Shoe Shine Tipping

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I occasionally get shines at the airport when I didn't have time at home to do it myself. They charge $5 and I tip $5.

They do a very nice job, It takes about 10-12 minutes. They can probably do 4 shines an hour. Anything less than $20/hr for them seems wrong. The price of the shine goes for the rent of the space, materials, insurance, etc. I assume the tip is what the actual guy doing the shine gets.

If it was a crappy shine, I would probably only tip $2, but these are real pros.

If you can't give someone $5 for shining your shoes, do it yourself.

This idea of having another man shine my shoes while they're on my feet makes me extremely uncomfortable. I have a problem with the implied level of subservience.

I'm kind of puzzled by how the whole thing works. I always thought that shoe shine stands were independently owned and operated. Are the people shining shoes really working for someone else? Can they set their own prices?

My approach to tipping in general is that I am much less generous when I'm dealing with the owner of the business who sets his or her own prices. If you own the salon and you set the price for a haircut at $40 or whatever, why do I need to give you a 50% tip on top of that? If you aren't making enough, by all means, increase your prices. In fact, I have actively encouraged some service providers to do just that and happily paid up when they took my advice.

If you are an employee and you have no control over pricing, it's a different story. Tip them generously, by all means. But I really don't get why the owner of a business who sets his own prices ought to feel entitled to a giant tip.

Originally Posted by gladhands

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This idea of having another man shine my shoes while they're on my feet makes me extremely uncomfortable. I have a problem with the implied level of subservience.

On one side, I share the same feeling than yours with the idea of a guy, often old and obviously not affluent, shining my (sometime expensive) shoes as I sit above - on a small podium - dressed in suit and tie; to read the WSJ would just emphasize this even more... On the other side, I believe these people are happy to have customers and benefit from our money. What matter most is the attitude you have with the shoeshiner. Be respectful and show your appreciation about the job done.

Originally Posted by Quebec1977

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On one side, I share the same feeling than yours with the idea of a guy, often old and obviously not affluent, shining my (sometime expensive) shoes as I sit above - on a small podium - dressed in suit and tie; to read the WSJ would just emphasize this even more... On the other side, I believe these people are happy to have customers and benefit from our money. What matter most is the attitude you have with the shoeshiner. Be respectful and show your appreciation about the job done.
...by paying him a decent amount for his time and effort.

Originally Posted by Quebec1977

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On one side, I share the same feeling than yours with the idea of a guy, often old and obviously not affluent, shining my (sometime expensive) shoes as I sit above - on a small podium - dressed in suit and tie; to read the WSJ would just emphasize this even more... On the other side, I believe these people are happy to have customers and benefit from our money. What matter most is the attitude you have with the shoeshiner. Be respectful and show your appreciation about the job done.

Agreed to some extent. On one hand they are only trying to make an honest living. On the other, there are some jobs that just don't need to be done by anyone else. The worst example of this is the bog trolls in nightclub toilets who expect to be tipped just for handing out the soap dispenser and paper towels. There really is no need.
In some abstract way I kinda like shining shoes and ironing shirts. At least I know it's done right.

Some of the attitudes displayed in this thread make me very sad.

I got my shoes shined (for the first time by another man) the other day in a Nordstrom's. He said the service would be free and would take a couple of minutes. It took 20. The man insulted my friend's shoes as he was shining. He said he would recommend returning the shoes if he hadn't worn them already (they were just cap-toe Johnston Murphy's). He was very bitter in our conversation and gave a pathetic limp wristed handshake as we were leaving. I assume he was upset that we didn't tip him, but he was a quite a prick throughout and I don't feel bad about it.

Honestly, I probably wont get my shoes shined in public again, the service feels like it should be performed by a slave. The idea of a man on his knees working for me is very uncomfortable.

I've been brought up to do many things on my own and generally grew up in an environment where people do not expect tips, yet they do their work diligently and are courteous and respectful.

When I first came to the States for work, i did not tip many people out of ignorance. On one unforgettable occasion, this shoe shine guy not only insulted me for not tipping, but gave me an earful about how little he was making ~ about $5 per pair. Given that attitude, even if I had underpaid, I would not bother going back next time to make up for it. If you think you are making too little, raise the price but don't go to work with the thought that the world owes you a living.

As professionals, people should just do their job and if the tips come, treat it as a bonus, but don't bloody expect it as part of your wages. It is a sad state of affairs that people are withholding services or chiding the customer because of tips or the lack thereof.

In general, I find people who over-tip to be obnoxious (often to the point of insulting), the economic equivalent of dumping. They train society to hanker after money which they have not rightfully earned and to become selective of their customers, lowering the standards or quality of their work for all except customers they deem as generous. That shoeshine blog is pathetic and a very apt example of avarice. Anyone who praises clients as having style just because they routinely tip $5-$20 seriously needs to re-examine his business and professional ethics.

^^ To my knowledge, it is that a lot of these people get a ridiculous low wage doing what they do and rely heavily on the so called "tips" for a living.

The whole notion of tipping in America seems to be a mere formality than something of a bonus for a job well done. The shoe shiner, as rude as he was, shouldn't entirely be blamed. It is this absurd tipping system that's causing problems like these and also customers stressing over how much to tip.

The shoe shiner might not be able to raise his prices due to the customers expectation that a tip is needed afterwards and, without the knowledge that there is no need for tipping, they may see the prices as being too high.

Originally Posted by paco_deluca

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i guess i could, but i dont think you should ever insult the customer.

meh, i can just go to the guy who works nights there.

So many cheap people on here.

Originally Posted by Archivist

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Some of the attitudes displayed in this thread make me very sad.

Exactly.

Originally Posted by soxpats

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Exactly.

Which ones?

Originally Posted by Ianiceman

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Which ones?

The trash who look down on people doing honest work, and think it's acceptable to cheat them. In the US at least, that tip for service rendered is part of the cost. Don't like it? Don't have someone else shine your shoes. Don't eat at restaurants. Don't have a drink in a bar.

Came here from someplace else and didn't know the rules? Learn them, and live up to them. You live here now, if you don't like it, get out.

I'm particularly disgusted by the kind of filth that has the money, likes to throw it around to impress everyone with what they have, and then acts offended when they are expected to live up to the lifestyle they think they deserve.