Should I have tipped the utility company guy?

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I'm never sure who I'm supposed to tip or not!

 

The utility company informed us that they needed to replace our gas meter, so I scheduled an appt for it to happen today. The guy who came was definitely a subcontractor. About an hour after he left, I had to go into the garage for something, and I noticed soap bubbles bubbling all around one of the joints under the new regulator. So I called the utility company, who had a guy here in 10 minutes, and who spent about an hour replacing the pipes and joint. When he was done, he came up and checked the stove, then the hot water heater, and he was pretty chatty. He kind of seemed like he was lingering a little bit, and then he came back in once to let me know the hiss I was hearing from the new regulator was normal etc.

 

I thanked him a bunch of times (he was MUCH nicer than the subcontractor dude), and then he left. As usual, I'm left wondering, should I have tipped him or something? I tend to think of those kind of employees as fairly well compensated FT employees, not hourly guys just scraping by like furniture delivery people, but maybe I'm wrong? 

Would you have slipped him a $20 if you'd thought of it in time? 

Edited May 3, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[Jean in Newcastle]

No, I would not have tipped.  It wouldn't have even occurred to me. 

[Arcadia]

The guy who fixed our clogged kitchen sink pipe was sent by our HOA and he said he is not suppose to take tips. So we offered him soda and cookies. He happily drank the soda.

My hubby chatted with him and he said he is a full time employee with health benefits and annual leave he was happy with. His employer has contracts with a few HOAs so work is steady but not busy.

[bettyandbob]

Gosh I hope not!

[TammyS]

No.   Personally, I hate the whole tipping culture, so I only tip those that I know for absolute certain I am supposed to tip (waiters, hair dressers, etc).  And if I was going to tip him it would be a couple of bucks - not $20!

 

I will sometimes toss a cold drink to a worker who is here (for whatever) on a hot day (or vice versa, hot drink on a cold day).

[trulycrabby]

No tip here, but the cookies and soda sound great! :)

[Tsuga]

I do not tip public sector employees. I do give holiday cards with a little Starbucks gift card in it for those who do weekly work (garbage etc.).

 

I wonder why he came back in?

[Lanny]

My wife often offers an Apple, if we have them in the refrigerator, and a Coke or cup of coffee.  The phone company men are the ones we see the most and there have been a few times  we have had outstanding help from them and may have given them a tip. We are dependent on the phone company for our phone/ADSL and TV.  A problem with Natural Gas is way beyond that and can be life threatening, so I am glad the 2nd guy fixed the issues.  I'm glad that you noticed the issue and that they responded so quickly!

[Valley Girl]

I would not. That said, when we have workmen here, I always offer something to drink. When we're had major outdoor projects (like replacing a roof), I provided a cooler of beverages so the workers could help themselves. But I don't feel the need to tip.

[creekland]

No, unless he carried your luggage/groceries in or helped you remove a tree that fell or something, those aren't generally considered tipping jobs.

 

If it's hot, like others, we'll offer a drink from the fridge, but that's it.

[plansrme]

I tip liberally, but even I would not have tipped a utility employee or contractor. I tip delivery guys (appliances, furniture), but never repair people. I don't know why.

[Tanaqui]

Utilities are a union job. No need to tip.

[Farrar]

Definitely no tip.

 

I agree with offering them something to drink, a light snack, and use of the bathroom if you feel inclined if they're there for awhile.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Thanks, everyone. You confirmed what my rational side was saying, but there was that little voice that wouldn't shut up. Not that I could do anything about it now anyway, but at least I'd know for next time!

 

I do not tip public sector employees. I do give holiday cards with a little Starbucks gift card in it for those who do weekly work (garbage etc.).

 

I wonder why he came back in?

 

I think maybe I was just being paranoid, and he was just being thorough. The new gas regulator makes a hissing sound if the gas is in use somewhere in the house, and he mentioned it as he was leaving. I walked away from the door, and when I came back, I found him back in the garage, looking at the meter again, and he came back into the house to show me that when the gas use stops, so does the hissing. I felt like it was a little bit of overkill on the information, but it also felt like maybe he was assuming that I was a clueless/nervous homeowner, so he wanted to be sure I understood, and since he'd been called in to fix a (minor) gas leak, maybe he just wanted to make sure I understood that it wasn't still leaking anything.

 

Either way, whatever. I just wanted to make sure I hadn't made some kind of faux pas. I don't think I did, so whew!

Edited May 4, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[Carrie12345]

I don't think it would have crossed my mind to tip him, but I can't resist using this thread to share my most out of the norm tipping situation.

 

The office for our private community closes early on Saturdays, and is closed Sunday and Monday.  No organizations outside of our community would help me, so I had to wait DAYS for maintenance to come retrieve a dead deer from rocky/wooded terrain toward the back of our property.  It was HUGE and smelly and took these two poor 50 or 60-somethings a long time to finally haul up into the truck and cart off.

 

I don't remember if I tipped them $20 each, $40 each, or what, but I felt like I should have just given them all of the money I had, ever had, will ever have, and some of my kids' future earnings.

[BlsdMama]

I don't think it would have crossed my mind to tip him, but I can't resist using this thread to share my most out of the norm tipping situation.

 

The office for our private community closes early on Saturdays, and is closed Sunday and Monday. No organizations outside of our community would help me, so I had to wait DAYS for maintenance to come retrieve a dead deer from rocky/wooded terrain toward the back of our property. It was HUGE and smelly and took these two poor 50 or 60-somethings a long time to finally haul up into the truck and cart off.

 

I don't remember if I tipped them $20 each, $40 each, or what, but I felt like I should have just given them all of the money I had, ever had, will ever have, and some of my kids' future earnings.

Too funny.