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Tips

April 28, 2016 01:13AM
I know this is going to sound petty, but it still drives me crazy! One of the companies I shop for reimburses tip at 15%, not a penny more. If there is a bar receipt, that too is 15%. So.....if you order a soda or beer at the bar and the bill is $4, so they really think anyone, a shopper or not, is going to leave a $ .60 tip??? That is ridiculous! Of course, I leave a dollar or two...it just irritates me that they don't reimburse a reasonable tip. Yet, we are supposed to blend in!!! Okay, rant done!
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April 28, 2016 01:20AM
It has been a source of annoyance for many years. And you are not allowed to leave less than 15% no matter how poor the service is. I had a serious conversation with a mid level decision maker at the MSP a few years back and she was in complete agreement with the frustration, but it is part of the contract with the client.
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April 28, 2016 01:27AM
There are some companies (Secret Shopper) that do not reimburse tips AT ALL even if you are still under the reimbursement amount with tip.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
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April 28, 2016 02:44AM
I hate the 15% tip! If they want us to blend-in, we should be tipping what a regular customer would be doing in the same circumstances. A couple bucks on a bar tab would be common and expected. It irks me when I have to leave 15% in a high-end restaurant. The waiter at the last shop I did was amazing. In the "real world," I would have left him 20% as a minimum, because he worked hard to make our evening special with exceptional service. Instead, I felt like I rated him as mediocre with a 15%'er.

Yes, there is a pizza shop near me where they want to you stiff the delivery driver. Nothing like pissing off the guy that now knows where I live. I'm not touching that reimbursement only shop.
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April 28, 2016 02:54AM
Most of the time you are free to tip more than the required amount, but you will only be reimbursed the stated percentage. The reimbursement is the cap, so if your expenses plus mandatory tip exceed the reimbursement you will be out of pocket as well.
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April 28, 2016 03:31AM
I can see a mandatory 10% tip being allowed to tip more if you want. I just think mandatory 15% is too high for required. You should always be allowed to tip up to 20% and be reimbursed up to reimbursement limit.If you want tip more and you do go over reimbursement you should get the full reimbursement with the overage coming out of your own pocket. Now if to tip fair it forces you to go over reimbursement you should way that into the price you will take that shop for in the future. I know of one msp where say reimbursement was $45 and bill was $25 after tax you could tip an incredibly high $20 and would be given the full reimbursement of $45 plus the shop fee. Just my two cents.

Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.
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April 28, 2016 05:38AM
Most of the great restaurants, the guidelines say minimum of 18%.
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April 28, 2016 05:42AM
The issue of tips is a topic which often becomes controversial here. There are those who think that 10% is a good tip, and 15% is reserved for exemplary service. Others assign 15% and 20% to the same labels. Others never tip less than 20%. In other threads, we eventually had to agree to disagree.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
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April 28, 2016 09:02AM
The percentages up to a little over 20% should be allowed in the reimbursement if all were written like they should. However, the case of the $20 tip on a $45 should NOT be allowed (would not be good MS practice at all) since it would then make you memorable. If you wanted to do that on your own dime, go right ahead.

Shopping across Indiana but mostly around Indianapolis.
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