Tipping in Doorman Building
Hi guys,
I live in a boutique-like building in NYC with a lot of doormen/porters. My use of the services is strictly saying hi bye, and when I pick up my deliveries. Having to tip all of the staff is also not within my budget (also don't know my job situation for 2023 and it's hard to save with how expensive the city is, taxes, etc). Just curious, do people that live in a doorman building tip? If so, how much? Has anyone here decided not to tip, especially for the same reason as above?
Be sure to tip your Landlord before the doormen. Usually 5% of bonus is standard
You have to remember that the landlord has to tip the banker who arranged the mortgage at least 5%. So really you should be tipping around 7.5% so that your landlord will see at least 2.5% of it. With rates rising and all the money lost during COVID these guys deserve the extra 2.5%, don't be greedy you earn enough.
IMO it's rude to not tip at all, and saying the city is expensive is not a great reason to skip out on all of your tipping. They are on very low salaries (like $40k/year) the city is infinitely more expensive for them and they absolutely rely on holiday tips. You make many times that and part of living in a doorman building is budgeting for tips. Even if it's 20 or 50 a person that is still at least acknowledging them.
Maybe if you live in one of those 400 unit rental buildings with mostly post-grads it is okay not to tip but in any type of boutique building, condo/co-op you should tip something even if it's small. I just spent over $1500 on tips (about 15 doormen/porters, gave some who are excellent/tenured more $ and some of the newer guys less), and while that definitely is not in everyone's budget, I would really recommend you figure out some way to give everyone a bit. It is a very dehumanizing job and they really do rely on the tips.
While I 100% agree that you should tip, even if it's a few hundred bucks for everyone, I don't think you're right that doormen make "40k/year". I think average salaries are substantially higher (50k+) and they also get pretty decent benefits.
But as noted, if you can't afford a couple hundred bucks for the doormen, don't live in a doorman building. That's part of the cost.
I just moved into a 500ish unit building a mix of younger/older people. Similar to you, I don't use them for anything outside of hi/bye and when I pickup my packages. In the past and currently I'll just tip the guys I like and am in touch with the most. I make personal cards with $40-60 each, hand it out to 5-10 people in the building that go out of their way to be nice, have been accommodating, I talk to regularly etc.
If the building has any sensible management, they collect a total fund that then spread it out so these kind of conversations don't have to happen.
dont be cheap. this is the trade - you make good money, you spend good money. you can part with $50 each p.p., its never fun but its the right thing to do. stay in a couple of nights a year to make up for it the difference.
if you dont want to do it, then live in a walk-up and see what happens to your packages. i thought this was WSO, not goingconcern.com. Tipping your doorman generously is far cooler than overspending at some pretentious bar/lounge in WV or meatpacking.
For those seeking a datapoint: I tip $1.5-$2.2k per year. Last year i lived in a smaller more hands-on building, the guys crushed it during covid when they were wiping down packages and spraying our hallways with disinfectant. Those guys got $80-$150 p.p.. This year I am in a much larger building, much more hands-off though and larger staff, I avg $50-$100 p.p.
In a 500+ unit building and around 25 staff. Tip $40 each.
What exactly do these guys do? I have a concierge at my building that collects packages for me to pick up. There’s a holiday fund for the concierges that I give to but other than that I’m not tipping on a regular basis - are you guys tipping each time they open the door for you or what are we talking about here?
Definitely no need to tip on a regular basis, just holidays
I have about 30 doormen, porters and car attendants in my building and give the ones I don’t like 50 bucks and the ones I like 100 bucks.
If you’re cheap, you don’t have to tip at all.
They realize some people are ungrateful like you. If you can afford to pay rent in the building, you certainly can afford to tip, so don’t pretend it has anything to do with your budget.
I tipped $1.5k this year. Across 15 doormen/staff, ~300 unit building.
Not from NYC so never heard of this, that means if 50% tip @$100, then each doorman is walking away with $15k every Christmas?
I live in a building with probably 30-40 staff across doormen, porters, package / security personnel; most of them I don't even know or could pick out of a line up. This year I gave five individuals who I regularly interact with or have been very helpful $100-$150 each but felt like they deserved more. Next year I'll probably bump it to $200/each. It feels bad to not tip the others, but I think each have relationships with certain tenants so I hope they're taken care of. I do like the idea someone mentioned of a common fund and I recommended this to our building manager to consider for next year. I'd happily donate to a fund as well as give individual tips to those I'm close with. In addition to the doorman, we also gave $100-$150 tips to my barber, dog walker, and my wife's hair / nail women. Of course I also remembered to tip my PM 5% of my bonus as a thank you for not firing me.
I tipped $520 this year. $40 each for 13 staff in total (super / doormen / concierge / porters). ~300 unit building.
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