AAA tipping?

for fiesta54, jay, and all the rest ...tipping IS never mandatory .... but these tow drivers with AAA are paid very little for what they're doing ... and of course no one's making them do this ... but $5/10 bump is always appreciated ... though , as I said, never mandatory

and in my case it will totally depend on attitude and competency

So it's just AAA drivers?

those are the only ones I've ever dealt with ... well in the last 20+ yrs

just pulling up the yellow pages and calling a tow ... ??? I hadn't thought about that ....

others want to chime in ?

I had my new to me Blazer towed home for $75. Never even thought of tipping but if I used AAA then I wouldn't think twice about tipping unless they were a really shinny happy person.

I usually tip $20 or so for easy stuff, or more for harder stuff. Then again, I very rarely use AAA for stuff that would technically be covered, and it's usually the same towing company. I've never had a problem getting weird stuff towed.

My college job was delivering and installing large appliances and here's how I look at tipping. If you tip a pizza delivery guy a couple of bucks to drop off $10-$20 worth of food at your door and bail, then you should also tip the guys that handle larger, more expensive items that require more time, skill and care (assuming they're professional and don't tear things up).

I'm way more likely to tip a person that skillfully handles things that I have invested some money into (furniture, appliances, vehicles, etc), and the amount I tip often depends on the difficulty of the job. Most delivery guys, tow truck drivers, etc make $10-$15/hour around here and that doesn't go real far these days, so if they've done good work and gotten my large, relatively expensive goods where they need to be, then I'll show may appreciation for their efforts, because I've been on the other side and know how much it can be appreciated.

fiesta54 wrote: Oh God now I feel terrible for having not tipped. I had no idea that was a thing in this industry (aside from sketchy cash payments before your car is impounded)

Likewise, I never knew this was a thing with AAA and now I feel bad. I tip when the performance warrants it and I can think of a couple of guys who definitely deserved one.

On the flipside, I have definitely also had a low life, criminal POS try to extort me for a cash payment in lieu of impounding my car when I was parked legally one time back in college. I complained to his boss, to the police, to the mayor's office and got nowhere with any of them (the city and tow companies were in cahoots on a parking/towing racket) despite having multiple witnesses present, some of whom had been extorted as well. Several of us were pretty close to taking criminal actions against the tow company in retaliation before cooler heads fortunately prevailed. This incident had me as pissed off as I have ever been about anything and still has my blood boiling right now just talking about it.

How's it work in Jersey, where you're not allowed to pump your own gas? Do you have to tip those guys on top of it?

If I'm using a flatbed, things are bad. I calculated the cost to pick up the car that I crashed out in the middle of nowhere (doing something dumb) and haul it back to my house. Had the flatbed guy stop by the ATM and got out $50 extra dollars to tip him. I know it was a crappy job. Once he got done, he wanted to renegotiate his rate...after going back and forth on that a few times, he left with $20 less than I was going to give him in the first place.

I'm a generous tipper, but I sympathize with the Europeans who don't understand how the hell it works over here. Even if you tip your tow truck driver well (according to what I read above,) he'll still get less than the dude who pours you a couple beers at dinner or your barber?

When I use AAA I tip them $10-20 bucks.

Hmm, didn't realize this. My assumption has been that I pay a substantial amount of money for a premium AAA membership where one of the chief benefits is towing coverage so I don't have to worry about paying for a tow service. What rate they negotiate with a tow company is between those parties and what a driver gets paid is between them and their boss. Should I tip my doctor when I get a check up?

oldtin wrote: Hmm, didn't realize this. My assumption has been that I pay a substantial amount of money for a premium AAA membership where one of the chief benefits is towing coverage so I don't have to worry about paying for a tow service. What rate they negotiate with a tow company is between those parties and what a driver gets paid is between them and their boss. Should I tip my doctor when I get a check up?

Well, your doctor probably makes 6 figures per year, while the average tow truck driver makes $12.50/hour or 26k per year, so that situation is quite a bit different.

I don't want to sound like a dick, but I'm gonna stick to my guns on this. Tipping lots for everything hurts more than it helps.

I totally understand that these guys are working a tough, absolutely necessary job for little pay, but in my mind someone shouldn't accept a job for which they're not fairly compensated. You know some of the drivers out there are thinking "the pay sucks but the tips will make up for it" - that's fine, but that also means at least some of their employers are thinking "I can pay them dirt and they'll make it up in tips" - and THAT is a problem.

I see a bunch of people in this thread saying they throw around $20 every time - I don't have that kind of money! Sure you can say tipping isn't 'mandatory' but if a big percentage of clients are doing it like that the hard-working, underpaid driver is going to get grumpy when someone doesn't. There's a huge, fundamental difference between giving a tip because you got good service and giving a "tip" in order to get good service.

From my perspective there's "tip escalation" going on & it's total bullE36 M3. I'm a grad student right now; I don't have a 'salary' and the little income I pull in I have to put myself through the wringer in order to maintain. This tip culture is essentially demanding I subsidize the incomes of people with full-time jobs using my measly student stipend. How is that fair?*

In conclusion, yeah if someone goes well beyond their normal duties to help you out, by all means give them a gift to show your appreciation. But don't tip more and more each time for totally normal service of someone who is doing their job in a professional manner. That's unfair to just about everyone, even the guy getting the tip. And if you feel you should be pre-tipping in order to ensure you get the service you're expecting, something has gone horribly wrong.

Don't escalate tips!

(* Also, there's an "upper class / lower class" thing going on here - if or when I finally graduate and get my degree, I might get a nice job with a steady income myself but I certainly won't be getting tips. It would be totally condescending to assume that people in services or trades are doing "lesser jobs" and need my 'help' in order to get by. I HATE that mentality.)

oldtin wrote: Should I tip my doctor when I get a check up?

Does your doctor have warm hands and skinny fingers?

In reply to Jay:

I find in some cases tipping in advance to ensure good service has its place.

I tip the valet when dropping my car off, and also when picking up. Usually the total for drop off and pick up is about the same as if I waited until pickup.

There are a few reasons:

1) the guy that parks it may not be the guy the brings it back.

2) if it's going to get damaged, it's more likely to happen when being parked than picked up.

3) my experience is that tipping the valet in advance leads to the car being more accessible when leaving and less likely to be squeezed into the half sized space in the back of the lot.

^^ That doesn't annoy me so much... if you're using valet service, it's something completely optional to do, AND it's an industry where tipping is totally expected and has been for decades. Also if you're going somewhere where valet parking is a thing, it's a pretty safe bet you've decided to throw money around in exchange for fun for the evening anyway.

But do be aware if you tip in advance in order to get "better" service you're essentially paying a bribe. :P

Really if that's how it works when valeting your car at a posh restaurant it doesn't matter at all (not that I would know anything about that.) But when it's the case for essential services like the guy who pulls your car out of a ditch on a snowy night, or the plumber, or the tech who fixes your furnace or whatever, it's a huge problem.

Jay wrote: I don't want to sound like a dick, but I'm gonna stick to my guns on this. Tipping lots for everything hurts more than it helps. I totally understand that these guys are working a tough, absolutely necessary job for little pay, but in my mind someone shouldn't accept a job for which they're not fairly compensated. You *know* some of the drivers out there are thinking "the pay sucks but the tips will make up for it" - that's fine, but that also means at least some of their *employers* are thinking "I can pay them dirt and they'll make it up in tips" - and THAT is a problem. I see a bunch of people in this thread saying they throw around $20 every time - I don't have that kind of money! Sure you can say tipping isn't 'mandatory' but if a big percentage of clients are doing it like that the hard-working, underpaid driver is going to get grumpy when someone doesn't. There's a huge, fundamental difference between giving a tip because you *got* good service and giving a "tip" in order to *get* good service. From my perspective there's "tip escalation" going on & it's total bullE36 M3. I'm a grad student right now; I don't have a 'salary' and the little income I pull in I have to put myself through the wringer in order to maintain. This tip culture is essentially demanding I subsidize the incomes of people with full-time jobs using my measly student stipend. How is that fair?* In conclusion, yeah if someone goes well beyond their normal duties to help you out, by all means give them a gift to show your appreciation. But don't tip more and more each time for totally normal service of someone who is doing their job in a professional manner. That's unfair to just about everyone, even the guy getting the tip. And if you feel you should be *pre-tipping* in order to ensure you get the service you're expecting, something has gone horribly wrong. Don't escalate tips! (* Also, there's an "upper class / lower class" thing going on here - if or when I finally graduate and get my degree, I might get a nice job with a steady income myself but I certainly won't be getting tips. It would be totally condescending to assume that people in services or trades are doing "lesser jobs" and need my 'help' in order to get by. I HATE that mentality.)

Jay, I agree with just about everything you've said here. When did 20% become standard? I always thought 20% was for exemplary service, and 15% was for good service. Why'd it change? There is a restaurant around here that doesn't allow tips. I like it. Just pay the fair wage and pass the cost to me. Fire the ones who aren't good.

Now that I've said that, I do tip because I don't want to be looked at like a jerk, and people do [sometimes] take better care of you/your stuff when you do. Now, that isn't fair at a restaurant, but if I'm getting movers to move my furniture, I want them to treat it like their own. Especially since I've paid for 2 hours, and it will only take them 30 minutes to do it--I want them to take the time to do it right.

In reply to Jay:

I understand what you're saying, but people can't always just "not accept a job for which they're not fairly compensated". Whether you are a doctor or a sanitation worker, we are all paid based on our knowledge and skills. If your only real marketable skill is driving a tow truck, and all of the tow companies in the area pay the same wages, what do you do? The ideal answer, is you acquire more skills, but that typically requires schooling which costs money and can make working a traditional work week pretty difficult. As a graduate student, I'm sure you can relate to that. So... If your day job is barely cutting it, and you can't afford to acquire more skills, what are you to do? Maybe they can't go to another job because they need a flexible schedule while they focus other attention elsewhere, like school, or caring for a sick loved one.

When I tip somebody for doing labor on my behalf, I think about when I was a broke college student working a crap job like theirs, and I can easily relate. I remember when getting $10 as a tip meant that I didn't have to buy myself lunch that day, and the money meant I could afford to pay out of pocket for classes instead of taking out crippling student loans. I'm not tipping them if they suck at their jobs, but I do appreciate what it's like to be in their shoes, and if I'm able to have a positive impact on their lives, like the people that would tip me had on mine, then I'm happy to do it.

Jay wrote: I don't want to sound like a dick, but I'm gonna stick to my guns on this. Tipping lots for everything hurts more than it helps. I totally understand that these guys are working a tough, absolutely necessary job for little pay, but in my mind someone shouldn't accept a job for which they're not fairly compensated. You *know* some of the drivers out there are thinking "the pay sucks but the tips will make up for it" - that's fine, but that also means at least some of their *employers* are thinking "I can pay them dirt and they'll make it up in tips" - and THAT is a problem. I see a bunch of people in this thread saying they throw around $20 every time - I don't have that kind of money! Sure you can say tipping isn't 'mandatory' but if a big percentage of clients are doing it like that the hard-working, underpaid driver is going to get grumpy when someone doesn't. There's a huge, fundamental difference between giving a tip because you *got* good service and giving a "tip" in order to *get* good service. From my perspective there's "tip escalation" going on & it's total bullE36 M3. I'm a grad student right now; I don't have a 'salary' and the little income I pull in I have to put myself through the wringer in order to maintain. This tip culture is essentially demanding I subsidize the incomes of people with full-time jobs using my measly student stipend. How is that fair?* In conclusion, yeah if someone goes well beyond their normal duties to help you out, by all means give them a gift to show your appreciation. But don't tip more and more each time for totally normal service of someone who is doing their job in a professional manner. That's unfair to just about everyone, even the guy getting the tip. And if you feel you should be *pre-tipping* in order to ensure you get the service you're expecting, something has gone horribly wrong. Don't escalate tips! (* Also, there's an "upper class / lower class" thing going on here - if or when I finally graduate and get my degree, I might get a nice job with a steady income myself but I certainly won't be getting tips. It would be totally condescending to assume that people in services or trades are doing "lesser jobs" and need my 'help' in order to get by. I HATE that mentality.)

I get where you're coming from. To me, it's a karma thing, which I realize is total bullE36 M3 but I still do it. Tips saved my ass a few times when I was in school. I know it doesn't make sense, but neither does powerball...doesn't mean its not a thing.

mtn wrote:

Jay wrote: I don't want to sound like a dick, but I'm gonna stick to my guns on this. Tipping lots for everything hurts more than it helps. I totally understand that these guys are working a tough, absolutely necessary job for little pay, but in my mind someone shouldn't accept a job for which they're not fairly compensated. You *know* some of the drivers out there are thinking "the pay sucks but the tips will make up for it" - that's fine, but that also means at least some of their *employers* are thinking "I can pay them dirt and they'll make it up in tips" - and THAT is a problem. I see a bunch of people in this thread saying they throw around $20 every time - I don't have that kind of money! Sure you can say tipping isn't 'mandatory' but if a big percentage of clients are doing it like that the hard-working, underpaid driver is going to get grumpy when someone doesn't. There's a huge, fundamental difference between giving a tip because you *got* good service and giving a "tip" in order to *get* good service. From my perspective there's "tip escalation" going on & it's total bullE36 M3. I'm a grad student right now; I don't have a 'salary' and the little income I pull in I have to put myself through the wringer in order to maintain. This tip culture is essentially demanding I subsidize the incomes of people with full-time jobs using my measly student stipend. How is that fair?* In conclusion, yeah if someone goes well beyond their normal duties to help you out, by all means give them a gift to show your appreciation. But don't tip more and more each time for totally normal service of someone who is doing their job in a professional manner. That's unfair to just about everyone, even the guy getting the tip. And if you feel you should be *pre-tipping* in order to ensure you get the service you're expecting, something has gone horribly wrong. Don't escalate tips! (* Also, there's an "upper class / lower class" thing going on here - if or when I finally graduate and get my degree, I might get a nice job with a steady income myself but I certainly won't be getting tips. It would be totally condescending to assume that people in services or trades are doing "lesser jobs" and need my 'help' in order to get by. I HATE that mentality.)

Jay, I agree with just about everything you've said here. When did 20% become standard? I always thought 20% was for exemplary service, and 15% was for good service. Why'd it change? There is a restaurant around here that doesn't allow tips. I like it. Just pay the fair wage and pass the cost to me. Fire the ones who aren't good. Now that I've said that, I do tip because I don't want to be looked at like a jerk, and people do [sometimes] take better care of you/your stuff when you do. Now, that isn't fair at a restaurant, but if I'm getting movers to move my furniture, I want them to treat it like their own. Especially since I've paid for 2 hours, and it will only take them 30 minutes to do it--I want them to take the time to do it right.

This I'm on board with. I have friends who tip 30+ % to any waiter/waitress or bartender every time they're out. That's ridiculous. In my mind, a tip should be completely performance based. When eating out, I'll tip 15% for average service, 20% for exemplary, and 10% or less for poor. You don't deserve to be rewarded for sucking at your job. Conversely, those in the service industry who do well should be rewarded.

I'll tip for anything I know it's commonplace to tip for - servers, bartenders, my barber, ect. If its generally accepted to tip a AAA driver, I'll do it. Especially if they personally call to make sure the dispatcher contacted me with a realistic estimate of their arrival time, then show up ahead of schedule just to get their feet soaked because I decided to wash my car while the keys were locked inside it. An electrician or plumber? Hell no, not when I'm already taking time off work to suit their schedule and paying $150 just for you to show up then $60/hr on top of that. If your boss isn't giving you a big enough cut of that sum you need to take it up with him because it aint my berkeleying problem.

Something to keep in mind --- service industry workers (bartenders / waitstaff) do NOT receive a living wage by the hour. Heck, they don't even make minimum wage in many cases. In the service industry the majority of their wages come from tips. Also, 15% is adequate, 20% good, and anything above and beyond that is exceptional. We can change our system to the European system, where the service providers make a real wage---- but until we do that, tipping is necessary. Also, there are many people who think paying for a meal, or drink, gives them the right to be rude to service workers---- they deal with shiny happy people all the time. It's amazing how much abuse they have to deal with.

This is why I'll tip an extra $5, or $10 if the service is good.....or if it looks like they are having a bad day, but are trying their best to provide good service. A little gratitude goes a long way in making someone's day a little better. Will I miss that $5, or $10....no, I won't. Does it have the power to transform a E36 M3ty day into a good one for these folks? Yes, yes it does. Also, if you tip well, you will be welcomed into every bar and restaurant you go to. You treat them well, they treat you well----it's how the world works. Try it....it's nice. After a while every bar or restaurant you go to in your town will greet you with smiles and fantastic service. They will be eager to go out of their way to help you, because they know you value the service they provide. It makes for a much better environment when you hit the town. Females also tend to pay close attention to how you treat service industry folks. Being rude, or a bad tipper is a major turn-off to most. I've known girls that have refused to go on a second date with a guy--- because he was rude to the waiter, or a crappy tipper.

A tow-truck driver, or airport shuttle-bus driver makes more $$ per hour--- so while it may be a nice gesture to tip, it isn't required. If they go above and beyond the call of duty---it's the nice thing to do. After all, giving a guy an extra $5 isn't going to matter to me in the long run--- while it could make his day a little better. I use tow services so infrequently that throwing the guy an extra $20 is sometimes appropriate---especially if he's taking good care with a beloved machine of mine, and is attentive to what I'm asking him to do. This may happen once, ever couple of years or so, and it's worth every penny.

Just the .02 from a former bartender and service industry guy.....

I am what you would call a good tipper. I will tip in the 20% range or more if I feel it is warranted. BUT I have never ever tipped a tow truck driver. Never actually heard of it before.

In reply to Jay:

If I'm going to drag a poor guy/girl out of bed or away from the dinner table and family, to come drag my car out of a ditch or haul my broke junk home, he's getting a tip. The last guy to work on my HVAC, on a sweltering hot Sunday afternoon, in my attic, got a tip. As did the lady that brought my wife's Jeep home. Watching her load and unload a Jeep with a broken ball joint and the tire already folded up into the fender, without damaging the fender or bumper cover was impressive, she was an artist with a roll back. That got her a big tip.

As Toyman says, if I'm calling them my junk is broken or I just bought some junk and am passing it off as freshly broken so an extra $20 slipped to the driver to ignore the fact I'm cheating is just a smoother. I figure it in when I'm calculating what I'm going to pay for the pile along the road or the back lot of a buy here pay here joint; part of it. If I legitimately need a tow for a normal DD I am rarely going to tip, unless he does an awesome job because that's what my membership is for.

Nice summer night, drove to the gas station for a soda and locked the keys in. Called AAA it'll be 1/2 hour to 45mins. Big roll back shows up with a mid 60's VW Karmin-Ghia on the bed he picked up at the airport. he opens my door and gets a quick lesson on what he's carrying. Quick and friendly he got a $5.00 tip.

I totally tipped the last transaction with a tow truck driver. A friend bought a car in mass (the only state that doesn't issue temp tags as we found out), and the seller wasn't going to let the car be driven out of their sight without plates, so I found a decent looking local dealer and asked who his tow truck guy was.. I called the guy, explained the situation and within 20 minutes he showed up, loaded up the car, told the seller "Oh yeah, in driving it all the way back home for 'em" then promptly dropped it off a mile away for us.

The actual charge was 60 or something, but the 100 we paid was totally worth it not to have to make another 4ish hour trip after going to the dmv in our state, and less than the diesel for the tow pig and a trailer rental.