Don’t know what to tip? Here are some guidelines

Higher tipping should be factored into total cost during the holidays, experts say.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — ’Tis the season to be more giving. But when it comes to holiday tipping for services, many people are still left to wonder just how giving they are expected to be.

Most people already have set practices for routine tipping at places such as restaurants.

Mark Bracalielly, manager at Springfield Grille in Boardman, said those practices don’t have to necessarily change unless the customer has an established personal relationship with a particular server.

“I would say the correct percentage for tipping is 18 percent. I don’t think it should change [during the holidays], but that is up to the customer if they decide to do a little something extra because of the holidays,” he said.

Bracalielly said many people tend to spend more on the actual food during the holidays anyway, increasing the amount of the tip they will ultimately leave for the server.

James Lewis, who has researched tipping and compiled a detailed list of rights and wrongs for tippers, said those planning to splurge on food at restaurants during this time of year should factor in the higher tip with the higher bill.

Lewis said one of the most frequent complaints concerning tipping comes from people who say the service or food was too expensive to leave a matching tip. To this, Lewis says, scale back on the total bill as not to stiff your server — or stay home and cook.

According to Lewis, preparing to offer an additional tip for additional holiday services also applies to other services for which one would normally tip throughout the year, such as hairdressers.

What about those services for which tips are not given throughout the year?

Lewis said the list of people one can possibly tip during the holidays can be quite lengthy, but individuals must remember that offering a tip or gift is still optional.

“Most people, including myself if I had not done the research, would not know all of the people [to be tipped] on that list. Most people know the common things such as restaurant servers. Everything else is just if you really want to do it.”

That list of potential people to tip includes everyone from the garbage collectors to the dog groomer, and from coaches to teachers.

According to www.tipguide.org, special rules may apply to certain members of the service industry such as postal workers.

The site says postal workers are not supposed to accept gifts from outside sources, but may accept snacks and beverages, items with little intrinsic value, perishable items such as flowers, items with a value of $20 or less and gifts motivated by a personal relationship.

Lewis said individuals should not feel guilty about not tipping everyone. He suggests making a list of those one plans to tip and making sure that list falls within budget.

“Whatever you do during the Christmas season, we must remember that we do have a budget,” he said.

jgoodwin@vindy.com