Tipping at Year End

Every December I read articles telling me how much I should tip people like my barber/hair dresser, house cleaner, mailman etc. One article stated that you should tip them what ever the cost of their one time service is. So if a haircut cost $20 dollars, you give the barber a $20 tip in December. Does that mean I give my mailman 42 cents? Maybe we should make it like the income tax system and have progressive tipping. The more you make the more you give with adjustment for dependents and the elderly. I want to know who sits around and fells compelled to tell people how much they should be tipping.

Here is the problem I have with every article I come across. IT IS NOT A TIP. It is a gift for Christmas. Let me just say up front, I am not a Christian complaining that we are taking the “Christ out of Christmas”. The only reason I see that we are so concerned with tipping at year end is because of Christmas. So I say if you do not celebrate Christmas you may not want to give at all. Most people want to give anyway no matter what their religious beliefs are. So if you want to give here is what I think.

I much rather receive a thought out gift from a client than money. I would agree cash is king in most cases, but a gift says that you were truly thinking about the person. I would not put a price on the gift, but say that it should be something the individual may like. My barber likes different kinds of fruits. So I could have picked him up a fruit basket. I say could have because I also took the easy way out and gave cash. Not a lot. I usually give him an extra 3 dollars. This time I gave him 10 dollars. Why 10 dollars? I have no idea it just seemed right to me. But the fact is I was not thinking about him until I needed a haircut, so he got cash. I am sure he is happy with the money but a gift would have made him say wow, that guy remembered me.

Tell me what you think and not what you heard.