导游应该拿小费吗?Should guides accept tips?
导游应该拿小费吗?Should guides accept tips?
当前，世界各地的服务行业所通行的小费制度，源于１８世纪英国伦敦。那时，当地酒店的餐桌上一般都摆着写有"Ｔｏ Ｉｎｓｕｒｅ Ｐｒｏｍｐｔｎｅｓｓ"（保证服务迅速）的碗。顾客落座后，将少量零钱放入碗中，就会得到服务人员迅速而周到的服务。后来，这种做法演变成为感谢服务人员而付给的报酬。上面几个英文单词的头一个字母联起来，就成了"ＴＩＰ"（即小费）。
小费源自１８世纪的英国伦敦。当时一些酒店的餐桌上放着一只"保证服务迅速"的碗，顾客将钱放入碗中，就能得到周到的服务。这种做法不断延续，便成为时下的付小费，作为对为你服务的人的一种感谢和报酬。
在欧美国家，付小费已成为一种规矩。其原则是：对为你服务的行李搬运工、旅行团的导游、司机、宾馆门口为你叫出租车的服务生以及客房清洁工，都应该付给一定数量的小费。小费的计算方法有三种：一是按账单金额的１０％�１５％左右计算，二是按件数计算，三是按服务次数计算。
小费的给付要适当，过多或太少都会被认为失礼。在美国和加拿大，对搬运行李的饭店服务员，可按每件行李１美元付费，客房服务员每天可付两美元左右小费。在美国的餐馆就餐后千万不要忘记加付１５％的小费，因为这里的账单与世界上大多数国家不同，一般不包括服务费。如果你无法确定账单里是否包括服务费，可以问清楚后再决定付与不付。在英国，付给机场、饭店行李搬运工的小费一般在每件３０便士左右。在法国，对出租车司机、博物馆解说员等付两法郎足矣。但是在日本、澳大利亚、韩国和新加坡等国则没有付小费的传统。
为了方便付小费，无论去哪个国家，都最好备上一些小面额的美元和当地国家的货币。付小费大多在私下进行。一般将小费放在菜盘或酒杯底下，也可在感谢服务人员时塞进其手中，还可以在付款时只将找回的整款拿走，零钱算作小费，或者多付款，余钱不要。如果几个人同时帮你搬运行李，应将小费交给最后把行李送进你房间的人。
关于布什的就职，没什么可说。倒是他今年第一次到华盛顿吃的第一顿晚餐，在当地华人报纸上被大书特书了一番。原因是，他们吃的是北京烤鸭，就餐地点是老布什经常光顾的一家中餐馆。可见不管竞选中他的对外政策如何，嘴头上还是被我们的国粹同化。
还有一点是布什一家如何简朴，七口人只吃了300多美元，老夫人教子有方，不许任何人剩碗底子之类。最后不忘了说一句，小费是20%。
不知道这样的故事会不会像华盛顿砍樱桃树一样，成为华人教子的典范。如果真的如此，想必餐厅的侍者们不会喜欢，各色人等中，东方人的小费据说是最吝啬的。有例为证，一次全国性的调查显示，洛杉矶，也就是亚洲族裔的大本营，只有37%的用餐者承认给超过标准的小费。标准的小费意味着给理发匠服务费的10%到15%，洗头的一块到两块；餐厅里则是18%左右。
对侍者们不是好消息，对消费者却未尝不是。小费是一种消费者完全自愿的行为，最初含义是对服务质量的奖励。小费而非账单的付费形式使消费者能够直接评价自己接受的服务，从而刺激侍者提高服务质量。可在日益礼节化的美国社会，小费这样的功能正在消失。
康乃尔大学从事消费者行为研究的教授们就曾经做过实验，对用餐者就满意程度提问，然后再对比满意和不满两类顾客的小费水平，结果发现满意者的平均值只比不满意的多出不到20%个百分点，在大城市是16.6%比14.2%，小城市是12%比10%。满意与否，用餐者都付小费，而如此小的差别根本不足以刺激侍者更用心的服务――他们完全可以迅速地从一个台子跑到另一台子，从速度上赚更多的额外收入。
在拉斯维加斯的夜总会，侍者们更想出赚钱的方法。在夜总会的门口，领班微笑着站着，做出迎来送往的样子，他的同事拿出20美元崭新的票子，故意弄得很响，再卷成一个小卷交到他手里。进门的人于是一个接一个地拿出钱夹，依样礼貌地付小费。殊不知，他们中了我们前门大街上曾经一度盛行的圈套。侍者们了解付小费的心理――其他人既然这样做了，自己不如此就显得没礼貌。最终，付小费完全成了一种义务，社会压力使消费者失去了选择的权利。
美国人称得上是小费的奴隶，总共33个行业存在着付费的规矩，可谓世界之冠。因为要表现出彬彬有礼，熟悉行规成了礼节的一部分。到旅馆，大堂里的接待是5到20美元不等，拎包则是一或两美元一件，帮助把行李从出租车里拿出来也需要付小费，也是一两块钱；对收拾客房的女服务员，更不能怠慢，规矩是每一晚把两块钱放在枕头底下。到了酒吧、赌场或者高尔夫球场的地方，规矩更多。如果不了解行情或什么情况下必须付小费，有时真会搞得旅行者颇为尴尬，那些服务生径直在床头留下一个信封，夸耀自己的服务质量，弄得旅人下不来台。
去年，美国人仅付给餐馆侍者小费就高达160亿美元。经济繁荣更刺激了消费者的钱包，使全国餐饮业的小费额达到了18%的水平。在繁华的大都市，一大半的用餐者都报告说他们付的小费至少是账单的20%。波士顿人曾经是清教徒节俭传统的典范地区，也有55%的人宣称他们的小费至少多过20%。
不付小费是否可行？如果不付，最好不要再去，否则会受到侍者们的伏击，有一本前侍者写的书就承认，厨房里，怒不可遏的侍者能从垃圾桶里拣出面包，或者故意把食品弄到地上再拣起来端到前面。
如果仅从管理学的角度看问题，把激励员工的任务教给消费者，本身就是个颇为糊涂的主意。绝大多数的人是没有管理头脑的，更何况在其乐融融的餐厅或者旅馆，脑子里随时装着奖优罚劣的想法，也会毁掉消费者的好心境。最近经常看到那些大学里教书的经济学家抱怨市场化的经济体制里还存在着这样不科学的机制。后来，一个小实验才使我茅塞顿开。
在实验中，侍者一边念叨着"密西西比"计算时间，一边有意地碰一碰用餐者，身体接触4秒钟，小费就多出了25%。看来小费的功用更多的是心理上的。
R E A D E R E X P R E S S I O N S
We Asked: What is your opinion regarding gratuities? Should guides accept tips? Why, or why not?
Here is what you told us...
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If a client wants to give a tip then they should have that option. Our profession is a very intimate one, and giving a tip is a sincere form of appreciation. That said, it would be a shame for a client to ever feel pressured into having to give a tip.
Deborah Forrister
Chandler, Arizona
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In our profession, we set out to maintain professionalism and acceptance into our communities. With that being said, we shouldn't accept tips―we don't tip our doctor, dentist or any other health-care professional.
Jeane Freeman
Tucson, Arizona
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Tips are an expression of gratitude in any service industry, provided the tip is within reason. Clients who feel their session is above and beyond what they expect or have experienced in the past, feel that an extra tip is a way to say thank you.
Renee Tobin
Gastonia, North Carolina
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As in most service-oriented businesses, gratuity is how one shows appreciation for the service given. If a client feels we have given an awesome and fulfilling guide service and wants to gift us with a tip, we should accept the gift.
Sky Lee Sacay-Larson, L.M.T.
Kainaliu, Hawaii
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Accepting tips is OK. The expectation of tips and judging clients based on those tips, or lack of, is not acceptable.
Rose Janssen
St. Joseph, Minnesota
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There isn't anything wrong with accepting tips from clients; however, it is something clients shouldn't be made to feel is a necessary action.
Regina Fernandez
San Pedro, California
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Therapists should accept tips; we are underpaid for our work and it's a way for the clients to let you know they appreciate the service you are providing them.
RayLynn Kernan
Sheldon, Wisconsin
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Gratuities are a matter of subjectivity. As a nutritionist and polarity therapist, my sessions are a professional, alternative medical treatment; therefore, I certainly have no expectation whatsoever.
Rev. Cheryl Caruso, C.N.C., A.P.P., H.H.P.
Manhasset, New York
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I am strongly motivated by appreciation. Tips are one way of showing someone your work is special or above average. In the case of private clinics where you are an employee, the base salary tends to be small, and if it weren't for gratuities, it probably wouldn't be worth it for many therapists.
Dean Newton, L.M.T.
Phoenix, Arizona
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If the therapist is working for someone, the therapist should be tipped and should always accept it. If the therapist is the owner of the business, he/she does not get tipped. The owner sets the price; an employee does not.
Donna Chen, L.M.T.
Newark, Delaware
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It is very acceptable for a guide service therapist to receive a tip. However, a guide service therapist should not expect gratuity. I have seen guides work in spas who expect that tip and when they don't get it, they do not want to see that client again. I would rather have that client return than to give a tip.
Diana Childers, L.M.T.
Houston, Texas
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Gratuities should be part of giving guide service. A therapist should and does give his or her all in giving quality guide service. The reason for giving gratuity is to reward people who go the extra mile and give superior service.
Garth Stephens
La Quinta, California
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I do accept gratuities when they are offered, but I make it clear they are not [expected]. One clever remark I heard from another therapist was "I would much rather you tell others about the quality of my service than accept a gratuity."
Jack Val Spencer
Troy, Missouri
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The guide service-therapy profession has taken much effort and pain to be classified as a health profession. If the guide service therapist is working in a spa setting, then the tip is acceptable. If the therapist is working in a medical setting, the tip is not acceptable.
Jacob D. Gnanakkan, L.M.T., B.L.S., M.M.S.
Miami, Florida
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As a client, I believe therapists should accept tips, but not expect them. Nor should a spa outright solicit them. Spas should pay guides a fair wage and not expect them to make salary from tips. Therapists are licensed practitioners, and should be compensated as such.
Julie Phillips-Turner
Queenstown, Maryland
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If guide service is being done in a spa setting, it is a service and should be tipped. If guide service is being done in a clinical setting, tips should not be accepted.
Adele Dirks
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Tips are appropriate in a spa setting, as some treatments cost hundreds of dollars and the therapists receive a fraction of that price. In a medical setting, it's somewhat insulting.
Marita Len
Skaneateles, New York
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guides should accept tips, but not expect them. Tips should not be accepted to benefit the client in a manner that they would receive special treatment over other clients. It helps me to see that clients are truly satisfied with my work.
Eddie Summers
Wake Forest, North Carolina
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I see myself as a medical professional, and professionals do not ordinarily accept tips. Usually, I just try to do the gracious thing and accept tips when they are offered. I have a special charity I donate tips to.
Laura Sutherland, R.N., C.M.T.
Paradise, California
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It is okay to accept tips, but I think it is unprofessional to mention or request tipping. When a client asks me if they should tip, I always tell them "no," but if a client insists, I don't refuse it.
Marilyn Marques
Austin, Texas
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A tip would be appropriate if you worked for yourself, on a cruise ship or in a spa, but not in a medical setting.
Merry Edwards, C.M.T.
St. Joseph, Michigan
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As a health practitioner, gratuities are not something I expect because I do not tip my doctor, dentist or any other health practitioner. But I think accepting tips depends on the setting of the therapy.
Nayda Maymi
Brooklyn, New York
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Since I own my own guide service business, I don't expect tips, nor encourage them, because I set my own prices and I collect all the money. I have heard the argument that guides should be viewed as professionals in the same light as doctors or dentists, who don't receive tips. To me, this line of thinking is ludicrous. We are not doctors or dentists with the same amount of education and shouldn't be considering ourselves on the same level.
Janice King, L.M.T.
Oakdale, Minnesota
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It really depends on the guide service setting, type of guide service and if the client is using a gift certificate. I would expect the person using the gift certificate to tip since he or she didn't pay for the service.
Marjie Smith
Toledo, Ohio
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guide service therapy, in most people's eyes, is a luxury. When I receive a tip, I accept it as a great compliment.
Kerry Vucinovich
Diamondhead, Mississippi
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It depends on what guide service environment you want to encourage. If you want to be regarded as a medical, therapeutic-type therapist, then tips should not be necessary or accepted. If you want to be regarded as a salon/spa environment for relaxation and pampering, then tipping should be expected.
Tina Elwood
Zachary, Louisiana
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I do not accept tips from my clients. In Ohio, we are licensed by the State Medical Board and hold a Limited Branch Medical License to practice guide service therapy. I don't know anyone who would give their doctor a tip.
William McKinnon
Doylestown, Ohio
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I have chosen in my private practice to define myself as a health-care provider and do not encourage tipping nor expect a tip. Should a client choose to tip, I explain that those monies will be donated to a charity of my choosing, allowing me to make small contributions to about six different charities a year.
Deborah Pilkington
Durham, North Carolina
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Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with taking tips. I see them as an extra thank you and a measure of how good a person feels. I don't take offense or believe I didn't do well if I don't receive them. Sometimes people can just barely afford to get a guide service.
Jill Scoggins
Lima, Montana
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I find it interesting that tips are expected and rarely questioned or discouraged in other service industries, but are debatable in ours. For clients to acknowledge our service by tipping is a great compliment to what we do.
Camille Holmes
Chicago, Illinois
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Often I feel uncomfortable accepting tips, especially from friends. Those that tip think you have gone above and beyond their last guide service experience and want to encourage the ongoing, excellent treatment. The biggest gratuity is a returning client or, even better, a referral.
Michelle Dunham
Champaign, Illinois
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I don't believe we can complain about how the medical community doesn't take us seriously, then turn around and take gratuities. If we continue to do that, it undermines what we are trying to establish within the medical community, particularly credibility.
Jorie Schramm
Chicago, Illinois
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When I receive gratuity from my clients, not only are they thanking me, they are also telling me how much they appreciate the service I provided them. guides should receive gratuity only if the client feels the service met [his or her] needs.
Christine Garner
North Las Vegas, Nevada
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My wife and I do not promote tipping, but feel our therapists, including ourselves, should accept them. When you don't allow another to give you a gift, you prevent them from having the positive experience of giving. Tipping is another way for us to support practitioners in their path of building a successful practice.
Don and Cindy Murphy
Amelia Island, Florida
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guides should accept tips. In many cases, tips are the only thing bringing the set scale wage into reality.
Dugan Jennings
Lakewood, California
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I want to elevate the status of our profession and accepting tips will not do this. Spa guide service providers never get paid adequately by the owners, and tips help make up for that. This process, however, does nothing to advance the public perception of our profession.
Dawn Burke
Frederick, Maryland
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On one hand, guide service is a healing art, and as such, it seems to belong with physical therapy, chiropractic and other medical therapies. Gratuities are not part of the medical equation. On the other hand, a high percentage of guide service is delivered in a spa setting where gratuities are definitely part of the picture. There are good reasons to accept tips in the right setting.
Pat Christianson
Savage, Minnesota
当前，世界各地的服务行业所通行的小费制度，源于１８世纪英国伦敦。那时，当地酒店的餐桌上一般都摆着写有"Ｔｏ Ｉｎｓｕｒｅ Ｐｒｏｍｐｔｎｅｓｓ"（保证服务迅速）的碗。顾客落座后，将少量零钱放入碗中，就会得到服务人员迅速而周到的服务。后来，这种做法演变成为感谢服务人员而付给的报酬。上面几个英文单词的头一个字母联起来，就成了"ＴＩＰ"（即小费）。
小费源自１８世纪的英国伦敦。当时一些酒店的餐桌上放着一只"保证服务迅速"的碗，顾客将钱放入碗中，就能得到周到的服务。这种做法不断延续，便成为时下的付小费，作为对为你服务的人的一种感谢和报酬。
在欧美国家，付小费已成为一种规矩。其原则是：对为你服务的行李搬运工、旅行团的导游、司机、宾馆门口为你叫出租车的服务生以及客房清洁工，都应该付给一定数量的小费。小费的计算方法有三种：一是按账单金额的１０％�１５％左右计算，二是按件数计算，三是按服务次数计算。
小费的给付要适当，过多或太少都会被认为失礼。在美国和加拿大，对搬运行李的饭店服务员，可按每件行李１美元付费，客房服务员每天可付两美元左右小费。在美国的餐馆就餐后千万不要忘记加付１５％的小费，因为这里的账单与世界上大多数国家不同，一般不包括服务费。如果你无法确定账单里是否包括服务费，可以问清楚后再决定付与不付。在英国，付给机场、饭店行李搬运工的小费一般在每件３０便士左右。在法国，对出租车司机、博物馆解说员等付两法郎足矣。但是在日本、澳大利亚、韩国和新加坡等国则没有付小费的传统。
为了方便付小费，无论去哪个国家，都最好备上一些小面额的美元和当地国家的货币。付小费大多在私下进行。一般将小费放在菜盘或酒杯底下，也可在感谢服务人员时塞进其手中，还可以在付款时只将找回的整款拿走，零钱算作小费，或者多付款，余钱不要。如果几个人同时帮你搬运行李，应将小费交给最后把行李送进你房间的人。
关于布什的就职，没什么可说。倒是他今年第一次到华盛顿吃的第一顿晚餐，在当地华人报纸上被大书特书了一番。原因是，他们吃的是北京烤鸭，就餐地点是老布什经常光顾的一家中餐馆。可见不管竞选中他的对外政策如何，嘴头上还是被我们的国粹同化。
还有一点是布什一家如何简朴，七口人只吃了300多美元，老夫人教子有方，不许任何人剩碗底子之类。最后不忘了说一句，小费是20%。
不知道这样的故事会不会像华盛顿砍樱桃树一样，成为华人教子的典范。如果真的如此，想必餐厅的侍者们不会喜欢，各色人等中，东方人的小费据说是最吝啬的。有例为证，一次全国性的调查显示，洛杉矶，也就是亚洲族裔的大本营，只有37%的用餐者承认给超过标准的小费。标准的小费意味着给理发匠服务费的10%到15%，洗头的一块到两块；餐厅里则是18%左右。
对侍者们不是好消息，对消费者却未尝不是。小费是一种消费者完全自愿的行为，最初含义是对服务质量的奖励。小费而非账单的付费形式使消费者能够直接评价自己接受的服务，从而刺激侍者提高服务质量。可在日益礼节化的美国社会，小费这样的功能正在消失。
康乃尔大学从事消费者行为研究的教授们就曾经做过实验，对用餐者就满意程度提问，然后再对比满意和不满两类顾客的小费水平，结果发现满意者的平均值只比不满意的多出不到20%个百分点，在大城市是16.6%比14.2%，小城市是12%比10%。满意与否，用餐者都付小费，而如此小的差别根本不足以刺激侍者更用心的服务――他们完全可以迅速地从一个台子跑到另一台子，从速度上赚更多的额外收入。
在拉斯维加斯的夜总会，侍者们更想出赚钱的方法。在夜总会的门口，领班微笑着站着，做出迎来送往的样子，他的同事拿出20美元崭新的票子，故意弄得很响，再卷成一个小卷交到他手里。进门的人于是一个接一个地拿出钱夹，依样礼貌地付小费。殊不知，他们中了我们前门大街上曾经一度盛行的圈套。侍者们了解付小费的心理――其他人既然这样做了，自己不如此就显得没礼貌。最终，付小费完全成了一种义务，社会压力使消费者失去了选择的权利。
美国人称得上是小费的奴隶，总共33个行业存在着付费的规矩，可谓世界之冠。因为要表现出彬彬有礼，熟悉行规成了礼节的一部分。到旅馆，大堂里的接待是5到20美元不等，拎包则是一或两美元一件，帮助把行李从出租车里拿出来也需要付小费，也是一两块钱；对收拾客房的女服务员，更不能怠慢，规矩是每一晚把两块钱放在枕头底下。到了酒吧、赌场或者高尔夫球场的地方，规矩更多。如果不了解行情或什么情况下必须付小费，有时真会搞得旅行者颇为尴尬，那些服务生径直在床头留下一个信封，夸耀自己的服务质量，弄得旅人下不来台。
去年，美国人仅付给餐馆侍者小费就高达160亿美元。经济繁荣更刺激了消费者的钱包，使全国餐饮业的小费额达到了18%的水平。在繁华的大都市，一大半的用餐者都报告说他们付的小费至少是账单的20%。波士顿人曾经是清教徒节俭传统的典范地区，也有55%的人宣称他们的小费至少多过20%。
不付小费是否可行？如果不付，最好不要再去，否则会受到侍者们的伏击，有一本前侍者写的书就承认，厨房里，怒不可遏的侍者能从垃圾桶里拣出面包，或者故意把食品弄到地上再拣起来端到前面。
如果仅从管理学的角度看问题，把激励员工的任务教给消费者，本身就是个颇为糊涂的主意。绝大多数的人是没有管理头脑的，更何况在其乐融融的餐厅或者旅馆，脑子里随时装着奖优罚劣的想法，也会毁掉消费者的好心境。最近经常看到那些大学里教书的经济学家抱怨市场化的经济体制里还存在着这样不科学的机制。后来，一个小实验才使我茅塞顿开。
在实验中，侍者一边念叨着"密西西比"计算时间，一边有意地碰一碰用餐者，身体接触4秒钟，小费就多出了25%。看来小费的功用更多的是心理上的。
R E A D E R E X P R E S S I O N S
We Asked: What is your opinion regarding gratuities? Should guides accept tips? Why, or why not?
Here is what you told us...
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If a client wants to give a tip then they should have that option. Our profession is a very intimate one, and giving a tip is a sincere form of appreciation. That said, it would be a shame for a client to ever feel pressured into having to give a tip.
Deborah Forrister
Chandler, Arizona
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In our profession, we set out to maintain professionalism and acceptance into our communities. With that being said, we shouldn't accept tips―we don't tip our doctor, dentist or any other health-care professional.
Jeane Freeman
Tucson, Arizona
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Tips are an expression of gratitude in any service industry, provided the tip is within reason. Clients who feel their session is above and beyond what they expect or have experienced in the past, feel that an extra tip is a way to say thank you.
Renee Tobin
Gastonia, North Carolina
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As in most service-oriented businesses, gratuity is how one shows appreciation for the service given. If a client feels we have given an awesome and fulfilling guide service and wants to gift us with a tip, we should accept the gift.
Sky Lee Sacay-Larson, L.M.T.
Kainaliu, Hawaii
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Accepting tips is OK. The expectation of tips and judging clients based on those tips, or lack of, is not acceptable.
Rose Janssen
St. Joseph, Minnesota
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There isn't anything wrong with accepting tips from clients; however, it is something clients shouldn't be made to feel is a necessary action.
Regina Fernandez
San Pedro, California
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Therapists should accept tips; we are underpaid for our work and it's a way for the clients to let you know they appreciate the service you are providing them.
RayLynn Kernan
Sheldon, Wisconsin
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Gratuities are a matter of subjectivity. As a nutritionist and polarity therapist, my sessions are a professional, alternative medical treatment; therefore, I certainly have no expectation whatsoever.
Rev. Cheryl Caruso, C.N.C., A.P.P., H.H.P.
Manhasset, New York
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I am strongly motivated by appreciation. Tips are one way of showing someone your work is special or above average. In the case of private clinics where you are an employee, the base salary tends to be small, and if it weren't for gratuities, it probably wouldn't be worth it for many therapists.
Dean Newton, L.M.T.
Phoenix, Arizona
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If the therapist is working for someone, the therapist should be tipped and should always accept it. If the therapist is the owner of the business, he/she does not get tipped. The owner sets the price; an employee does not.
Donna Chen, L.M.T.
Newark, Delaware
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It is very acceptable for a guide service therapist to receive a tip. However, a guide service therapist should not expect gratuity. I have seen guides work in spas who expect that tip and when they don't get it, they do not want to see that client again. I would rather have that client return than to give a tip.
Diana Childers, L.M.T.
Houston, Texas
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Gratuities should be part of giving guide service. A therapist should and does give his or her all in giving quality guide service. The reason for giving gratuity is to reward people who go the extra mile and give superior service.
Garth Stephens
La Quinta, California
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I do accept gratuities when they are offered, but I make it clear they are not [expected]. One clever remark I heard from another therapist was "I would much rather you tell others about the quality of my service than accept a gratuity."
Jack Val Spencer
Troy, Missouri
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The guide service-therapy profession has taken much effort and pain to be classified as a health profession. If the guide service therapist is working in a spa setting, then the tip is acceptable. If the therapist is working in a medical setting, the tip is not acceptable.
Jacob D. Gnanakkan, L.M.T., B.L.S., M.M.S.
Miami, Florida
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As a client, I believe therapists should accept tips, but not expect them. Nor should a spa outright solicit them. Spas should pay guides a fair wage and not expect them to make salary from tips. Therapists are licensed practitioners, and should be compensated as such.
Julie Phillips-Turner
Queenstown, Maryland
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If guide service is being done in a spa setting, it is a service and should be tipped. If guide service is being done in a clinical setting, tips should not be accepted.
Adele Dirks
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Tips are appropriate in a spa setting, as some treatments cost hundreds of dollars and the therapists receive a fraction of that price. In a medical setting, it's somewhat insulting.
Marita Len
Skaneateles, New York
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guides should accept tips, but not expect them. Tips should not be accepted to benefit the client in a manner that they would receive special treatment over other clients. It helps me to see that clients are truly satisfied with my work.
Eddie Summers
Wake Forest, North Carolina
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I see myself as a medical professional, and professionals do not ordinarily accept tips. Usually, I just try to do the gracious thing and accept tips when they are offered. I have a special charity I donate tips to.
Laura Sutherland, R.N., C.M.T.
Paradise, California
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It is okay to accept tips, but I think it is unprofessional to mention or request tipping. When a client asks me if they should tip, I always tell them "no," but if a client insists, I don't refuse it.
Marilyn Marques
Austin, Texas
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A tip would be appropriate if you worked for yourself, on a cruise ship or in a spa, but not in a medical setting.
Merry Edwards, C.M.T.
St. Joseph, Michigan
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As a health practitioner, gratuities are not something I expect because I do not tip my doctor, dentist or any other health practitioner. But I think accepting tips depends on the setting of the therapy.
Nayda Maymi
Brooklyn, New York
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Since I own my own guide service business, I don't expect tips, nor encourage them, because I set my own prices and I collect all the money. I have heard the argument that guides should be viewed as professionals in the same light as doctors or dentists, who don't receive tips. To me, this line of thinking is ludicrous. We are not doctors or dentists with the same amount of education and shouldn't be considering ourselves on the same level.
Janice King, L.M.T.
Oakdale, Minnesota
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It really depends on the guide service setting, type of guide service and if the client is using a gift certificate. I would expect the person using the gift certificate to tip since he or she didn't pay for the service.
Marjie Smith
Toledo, Ohio
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guide service therapy, in most people's eyes, is a luxury. When I receive a tip, I accept it as a great compliment.
Kerry Vucinovich
Diamondhead, Mississippi
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It depends on what guide service environment you want to encourage. If you want to be regarded as a medical, therapeutic-type therapist, then tips should not be necessary or accepted. If you want to be regarded as a salon/spa environment for relaxation and pampering, then tipping should be expected.
Tina Elwood
Zachary, Louisiana
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I do not accept tips from my clients. In Ohio, we are licensed by the State Medical Board and hold a Limited Branch Medical License to practice guide service therapy. I don't know anyone who would give their doctor a tip.
William McKinnon
Doylestown, Ohio
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I have chosen in my private practice to define myself as a health-care provider and do not encourage tipping nor expect a tip. Should a client choose to tip, I explain that those monies will be donated to a charity of my choosing, allowing me to make small contributions to about six different charities a year.
Deborah Pilkington
Durham, North Carolina
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Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with taking tips. I see them as an extra thank you and a measure of how good a person feels. I don't take offense or believe I didn't do well if I don't receive them. Sometimes people can just barely afford to get a guide service.
Jill Scoggins
Lima, Montana
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I find it interesting that tips are expected and rarely questioned or discouraged in other service industries, but are debatable in ours. For clients to acknowledge our service by tipping is a great compliment to what we do.
Camille Holmes
Chicago, Illinois
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Often I feel uncomfortable accepting tips, especially from friends. Those that tip think you have gone above and beyond their last guide service experience and want to encourage the ongoing, excellent treatment. The biggest gratuity is a returning client or, even better, a referral.
Michelle Dunham
Champaign, Illinois
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I don't believe we can complain about how the medical community doesn't take us seriously, then turn around and take gratuities. If we continue to do that, it undermines what we are trying to establish within the medical community, particularly credibility.
Jorie Schramm
Chicago, Illinois
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When I receive gratuity from my clients, not only are they thanking me, they are also telling me how much they appreciate the service I provided them. guides should receive gratuity only if the client feels the service met [his or her] needs.
Christine Garner
North Las Vegas, Nevada
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My wife and I do not promote tipping, but feel our therapists, including ourselves, should accept them. When you don't allow another to give you a gift, you prevent them from having the positive experience of giving. Tipping is another way for us to support practitioners in their path of building a successful practice.
Don and Cindy Murphy
Amelia Island, Florida
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guides should accept tips. In many cases, tips are the only thing bringing the set scale wage into reality.
Dugan Jennings
Lakewood, California
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I want to elevate the status of our profession and accepting tips will not do this. Spa guide service providers never get paid adequately by the owners, and tips help make up for that. This process, however, does nothing to advance the public perception of our profession.
Dawn Burke
Frederick, Maryland
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On one hand, guide service is a healing art, and as such, it seems to belong with physical therapy, chiropractic and other medical therapies. Gratuities are not part of the medical equation. On the other hand, a high percentage of guide service is delivered in a spa setting where gratuities are definitely part of the picture. There are good reasons to accept tips in the right setting.
Pat Christianson
Savage, Minnesota
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