To Tip or not to Tip the Porters...that is the question

[bubbadog]

We tip them,but thats just us,our bags seem to make it to our room within 2hrs usually,rather it is because we tip them or not,I dont know,but i prefer my bags sooner than late at night,you should tip them next time,and see if that helps:rolleyes:

[Langley Cruisers]

Also, what about tipping the folks who take care of your room at a land based hotel? Do you tip them as well as you tip your cabin steward on a cruise?

 

Not sure if you were being serious or sarcastic but yes, we always tip the housekeeping staff in our hotel room. We leave it each day instead of at the end of our stay in case someone else cleans our room each day.

[Gonzo70]

We tip them,but thats just us,our bags seem to make it to our room within 2hrs usually,rather it is because we tip them or not,I dont know,but i prefer my bags sooner than late at night,you should tip them next time,and see if that helps:rolleyes:

 

No, it makes no difference. They do not work for the cruise line. All they do is push your luggage near the ship. Then completely separate people load the luggage on to the ship. Then ship employees sort and distribute the luggage.

[Gonzo70]

Gonzo70, it has been a pleasure debating this issue with you! Although we disagree on this topic, it would be my pleasure to cruise with you in the future!

 

Thank you, likewise. :)

[Gonzo70]

Hey Gonzo, I mean this with all due respect. My former BIL is a Miami porter. He does not make the salary that has been reported on this and the other threads. The guys out front do not make the same salaries as the Stevedores and Longshoremen that actually work on the dock. His salary is only about $9/hr and he has been there for several years.

 

Yeah, you mentioned that on another thread. The Port of Miami informed myself (and other posters who checked with them) that the people serving as porters for cruise passengers are unionized longshoremen. Several web sites also state this. Are you sure your former BIL worked taking cruise passengers' luggage? I am a teamster myself, so I know how protective unions are of gigs that they have. Maybe it is possible that at times the Port needs to hire some temporary "extras" to assist if they are short regular staff, but it seems odd that the Port would be informing the public they are all unionized longshoremen and that there are multiple articles about this.

 

Not sure if you are still in touch with him, but if so I'd be curious what he says if you ask him specifically if he was involved in taking luggage from passengers as they arrive for cruises.

[cruzincurt]

I'm not sure that late bag delivery has anything to do with not tipping the porter. However, for those bags that never show up at all, I'm not so sure!

 

What if they just ripped off the luggage tag (by accident of course)? That would delay delivery to your stateroom until the very last. What does it matter how much they are paid? I tip my garbage men (3 guys on the truck) at Christmas; as a result, I could put an elephant out on garbage day and it would disappear; never had my luggage go astray for a $5 investment.

[Gonzo70]

What if they just ripped off the luggage tag (by accident of course)? That would delay delivery to your stateroom until the very last. What does it matter how much they are paid? I tip my garbage men (3 guys on the truck) at Christmas; as a result, I could put an elephant out on garbage day and it would disappear; never had my luggage go astray for a $5 investment.

 

Nothing wrong with that, but IMHO if you are paying them $5 out of fear they will otherwise mess with your luggage you are paying a bribe, not a tip. No?

[cruzincurt]

I'm tipping (TIPS tip to insure prompt service) ie., my luggage gets on the ship. A bribe would be that my luggage gets on the ship first.

[Gonzo70]

I'm tipping (TIPS tip to insure prompt service) ie., my luggage gets on the ship. A bribe would be that my luggage gets on the ship first.

 

I guess we have different definitions of tips and bribes. :)

 

To me a tip is a reward for good service (to a person in a profession where tipping is customary) and a reward for going above and beyond for other professions.

 

A bribe is something someone pays in order to avoid a potential negative consequence or to obtain a special favor.

 

Sometimes tips and bribes can be blurry in terms of the special favor category (i.e. paying a bartender up front hoping it will lead to stronger drinks and faster service). But not so much in the paying to avoid a potential negative consequence category; paying to prevent one's luggage from being "accidentally misplaced" to me clearly falls under the category of bribe.

 

Although TIPS = To Insure Prompt Service has a nice ring to it, that has nothing to do with the origin of the word Tip.

[WeLuvVacation]

Logic dictates that you put yourself in the porters (or anyone else that you are unsure about tipping) shoes and then ask yourself that same question.

 

It also dictates that you do a little research before to make any hasty decisions.

 

And it also dictates that if you know you are going to potentially be in a tipping situation that the smallest bill in your pocket is not a TWENTY! Unless you intend to tip the twenty!

 

Logically speaking of course. Common sense speaking too!

[tedjazz]

I want to see my bags again so yes we will continue to tip. Same with the airport curb-side check-in folks.

 

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This sounds like "Thug" mentality, not tipping, which, by the way is a voluntary activity.

[tedjazz]

Tipping is a personal choice- I don't have to explain to you why I do or do not tip. Everyone has that right to make that choice for themselves.

 

Bingo...We have a Winner. Best post on this subject...EVER!!!

[Gonzo70]

Are Teamsters and Longshoremen at such odds with one another that you would campaign so fervently against tipping?

 

Not at odds in the least. Me being in a union has nothing to do with my posting on this topic; only reason I mentioned it was in response to someone claiming the reason for my posts are that I am anti-union. Funny, now that I mentioned I am in a union, the response is that my union must be at odds with the Longshoremen union. I guess I can't win! In fact I just had to google to see if my union and the one the Longshoremen is in is part of the same union!

 

Have any of you considered the reason for my posts is I am bewildered at people tipping people for simply doing what they are already generously being paid to do? I keep hearing reasoning such as "they are doing a service" or "it is a small percentage of my cruise cost." I just don't get it. Why not tip the Captain of the ship $10 then. That too is a tiny percentage of your cruise cost and he certainly provided you a service. How many tip their travel agent? They certainly provide a service. For some reason it seems many people have a fascination with tipping the longshoreman. Go figure.

[tedjazz]

Have any of you considered the reason for my posts is I am bewildered at people tipping people for simply doing what they are already generously being paid to do? I keep hearing reasoning such as "they are doing a service" or "it is a small percentage of my cruise cost." I just don't get it. Why not tip the Captain of the ship $10 then. That too is a tiny percentage of your cruise cost and he certainly provided you a service. How many tip their travel agent? They certainly provide a service. For some reason it seems many people have a fascination with tipping the longshoreman. Go figure.

 

Gonzo, I agree with you. This subject gets more attention on these boards than I think almost any other and the one that seems to be guided by emotion rather than logic. This thread of course deals with Porters and as you mentioned and they are well paid for what they do, even without Tips. I can't figure it out either. Tip if you want, or save your Tip for someone doing some real work (service) for you.

[househunter]

Not at odds in the least. Me being in a union has nothing to do with my posting on this topic; only reason I mentioned it was in response to someone claiming the reason for my posts are that I am anti-union. Funny, now that I mentioned I am in a union, the response is that my union must be at odds with the Longshoremen union. I guess I can't win! In fact I just had to google to see if my union and the one the Longshoremen is in is part of the same union!

 

Have any of you considered the reason for my posts is I am bewildered at people tipping people for simply doing what they are already generously being paid to do? I keep hearing reasoning such as "they are doing a service" or "it is a small percentage of my cruise cost." I just don't get it. Why not tip the Captain of the ship $10 then. That too is a tiny percentage of your cruise cost and he certainly provided you a service. How many tip their travel agent? They certainly provide a service. For some reason it seems many people have a fascination with tipping the longshoreman. Go figure.

 

No. We tip porters because it is customary to do so. The fact that they are longshoremen is irrelevant.

[Alexis]

I want to see my bags again so yes we will continue to tip. Same with the airport curb-side check-in folks.

 

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My thoughts exactly. :D I will continue to tip as I have always done.

They do a service for me, they get a tip. ;)

Besides, it is better than my husband and I having to lug the bags all over. :eek:

[tedjazz]

No. We tip porters because it is customary to do so. The fact that they are longshoremen is irrelevant.

 

Tipping someone who makes more $$$ every year than my Doctor for moving my luggage 8 feet from the vehicle to a luggage bin, then giving him a Tip because it's customary doesn't make much sense, but hey that's just me.

BTW it doesn't matter if they are Longshoremen to me either.

I did like what you said earlier about Tipping being a personal choice...I like to have choices.

[amybeth4]

GONZO...

 

I'm with you. How do you decide which person who's "doing you a service" deserves a tip and which doesn't??? Isn't the cashier at the supermarket "doing you a service?" Isn't your dry cleaner "doing you a service?" It's a little annoying. I think people tip porters because a long time ago, someone started tipping them, and they told two friends, and so on and so on...

 

Tonight, at age 43, I found myself making $12 being a coat-check girl at a wedding. I made $17 in tips. I didn't even THINK I'd get tipped until the first person handed me $1. To every guest I said, "Ohhhh thank you" as if it was the nicest thing they ever did.

 

What did I do? I hung their umbrellas on a hanger and at the end of the night, walked six inches and took said umbrella off the hanger. It was great to end the night with a "free" $17, but it amazes me. Yes, if I was a guest, I would've given $1, but in all honesty it felt weird taking it. I really did nothing "special" to deserve anything above and beyond that measly $12/hour. (And about half the guests seemed to agree because they didn't tip me, THE BASTIDS...) lol

 

:)

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Have any of you considered the reason for my posts is I am bewildered at people tipping people for simply doing what they are already generously being paid to do? I keep hearing reasoning such as "they are doing a service" or "it is a small percentage of my cruise cost." I just don't get it. Why not tip the Captain of the ship $10 then. That too is a tiny percentage of your cruise cost and he certainly provided you a service. How many tip their travel agent? They certainly provide a service. For some reason it seems many people have a fascination with tipping the longshoreman. Go figure.

 

 

I totally agree with this!!

[MAZANDSTEVE]

My thoughts exactly. :D I will continue to tip as I have always done.

They do a service for me, they get a tip. ;)

Besides, it is better than my husband and I having to lug the bags all over. :eek:

 

 

You wouldnt have to lug them around, they will do it with or without a tip anyway.

[Wilda]

I believe, in this world today - you get what you pay for!!!! We will tip $1/bag for the guy who takes our luggage from our hands and just places it right behind him on the cart! Who cares how much he makes - he just helped me out. Once we are able to get in our room, we hang around our door waiting to see the guy who is actually bringing the luggage up to our cabin. We hand him $20, he writes down our cabin number, we tell him how many bags and the colours of the luggage - and like magic - all our luggage is there within about 20 mins!!!! Would I get the same service with $5 ????? Who knows, but I'm sure not going to find out. I want my luggage - not 5 min before dinner!

 

Good idea- just might try that myself!

[Lil Davy]

Have any of you considered the reason for my posts is I am bewildered at people tipping people for simply doing what they are already generously being paid to do? I keep hearing reasoning such as "they are doing a service" or "it is a small percentage of my cruise cost." I just don't get it. Why not tip the Captain of the ship $10 then. That too is a tiny percentage of your cruise cost and he certainly provided you a service. How many tip their travel agent? They certainly provide a service. For some reason it seems many people have a fascination with tipping the longshoreman. Go figure.

 

 

I totally agree with this!!

 

Me too. I'm a white collar worker, and I do many services when there are customer issues - and I never get a tip. Why? Because I make a SALARY!!!

[scrozuk]

What about porters at European ports?

 

Don't know about other European ports, but having sailed from Southampton several times, have never had the need to tip the porter at all, and never had a problem with luggage getting lost or damaged on the ship.

 

In fact, have had it that the second we pull up in the car, someone's opening the boot, hauling the bags out, and that's the last we see of them until we get to the cabin.

 

Scrozuk

[MAZANDSTEVE]

ok...second question...what is the average tip for a porter at an European port:confused:

 

 

We never seen any,we had to leave all suitcases in the hall in the hotel, and thats the last we see of them until they arrive in the cabin, the transfer bus collected us and we went straight to the port, so no tips were needed.

[luckyprincess]

Gonzo, I'm not sure why you always get flamed when you speak up on this topic.:confused: I'm sure I tipped the porters at Miami but I'll investigate first whether the porters in Port Canaveral are longshoreman or reduced wage people before I tip for my upcoming cruise. I've been in many tipped positions and earned much less than minimum wage doing it. That's the point. I make less per hour, depend on tips, and came out with around $50,000 per year - which is about what most of my other serving friends made. I've worked as a server at private clubs where I was already making $40,000 per year to serve and we weren't tipped because we were already making a salary. We weren't tipped anyway just because we were serving. We were tipped based on our pay structure. They had it clearly marked on the menu that gratuity is not necessary. Much the same way the signs in some ports say the same thing.

I do think your analogy to tipping your other service professionals is appropriate. Such as, would you tip the Captain for getting you to your port? Would you tip your doctor for giving you your annual exam? Of course not. How about a McDonald's worker? Why not tip them 20% of your meal? Because they get an hourly wage, that's why.

As a disclaimer, if you still tip there is NOTHING wrong with that, but it is surely not expected nor is it wrong not to. If you wouldn't tip your dentist then I would hold your tongue to the people that wouldn't tip someone making a salary to perform a service at the port. Personally :D