How much should you tip workers during the holidays? Expert explains. - Yahoo Finance

Etiquette Expert Elaine Swann joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss tipping measures to consider during the holidays.

Video Transcript

[AUDIO LOGO]

RACHELLE AKUFFO: The awkward holiday tipping season is upon us as consumers try to navigate what an appropriate amount to gift is to service workers in today's inflationary environment. Well, let's bring in Elaine Swann. She's a lifestyle and etiquette expert, and she can break down some of these tips and tricks for us. Good to see you. So, first of all, obviously, a lot of different sorts of service providers. You have the barista, you have someone who may be a nail tech, you're a masseuse. Very different services. How do you figure out what you should be tipping?

ELAINE SWANN: Certainly, the best way to figure out what to tip depends on the actual person that you're tipping. For example, what you want to think about is tipping individuals who have helped and made your life easy throughout the year. These are people that you have constant contact with throughout the year. This is, as you mentioned, your nail technician or perhaps your hairstylist or your barber or your dog walker. If you're in a metropolitan area, then it's your doorman or if you're in the suburbs, it might be your gardener. So these are the folks that you want to think about tipping.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: And what about if it's a one-off? Say, you just sit down in a restaurant, if it's whether it's takeout or a sit-down service. How do you navigate that?

ELAINE SWANN: Yeah, if it's takeout or sit-down service, then these people, you want to tip them the normal amount that you would when you are taking in that service. It's the individuals who are part of your everyday life. They've made your life easier. You have constant contact with them, you know them, you trust them. And so with that, one of the best ways to tip those individuals is to use Zelle, which is a digital payment system.

The reason why it's great to use this is because you know the people, you trust them, and they-- what their study that came out just recently with Zelle said that 48% of consumers said that they would prefer to receive a digital payment instead of cash or even writing a check. So don't write a personal check. Don't give them cash and put them in harm's way, but send that money electronically. People will be really happy about that.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Now all these things can really add up. Because, you know, we're all dealing with the same financial issues at the moment. And then you have this added wrinkle when it comes to things like the gig economy, you know. What do you pay someone, whether it's takeout versus, say, someone who's delivering on Uber Eats. Because sometimes you feel you feel like you only have a very limited number of options that you have to tip or you might get your food left behind. They might not deliver it for you.

ELAINE SWANN: Oh, yeah, certainly. So one of the things you want to think about is you always want to tip based upon your own personal budget. You know, there's a lot of folks in our lives that help us out. And so don't feel that social pressure to tip any more than you're able to do. So for that Uber driver or the Uber Eats person or what have you, if they're delivering your meal, utilize the system that's provided there, whether you decide that you're going to tip after they deliver so that way you can determine how that went, or before they come in. And with those tips, it can be anywhere from 10% all the way up to 20% and more.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Now what about when it's some of these COVID-related fees that are already tacked on when you kind of look at the bill. Do you factor that into the tipping at all?

ELAINE SWANN: Yes, you do, actually. You want to think about this sort of thing. Because the proprietor is adding those additional fees there so that this way they can cover the cost of whatever it is. And let's say, for example, they are charging an additional service charge and you see that on your receipt. One thing you want to do, if it's your server at a restaurant, is ask the server. Listen, this service charge, does this go to you or not? Just recently, I asked the server that question. And she let me know that no, the restaurant gets that altogether. So that prompted me to make sure that I left her an applicable tip.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Now as we're seeing, as we're seeing in that video there, a lot more of these iPad services that, you know, you pretty much you get a bit of tip shaming, because they lay out the 15, 20, 25%. Even if you're buying a pack of gum or something small, how should you view this, and how generous are we, say, now versus, say, during the peak of the pandemic when we had all of these service workers on the front lines doing us a service coming to us?

ELAINE SWANN: Ah, certainly. Well, here's the thing I want everyone to know. Etiquette would dictate that you are not required to leave a tip at the counter with those iPads or what have you, those devices. You're not required to leave a tip in that particular instance. You want to think about this particular factor here. The individuals who are behind the counter-- the barista, the sandwich maker, whoever it is, they're earning an hourly wage. However, in many instances-- especially here in the US-- many workers who are in the service-based industry who are waiters and waitresses, food servers, those individuals, they're not being paid a full hourly wage. And so their salary is the actual tip. It's those individuals that we should tip.

So I don't want people to feel that tip shaming. Don't give in to that societal pressure there is. When you see it there on the screen, just swipe to the right or click no tip and know and feel confident that you have actually paid for your service and the worker behind the counter, they are getting paid exactly what they signed up for as well.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Well, thank you. Thank you for alleviating some of the tip shaming that might be going on out there. I know a lot of us are trying to figure this out, especially with the holidays. Etiquette expert Elaine Swann, thank you so much for joining us, and have a great holiday.

ELAINE SWANN: It's my pleasure.

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