Do workers deserve extra tips at Christmas – and if so, what’s the right amount to be handing out?
Commentator with the Irish Daily Mail Philip Nolan told The Hard Shoulder that he would always tip the binmen around the Christmas season, as a ‘gesture of gratitude’.
“I just think that people who call to your house at six o’clock every morning once a week, all the way across the year through all weathers, deserve a little bit of a thank you at the end of the year,” he said.
“My mother always did it, so I’ve kind of kept up that tradition.”
Empty glass and tip. Image: Travelman / Alamy. 28 September 2018Mr Nolan said that if people were happy to tip bar staff and waiters, they should have no problem with giving a little extra to their binman.
“Why do you tip anybody? I mean, why do you tip people in a restaurant?” he said.
“They’re only doing their job as well. Why do you tip the barman at Christmas and he’s only pulling pints?
“Surely, it’s just a gesture of gratitude no matter what profession it is.
“To be honest with you, if people think that there’s nothing wrong with tipping a waiter or a waitress and think there’s something wrong with tipping the binman, I would suggest that there might be an element of classism involved there.”
Tipping culture
According to Mr Nolan, tipping culture is disappearing from Ireland.
“I think that spirit actually was prevalent in Ireland, I think maybe it’s a little bit more on the wane now,” he said.
“The replies to the tweet that I put out actually fall into three different camps – people who also do it, people who used to do it but whose bin service maybe isn’t up to what it should be – and then the third group are people who think I’m absolutely bonkers.”
Mr Nolan said that regardless of whether people agree with him or not, he will still be taping a €50 note to his bin this year.
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