When it comes to holiday tipping and gifts, workers who scrub our floors tend to get more than people who educate our children, according to a survey from Consumer Reports.
Housekeepers receive a median tip of $50, compared with $20 for teachers, the survey found.
What’s more, the survey found a significant drop from the prior year’s survey in the percentage of Americans who gave something to their child’s teacher: 48 percent, down from 60 percent.
Other service providers tend to get tips of between $10 and $20, the survey found.
More than half of Americans said they didn’t tip anyone, and 38 percent didn’t tip any of the providers asked about in the survey. People who didn’t tip tended to say their budgets were too tight (48 percent), or that it’s not customary to tip some service providers (40 percent).
The survey interviewed 2,017 adults in January 2011, and 1,858 had used at least one of the 15 service providers asked about in the survey. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2 percentage points. (A Consumer Reports spokesman says the survey is done immediately after the holiday season while tipping practices are fresh in people’s minds).
Why do you think housekeepers get better tips than schoolteachers? Do people not tip out of concern that teachers will feel insulted? Or is it schools that are asking parents not to give tips or gifts?
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f2fb4230f8976d5042d5d198e53471ee
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.