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Bitching is Customary: Doorman Complains About Holiday Tip


By

John Del Signore

Published Dec 28, 2009

Modified Dec 29, 2009


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By

John Del Signore

Published Dec 28, 2009

Modified Dec 29, 2009


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A resident of a "luxurious small building" facing Central Park got some lip over a holiday tip, and turned to the UrbanBaby message board for advice: "So, I gave my doormen/ porters and handyman 60 dollars bonus each (times 11) and to the super, 100 dollars. One of the doormen complained about his bonus, saying, 'I love the card, not so much the contents.' I couldn't believe it. I wonder how much everyone else gave this year." And so the agonizing debate over whom to tip and how much rages on! One proposed solution for this particular contretemps? Re-tipping and apologizing to the doorman.

Brick Underground put some thought into this re-tipping idea, and concluded that it's "a slippery slope best not embarked upon, even if you suspect you erred on the frugal side and can afford to make it up. On the one hand, you don’t want to reward rudeness, or trigger a tide of reopened palms. But without a clear communication about whether you’ve miscalculated, you may simply be paranoid." What do you think? Reward ingratitude or throw money at the doorman so he'll help you when you wander out of the building wasted with your shoes on backward? [Via Curbed]

Tagged

bonus

building

christmas

doorman

holiday

how much

nyc

super

tip

year end


John Del Signore

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Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.

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