tipping at full service gas station?

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ElektraSpitfire · Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:17 am

Hey guys,

The closest gas station by my apartment is a full service station. However I always fill up my own gas. So do I still have to tip the attendant? What do you guys do?

jonnythan · #2 Unread post by **jonnythan** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:21 am

Tip the attendant? Heh.

When driving through NJ, I resent the fact that I can't pump my own gas. There's no way I'm tipping the guy for doing something I don't even want him to do.

CNF2002 · #3 Unread post by **CNF2002** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:33 am

If you are pumping your own gas what are you tipping for?

I don't like the idea of tips, usually. I like to tip for good service, but now people just want to get tipped for doing their job as minimally as they can without getting fired. And everyone wants a tip, whether they provide a service, go out of the way, or just push a button on a register.

#4 Unread post by **scan** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:47 am

Waiters and waitresses are paid sub-minimum wage. I think they deserver to receive tips if they have done a fair or better job. The gas guy, the Starbucks gang, the McD workers and the like are not in the full-service area, so it makes no sense. When I do tip, I tip well for a job well done. I rarely stiff even the biggest dufus waiter though, because I see the tip as part of their pay.

Chris8187 · #5 Unread post by **Chris8187** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:51 am

I certainly wouldn't tip an attentand in New Jersey because they are their by law, not to make our life easier. It isn't a hard job concerning the skill aspect, so I would never think to give a tip.

#6 Unread post by **bok** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:56 am

if you are filling up your own vehicle and the service person doesn't do anything at all, maybe they should tip YOU for letting them deal with cage customers who might give them 10% tip on the 50+ dollar fill up

CNF2002 · #7 Unread post by **CNF2002** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:57 am

scanevalexec wrote:Waiters and waitresses are paid sub-minimum wage. I think they deserver to receive tips if they have done a fair or better job. The gas guy, the Starbucks gang, the McD workers and the like are not in the full-service area, so it makes no sense. When I do tip, I tip well for a job well done. I rarely stiff even the biggest dufus waiter though, because I see the tip as part of their pay.

Fine, but don't call it a tip. Call it a "service surcharge". If you are basically required to supplement the employee's salary, you take the burden off the restaurant. The guest and the waiter both lose. The guest pays more for their food than is advertised regardless of the service they might get, and the restaurant gets cheap employees because of it.

I feel sorry for waiters who don't get paid well, but how is that the customer's fault? Granted, I do usually tip at least a couple of bucks for a meal, but I don't tip big unless I get good service. Sometimes all that takes is a happy attitude or attentiveness.

#8 Unread post by **bok** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:02 am

i wouldn't tip at McDonalds or any fast food outlet here...there is such a shortage of "minimum wage" workers that they are starting at 13 bucks an hour to flip burgers.

tips are completely voluntary but i don't think i ever leave without giving something, but then again i used to bartend so i know the value of tips...but i also know who is busting their "O Ring" for a tip and who is just floating around. the floaters get 10%, the hard workers get significantly better.

Kaiser Soze · Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:06 am

Wow, I've never heard of tipping at a gas station. I even worked at one for 4 years while in school, and I think I got a tip once, on Christmas morning.

The only "should I tip" wondering I ever do is when I take a cab. They're so damn expensive as it is...

Is it standard to tip attendants in the US then? If so, I wouldn't tip anything if I pumped my own. That's like going to get my own food and drinks from the kitchen and then still tipping my waitress.

(well, if they're hot I'd still do it I guess)

Andrew · #10 Unread post by **Andrew** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:17 am

No, that's not normal for the US. NJ is the only place I've ever heard of having this.