Tipping dilemma

jtheiss

I know the general rule of thumb is not to tip people who own their own business. Our DJ owns his own company, so technically he would fall in that category. However, he'll have an assistant at our wedding who we will obviously tip and I feel weird tipping the assistant but not the DJ himself. What would you do?

felicia220

I never heard that rule before, I would tip them both.  

Heather822

I agree ~ there is absolutely no reason to tip someone who owns there own business. They take is all the profits from the sale, which as it is, is usually quite high.
I see nothing wrong with tipping the assistant but not the DJ.
My hair stylist owns her salon, and I will routinely tip the shampoo girl, but not the stylist.

mbcdefg

We tipped the second shooter but not the main photographer ... MH gave her the money when she came up to say goodbye when she left the reception (she left after the special dances, and the main photographer stayed all night). So maybe wait to see if you can get him alone for a minute, if you feel funny tipping him in front of the main DJ.

But I doubt the main DJ would be offended, since you're giving him the main payment. You could always ask for the assistant's business card and mail the tip to him later, if you really want, but I'd just give him an envelope at the reception and make it easy on yourself.

demarcosjd

I agree, we aren't planning on tipping those that own their business. Same reasons as pp they are already making a big profit off of the total cost. If they have an assistant we will tip them.

NJMom050911

I need help with this as well, my photog owns his business and he is bringing an assistant. I want to tip the assistant and not the owner but he has mentioned getting tips to me before.....was that a hint?

jtheiss

Felicia - I had never heard that rule before either until I started frequenting these message boards.

We really like our DJ and he's friendly with FI's mom since she uses his services for all the high school dances, so maybe we'll slip him a little something just so we don't burn any bridges.

Kathy - that's a tough one about your photog! Who hints about getting a tip??? I would be nervous not to give him one, though, since the photog still does a lot of work after the wedding and I would want to keep him happy until I have everything I need/want from him! That's pretty presumtuous of him though to drop hints like that.

USER876

I don't why a tip is necessary at all.  I would wait and see how satisfied you are and if they do go above and beyond, perhaps throw some cash their way.  What is with all of this automatic tipping?  You are paying them a set fee for a service, sorry I just don't get it.  Do you tip your automechanic?  what about the guy that painted your house? etc.

akmackay

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_tipping-dilemma?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:37e75ceb-b301-446f-a17b-b09c5e39d0edPost:893e16ae-6e05-4b18-abca-c96f42bf99da">Re: Tipping dilemma</a>:
[QUOTE]I don't why a tip is necessary at all.  I would wait and see how satisfied you are and if they do go above and beyond, perhaps throw some cash their way.  What is with all of this automatic tipping?  You are paying them a set fee for a service, sorry I just don't get it.  Do you tip your automechanic?  what about the guy that painted your house? etc.
Posted by USER876[/QUOTE]

thank you!! we waited til day of (unless the vendor had already gone above and beyond, whereas we set aside money) to tip if we felt they deserved it.

uppereastgirl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_tipping-dilemma?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:37e75ceb-b301-446f-a17b-b09c5e39d0edPost:893e16ae-6e05-4b18-abca-c96f42bf99da">Re: Tipping dilemma</a>:
[QUOTE]I don't why a tip is necessary at all.  I would wait and see how satisfied you are and if they do go above and beyond, perhaps throw some cash their way.  What is with all of this automatic tipping?  You are paying them a set fee for a service, sorry I just don't get it.  Do you tip your automechanic?  what about the guy that painted your house? etc.
Posted by USER876[/QUOTE]

But doesn't that logic go for eating at a restaurant, getting a drink at a bar, getting your hair cut, valet parking, etc. too?  And those are all services for which tips are expected and at least for some of them, an important part of compensation (not sure about valets, but I know that most waiters and bartenders and stylists are compensated less by their employers because tips are expected).  I'd be interested in hearing someone who works in the wedding industry chime in on whether tips are a nice bonus rather than part of basic comp before making a call on this.  I would imagine they're pretty much expected.  Which maybe is something that evolved over time, but I'm sure tipping waiters evolved over time too.

USER876

The people you mentioned make less than minimum wage, so yes, tipping is expected and a big part of their compensation.

Professional musicans (band,etc) make the industry standard of 100-200 dollars per hour.  A second shooter, typically makes the industry standard of 500/day.  For what a DJ costs I have to believe they are paying the guy decent for a 4 hour event.  Even if he only gets 100 dollars, thats 25/hr which is a long way from a waiter's pay of 2-3 dollars per hour.

ksen820

I was just having this discussion with my best friend yesterday, he owns his own videography company and frequently takes his assistant to jobs.  He says he NEVER gets tips and doesn't expect to but his assistant usually does.

He has never gotten offended and believes there's no reason for the client to tip him since he is getting all the money for the work anyway.  So my rule of thumb is tip only the people that go above and beyond and i'm not tipping owners.