[etichi]

Today I had some insulation blown in my attic. Biggest mistake was not to tip the guys up front. I told my buddy and he said, " Yeah I tipped mine 30 each before they set foot in the house and now I have about R50 in my attic. Only paid for R30"


Dammit.

[NYCGarbagePrince]

I carry cash on me for 2 reasons. Tips and Bribes. Anyone performing any service for me that can be influenced by some greasing gets greased.

[BTM]

I know this isn't exactly what you're getting at but here goes anyway:

I'm an administrator for a service/contracting company. While it potentially happens, without us here in the office knowing, if one of our technicians were to accept a tip disciplinary action would be necessary. We expect them provide the same level of service no matter the customer, and to decline tips or "bribes." I also have not read the non-compete clause in the employee contracts recently but I believe accepting cash while representing the company is prohibited in this as well.

If you are overtly pleased with the service, do call and tell us, or even better write an email about how much you appreciated the service (so we have documentation beyond someone taking a phone call), and reward us with more business. Many of our customers request certain techs exclusively, which we also do our best to provide to them. We will definitely let this technician know, and he will continue to uphold this high level of service. This will also likely go further than throwing the guy a $20, as customer satisfaction is factored into our performance reviews and I'd be willing to bet the techs would much rather have a $2.50/hr wage increase than a few extra bucks here and there.

If you have a good, longstanding relationship with a technician who gives you good service, perhaps finding out his favorite drink and giving him a nice holiday gift is a possibility. If you feel you have to tip before receiving service to get satisfactory results, what does that say about the company or person you are hiring for this service?

[NYCGarbagePrince]

Originally Posted by BTM

I know this isn't exactly what you're getting at but here goes anyway:

I'm an administrator for a service/contracting company. While it potentially happens, without us here in the office knowing, if one of our technicians were to accept a tip disciplinary action would be necessary. We expect them provide the same level of service no matter the customer, and to decline tips or "bribes." I also have not read the non-compete clause in the employee contracts recently but I believe accepting cash while representing the company is prohibited in this as well.

If you are overtly pleased with the service, do call and tell us, or even better write an email about how much you appreciated the service (so we have documentation beyond someone taking a phone call), and reward us with more business. Many of our customers request certain techs exclusively, which we also do our best to provide to them. We will definitely let this technician know, and he will continue to uphold this high level of service. This will also likely go further than throwing the guy a $20, as customer satisfaction is factored into our performance reviews and I'd be willing to bet the techs would much rather have a $2.50/hr wage increase than a few extra bucks here and there.

If you have a good, longstanding relationship with a technician who gives you good service, perhaps finding out his favorite drink and giving him a nice holiday gift is a possibility. If you feel you have to tip before receiving service to get satisfactory results, what does that say about the company or person you are hiring for this service?

It's funny you say this. If my guys are caught taking bribes or tips they are disciplined. However, if you think your guys would rather someone make a phone call to their boss over taking a $20.00 tip than your guys are making too much money.

Bribes make the world go round, and everyone has their hand out. Even the city, state, and federal government want their "piece".

[BTM]

Originally Posted by NYCGarbagePrince

It's funny you say this. If my guys are caught taking bribes or tips they are disciplined. However, if you think your guys would rather someone make a phone call to their boss over taking a $20.00 tip than your guys are making too much money.

Bribes make the world go round, and everyone has their hand out. Even the city, state, and federal government want their "piece".

They wouldn't rather have a phone call, they'd rather have a raise, or a nicer bonus. Their wages are set by their union, but there are occasions where we supplement this slightly. If they were just taking a $20 here or there, we would never know the customer's satisfaction. They have to let us know. We don't increase bonuses by the $20, more by the $100-$200 - I know which I'd prefer.

I realize it's a fact of life and very necessary in certain situations and within certain professions. However, in service at least, it has the potential for causing more problems for the tech and his hard work going unnoticed from the admin side. Of course there are plenty of ways around this, give him a nice Christmas gift next time you see him for your winter maintenance. Just some food for thought next time OTers are in this situation

[Feyd]

Honestly at this point in my life I would have never thought that I'd have bribed someone.

But I've done it... several times. *shrug* Sometimes you just have to.

[Freakazoid]

BTM, I see what you're saying in terms of GENERAL tipping, but that actually goes against what the OP posted in terms of benefit to the 'customer' as well. (this is from a customer standpoint, not the service provider).

The OP's point, I think, is that the tip provides you more than just 'good service', but a better/superior product. He's not tipping, he's essentially bribing.
Additionally, from the consumer standpoint, 'bribing'/'extra tipping' is something that gets directly associated to YOU as a customer. Thus giving you, the consumer, extra perks in the future. As a boss, etc, when doing reviews, I also know that sometimes the specific customer is never mentioned.

'bribing' can go a long way.

Now I'm not condoning it, and I'm not saying people shouldn't be disciplined when/if caught, just saying that's the way it works

[Maestro]

From time to time we use a service to delivering groceries, and figure we would tip the person since they probably did not get paid that much. However when we attempted to tip the person they told us they were not allowed to take it. They simply said when the supervisor called just tell them how we felt about their service. They supervisor does in fact call most of the time as a follow up and ask how the person did and did we get everything. A few times they ask if we tipped the person.

I have tipped people for doing good work since I know many times people are not paid that well so the extra does help. However, I like when companies call and ask how their people did and I have no problem saying the did a great job since I know that will go a long way for that person. Plus the companies they do call afterward obviously care about service and it show by the work their people do for you.

I usually never let someone in my home unless they come highly recommended in the first place.

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by Maestro

From time to time we use a service to delivering groceries, and figure we would tip the person since they probably did not get paid that much. However when we attempted to tip the person they told us they were not allowed to take it. They simply said when the supervisor called just tell them how we felt about their service. They supervisor does in fact call most of the time as a follow up and ask how the person did and did we get everything. A few times they ask if we tipped the person.

.

I have had this happen too, more and more frequently recently. Always give glowing recommendations, and/or seek out the supervisor actively