Teachers, Housekeepers and Child Care Providers Among the Most Tipped Professions, According to Consumer Reports Survey

A recent Consumer Reports Survey reveal that the list of tip recipients will be increasing these upcoming Holidays and so will the amount. According to the Consumer Reports Survey, last year the most tipped are child-care provider followed by housekeepers or cleaners, and teachers.

Greg Daugherty, executive director at Consumer Reports says that the list of people receiving tips are expanding and while traditional recipients like hairdressers, newspaper carriers, and child-care providers are still in the list, they are joined by fitness trainers, spa attendants, dog walkers, and elder-care workers.

The Consumer Reports National Research Center also asked more than 1,800 respondents what they give last Christmas and half of the respondents answered cash or cash substitutes and the persons receiving most of these cash or cash substitutes are usually hairdressers, barbers, manicurist, and newspaper carrier but the housekeepers and child-care providers usually receive the biggest amount with their average tip ranging from $50-$40.

The Consumer Reports survey also revealed that people working with children are the ones who most likely received actual presents and only 20% of the respondents saying that they gave teachers cash or cash substitute, this may be due to the fact that some people view giving teachers cash or cash substitute as some sort of bribe so Consumer Reports warned that when giving cash or cash substitute to teacher, you should check with the school district's office or parent-teacher association.

According to the Consumer Reports Survey, this year, there was an increase of $5 a piece in tips with most respondents preferring cash or cash substitutes such as gift cards rather than presents. The Consumer Reports press release however cautioned about giving gift cards saying that most gift cards go unclaimed and that bank-issued gift cards often have fees and expiration dates.

Consumer Report also gave a general advice when giving tips. Consumer Reports advised that when giving tips to service providers, you should always match their salary per week or per session. You should also consider giving a present that match the value of the recipient's fee per week or session. They also reminded consumers that mail carriers are not supposed to accept cash, gift cards or anything that can be exchanged for cash. When giving cash, Consumer Reports also advised on giving fresh crisp bills and adding a thank you note.

This Consumer Reports survey as well as tip etiquette advice was published on the December 2007 issue of Consumer Reports.

SOURCE:

Consumer Reports, "Consumer Reports Survey: Holiday Tipping Grows More Generous; Child-Care Providers, Housekeepers and Teachers Among The Most Tipped". Prnewswire.com