Wasn't That Nice of Her

Kintarō Hattori

I was in work today when a small old dublin lady (in her 70's) came up to me and told me the battery she was holding in her hand she bought in Argos because we didn't have it in stock. She asked if I could put it in her phone for her. I told her that wouldn't be a problem, went off for a scissors to open the packaging and put the battery into the phone.

I handed it back to her and she asked 'What's the charge for that?'. I told her there was no charge and she thrust a €5 note into my hand and told me to buy something nice (I'm no spring chicken myself). I politely told her that it was OK and there was no charge for 2mins of my time. She insisted I take the €5 and she went on her merry way.

I felt bad for taking it, I don't like taking tips from older people, but I had declined and she insisted. I've often spent long periods of time with customers, going through the pros and cons of products and what's suitable for them etc, then carrying heavy pieces of equipement to their cars/taxis etc. It's very rare that anyone would tip you (I always try to decline as it's just my job anyway) so I was surprised to be tipped for 2mins work and by someone so elderly.

I just thought it was a really lovely gesture as I'm sure €5 is more valuable to her than it is to me.

artanevilla

You probably do deserve it considering the amount of people out there who would charge for it, pass it on to charity if you feel guilty.

coillcam

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I was in work today when a small old dublin lady (in her 70's) came up to me and told me the battery she was holding in her hand she bought in Argos because we didn't have it in stock. She asked if I could put it in her phone for her. I told her that wouldn't be a problem, went off for a scissors to open the packaging and put the battery into the phone.

I handed it back to her and she asked 'What's the charge for that?'. I told her there was no charge and she thrust a €5 note into my hand and told me to buy something nice (I'm no spring chicken myself). I politely told her that it was OK and there was no charge for 2mins of my time. She insisted I take the €5 and she went on her merry way.

I felt bad for taking it, I don't like taking tips from older people, but I had declined and she insisted. I've often spent long periods of time with customers, going through the pros and cons of products and what's suitable for them etc, then carrying heavy pieces of equipement to their cars/taxis etc. It's very rare that anyone would tip you (I always try to decline as it's just my job anyway) so I was surprised to be tipped for 2mins work and by someone so elderly.

I just thought it was a really lovely gesture as I'm sure €5 is more valuable to her than it is to me.

That was really cool of her, I know myself from when I used to work in a petrol station all the old ladies used to tip you for everything, tyres, water, petrol, lifting stuff or whatever really and refusing a tip was not an option at all. It seems to be an old school thing though as no other "group" of people has really tipped me except for groups of people doing rounds when I had a brief stint as a barman.

It really is fantastic and it does really make your day sometimes, especially if your a little off form. I remember the first time it happened I felt like your man off the Harry Enfield Sketch with the old ladies cooing "Oooohhh, Young Man !!!!!"

helimachoptor

Op back in my younger days working in a supermarket, myself and a couple of other lads would often be asked to help bring something heavy to a customers car.

Now one time I think it was a few days before the Xmas and millennium and this guy in his 50's came in, he had his wife with in her car (range rover 99) and he had a commercial 4x4. Anyway they bought about 50 crates of beer, about 20 * 12 boxes of wine and about 40 bottles of spirits along with say 20 2L soft drinks and then aswell we sold plants, and as the pots were filled with soil they must have weighed about 100kg each!
so it took me and another guy about 30 mins to carry all this stuff up to his car and not even the offer of a tip!

Another woman on the same day asked me to help push her trolley out to her car, she tried to give me 20 quid but I declined though the offer was most appreciated!

Op buy yourself something nice with that 5 euro!

Maglight

it's old school courtesy. Elderly ladies nearly always tip. It's polite.

doolox

Those owners of 4x4's will not tip.
They can barely keep up with the repayments on their vehicles as it is.
The huge amount of booze should have been a giveaway, selfish alcoholics seldom tip unless they are drunk and looking for afterhours drink from a barman.
You will probably find that the "little old ladies" don't have expensive drinking habits or flash cars so they can afford to tip.
I will usually tip in a hairdressers or where I have received very good service but not in restaurants or bars. They are too dear by far already.
I abhor travel guides which "recommend" a percentage for tips thus making people feel "mean" when they do not have the money to tip.
As the recession bites you will probably find more people foregoing trips to avoid having to pay out tips for services which they already have paid for.
People will favour self-catering and DIY forms of obtaining goods and services as money becomes tight. If service staff adopt an attitude of expecting tips at every opportunity and it not being for an exceptional level of service people will walk away and they will lose their jobs.
Restaurants and hotels etc should charge the full price needed to pay all their overheads and stop the practice of tipping.Wages to staff should be paid in full without having to rely on "hidden extras" such as service charges and other rip-off measures used to confuse people and make meals appear cheaper than they really are. It is illegal to quote Vat excl prices for goods in retail outlets, the same should apply to service charges. The full price of all menu items should be quoted in order to avoid confusion.