Tips for tippers

“I don’t tip,” a table-mate made clear during a travel conversation recently. “I pay for service,” he said.

This primarily North American trait has sneaked its way into some countries but not all of them. Chinese and Japanese can take offense if you try to add a tip to their charge. Most European nations add a service charge so you don’t have to leave them a tip. Italian restaurants do appreciate it if you round out the total on the bill.

But what about paying for service, as our colleague said earlier. He still travels a lot and was referring primarily to housekeepers who attend to the cleanliness of his room when he’s on the road.

This has become significant as reports keep mounting of hotels, inns, B&Bs and the assortment of publicly provided quarters not cleaning their guests’ rooms every day.

If my buddy happens to land in a facility that does not clean its rooms every day, he never leaves a tip. Instead, he leaves that hostelry to find another inn that does clean up daily.

His tip depends on the level of service.

Housekeeping is a dirty, messy but invisible job. If it isn’t done right and regularly, the customer suffers.

If the shower curtain isn’t wiped down, that lowers the tip. Is there still dust under the bed? A smaller tip. How about those dirty windows? If they’re not cleaned, that may be enough to send him on the hunt for temporary quarters elsewhere.

So do sticky TV remotes and a shortage of towels.

If he asks for an extra blanket or more ice, he’ll toss in an extra gratuity when they’re delivered.

He’s also learned tipping staffers early helps guarantee good service for the remainder of his stay. When a request is granted, a thank- you note is wrapped around the tip.

Since he and his family rarely book high-end luxury resorts where tipping can slip over $10 a night, his normal range for a tip is $2 to $5 a day.

He still checks on the tipping rules for whatever region he visits. Some countries still frown on tipping and he wants to avoid offending the service people he counts on to make his visit comfortable.

“Hobbies keep people from suffering depression in the winter months,” McCammon concluded. “We need to be doing something we enjoy and continue to enjoy doing it in all seasons.”

In her free time, McCammon loves to travel, fish, sew and crochet.