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Money may be tight, but more than half of Americans still tipped service providers last holiday season according to a nationally representative survey by Consumer Reports: Some 62 percent of people spread the holiday cheer by giving a tip to the service providers they depend on.
Among the most commonly tipped providers were childcare providers (61 percent of those who used their services gave money or a present) and housekeepers (59 percent), followed by teachers (48 percent) and hairdressers (44 percent). The least commonly-tipped were sanitation workers (12 percent).
The survey revealed a noticeable drop in the percentage of Americans who gave something to their child’s teacher, from 60 percent to 48 percent, with a median gift value of $20. Fifty-four percent of Americans said they didn’t tip at least one person whose services they used, and 38 percent didn’t tip any of the providers Consumer Reports asked about.
Very few providers were tipped with both money and gifts. Housecleaners got the largest-valued tips, on average (median total value of $50), with other providers receiving average tips of mostly $10 to $20. People who gave no tips tended to say that their budgets were too tight (48 percent) and that it’s not customary to tip some providers (40 percent.)
In another recent Consumer Reports survey, 12 percent of Americans said they dreaded holiday tipping. If you do decide to tip, Consumer Reports has tips to help make it less stressful:
“Give cash, the value of one session or a week’s wage to self-employed, lower-wage earners,” said Tobie Stanger, Senior Editor, Consumer Reports. “You should also note that mail carriers can’t accept cash or checks, but can accept gift cards of $20 or less that can’t be exchanged for cash.”
Stanger also advises giving gift cards with care. “Service, inactivity, or dormancy fees are now prohibited in a card's first year. But cards could be useless if the vendor goes under.”
If you can’t afford a cash gift, Consumer Reports suggests giving the kind of treat you would buy for yourself, such as a gourmet bag of coffee, a nice soap, something baked from your kitchen, or one of your own creations like an olive oil-herb combination. Just be sure that food gifts won't trigger an allergic reaction or violate a dietary restriction.
And if your budget won’t allow payment, consider writing a heartfelt note of thanks.
Consumer Reports Holiday Tipping survey is based on a nationally representative sample of American adults, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Telephone interviews were completed among 2,017 adults aged 18+ and a total of 1,858 respondents had used at least one of the 15 service providers in 2010. Interviewing took place in January 2011. The margin of error is +/- 2 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
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