, ...hell call in just before morning tea or lunch, make the coffees, have a bit of a chin wagg about the game on Sat, do the dishes and wipe the table when they go back to work....
Its not a tip, is a sign of appreciation.

Some one in a rescent post described a description of NZ like the US in the 1950s....A time when people showed appreciation more often than have a bitch...

 

I have been in the industry for 23 years,done lots of show cars etc.It is one hell of a compliment for someone to recognize your work and compliment you on a job well done.Pizza for the shop,or a case of beer is nice.But what I like is when the owner brings the car back to show you when it is finished,a nice framed picture of the car(especially if it wins trophies) andmost importantly takes the guy or guys for a ride,that is the most rewarding thing for me

 

Tipping has basically created a monster. Used to, people did the job they were paid to do the best they could. A handshake still meant something even if there wasn't something in the palm. Then tipping came along and failure to give one gave a person who was still getting paid the right to not give a ****. It's basically bribery. You don't have to agree with it, but just think about it. And yeah, I tip when I feel it's appropriate but if you do it after the job then who's to say what you got?

I'm a hypocrite though. Every year that I don't get a raise regardless of performance I just say to hell with it....there's no incentive to do anything any better so why bother.

 

Steiner...I Kind of agree with you... I usually go see the car and let the guys know that if they do a good job for me they would be taken care of..... Because I like you believe that most people(not all people) have lost pride in there work and do just what has to be done to pass...it's a sad state.. I've seen it with my friends in there shop... I've seen mechanics check a no start fix it and send the car out clacking away down 3 quarts of oil because they were not being paid to check the oil...

Kind of what I have always thought...most people spend more time trying to get out of work than would of taken them to just do it right the first time...

I'm in the process of looking for someone to install the interior of my car... And for the life of me I can't think of anyone that I would trust to do it right and not damage anything...


And I really don't see anyway of improving things.. I mean if this economy hasn't weeded out those people... I can't see how things would ever improve...









QUOTE=Steiner;1541573]Tipping has basically created a monster. Used to, people did the job they were paid to do the best they could. A handshake still meant something even if there wasn't something in the palm. Then tipping came along and failure to give one gave a person who was still getting paid the right to not give a ****. It's basically bribery. You don't have to agree with it, but just think about it. And yeah, I tip when I feel it's appropriate but if you do it after the job then who's to say what you got?

I'm a hypocrite though. Every year that I don't get a raise regardless of performance I just say to hell with it....there's no incentive to do anything any better so why bother.[/QUOTE]

 

Before tipping a worker talk to the shops owner or foreman, some shops take a negative view on employees getting anything "under the table" while on the clock. What I usually do is talk to the owner and then show up a week or so after my car was done on a Friday afternoon ~4:30pm with beers for the crew. It's a small gesture that shows the workers you appreciate their efforts.

 

I don't totally understand tipping? I mean, when I get my hair cut its $15.00, I feel like they are expecting $20.00. Why not just charge $20.00? Then I'm worried that If I tip to much it will always be expected, and If I don't tip enough then they may cut my ear. When I go get my tires rotated and it's $10.00 bucks, I don't give the tire rotator $5.00?

 

I went on a cruise for my honeymoon, back in 1980. We were given some guidelines for tipping, which is done at the end of the cruise. I had prepared envelopes for all the appropriate people, and was ready to dole them out. The waiter was great, and I tipped him more than the guideline; however, the matre' d, whom I did not see all week, stopped by the table during the last meal, and wanted to know if he could help us in any way....halfway through the last meal, what could he possibly do to help! Then, he was standing at the doorway on the way out, practically with his hand out. That really irked me, so I stuck the envelope back in my pocket. Call me cheap, if you want, but I'd rather be cheap than a chump.

As for my car, the painter did my car in his own shop, but had lost his job at the local dealership. It was Christmas, and he had young kids. I gave him $300 to make sure Santa would stop at his house. Tip? Not really, but I know he appreciated it.

 

I also don't get the necessity to tip in alot of situations. It's one thing when a server in a restaurant gets a small base salary and depends on tips to get their full pay. When you enter into an agreement, however, with someone to do certain work for a certain price, if each party gets what they agreed upon, that should be good enough. If I got lesser quality work from someone because they didn't get something extra above the agreed price, I am doing business at the wrong place.

Where I work, they hand out out little trinkets such as lottery tickets and free lunches to the employees. Not going above and beyond, but for just doing their job they way the are supposed to. That's what it has come down to. Having to bribe people with something extra to do the job they are getting paid for in the first place.

 

Sometimes I tip, sometimes I do not. It depends on the situation.
I tried tipping the guy who rebuilt my transmission. He did such a great job, had it done sooner than expected and even painted it for me. He did some extra stuff that was not in the original quote, but he didn't charge me for it. He said he did it because he wanted to.
He refused the tip. I insisted he take it, but he still refused. I think just the offer of a tip meant a lot to him.