Why $2 Bills...

[TiggerKing]

I have noticed on some of the postings about tipping for Room Service and Porters that the people indicated they tipped with $2 bills. I have also seen this as information on other cruise related sites, but never found an explanation.

So, the question....Why $2 bills? And, can you just go to the bank and request them? Just curious about this one!

 

[TheWog]

Some think they are a treat to give the $2 as a tip. Not very common, the server will remember you and maybe appreciate it more, less amount of bills to carry, etc. Gold $1 coins can also be used.

I believe you can ask at your local bank, but they may or may not have them.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

My guess is that the DCL passengers who go to an effort to find a bank with $2 bills for use as tips are wasting their time.

For the recipients of those tips, what really matters is the amount. Tips are their main income. For example, a common $5 bill will be more appreciated than two uncommon $2 bills.

 

[piglet33]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
My guess is that the DCL passengers who go to an effort to find a bank with $2 bills for use as tips are wasting their time.

For the recipients of those tips, what really matters is the amount. Tips are their main income. For example, a common $5 bill will be more appreciated than two uncommon $2 bills.

Not necessarily. Some people enjoy receiving different types of money and even collect different kinds. Not a waste of time IMO.

 

[lrodptl]

I agree it's a waste of time. They're earning a living. How would you like your employer sending you $2 bills,gold coins or silver dollars. Bring 10s and 20s!

 

[bettemom]

Originally posted by piglet33
Not necessarily. Some people enjoy receiving different types of money and even collect different kinds. Not a waste of time IMO.

You go girl !!!

 

[DisnyMik]

Maybe I'm wrong but I'm not one for tipping a $10 or $20 bill for a small room service order.

 

[Grumbo]

Wow Horace thanks for the insightful comment.
I'm sure the $2 bill would be appreciated. For room service thats fine imho and it is nice you have put some thought into giving the tip.

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[jrp]

Hey Irodptl would you please send me some of those 20's so I can verify their authenticity? hehe

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Grumbo
Wow Horace thanks for the insightful comment.

Do I detect sarcasm?

I continue to believe that a tip recipient considers an uncommon $2 bill or two common $1 bills to be of equal value. Either is the same amount of income.

 

[christinou]

We tipped room service with $2 bills last time, it just was nice and easy to pick 1 or 2 out depending on the order. We like using them anyway and my husband often get them at the bank, they always have them where we live.

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I tend to agree with Horace. If tips were my main source of income, I wouldn't be collecting the different forms of it. If you start saving every unusual form of payment you get, your income could start to suffer.

The same argument has been made regarding phone cards as tips, i.e. do the crew appreciate them or would they rather just have the money?

Of course, both questions are academic unless we were able to survey a large portion of the crew, but if I were to put myself in the place of a crew member, I would say that a $2 bill is no different than a $1 bill, but a phone card might be something I could use, and allow me to spend my $2 bills elsewhere....

 

[jrabbit]

The $2 bill debate...my 2¢ input

Pros: 2 bucks per bag for porters, 2 bucks per item for room service (that might be generous), therefor easy to "count out" 1 bag - 1 bill, 2 bags - 2 bills, etc. Therefore bringing the cash for tipping is much less bulky for the guest.

Cons: if the service provider is used to getting 2 bucks a bag and only receives 1 bill - if they don't look at it they either think that you are generous (maybe tipping $5/bag) or more likely cheap - only giving $1/ bag.

In my experience the porters are usually pretty busy so they aren't looking at the amount of the tip - they're off to their next tip...er...I mean customer. THe room service staff might check out what their tip is on the way back to the kitchen.

Bottom Line - they are just like us - more is better!!

 

[TooPure4u]

These are tips for room service we are talking about. The people who bring food to the room do not earn there paycheck from delivering room service do they???? Also, why would one care what they are given as a separate tip (other than the one we give to them on the last evening)? I look at it this way, $2 bill or 2-$1 dollar bills, it is all the same. Phone cards are additional ways of saying thank you.....why does it matter how it is given??
It all spends the same way!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by TooPure4u
Also, why would one care what they are given as a separate tip (other than the one we give to them on the last evening)?

On the recomended tipping chart, DCL identifies room service as a separately tipped possition. For "Room Service," the chart indicates "Your Discretion."

My guess is that the room service servers are not also dinner servers. After all, they spend the dinner hours delivering dinners to those passengers who choose to eat dinner in their staterooms. So you're not giving them a tip "on the last evening" -- and neither is anyone else.

Originally posted by TooPure4u
I look at it this way, $2 bill or 2-$1 dollar bills, it is all the same.

You and I think it's the same. A few others in this thread don't agree with us. What matters is what the tip recipients think. I doubt it makes any more diffeence to them than the color the check means to those who are paid by check.

 

[Footnotegirl]

My $.2
I have worked in the service industry, both in tipped and non-tipped positions, and still have many friends who work in such positions.
When giving equal funds, something that shows the tip is 'personal' is always, always very much appreciated. Whether it be handed with a card with a personal note, or money made 'fun' in some way (I used to have a regular customer who did origami and folded the bills into interesting shapes) it's a nice touch. It says "Not only did I like your service, but I liked dealing with you as a person and I really thought about /you/ as something other than just a machine that had to be paid."
However, 'interesting' tips do not make up for a difference in cash. No, two $2 bills are not going to be liked as much as one $5.
The best way you can make your tip matter more than the dollar amount? Give a 'tip' to their manager, and let them know that you got exceptional service. This is true for anyone who works in the service industry. Normally managers only hear complaints, if someone is giving good service, it goes unnoticed. Letting the manager know that they have a good worker means that that worker gets put up for more promotions, can receive bonusses, etc. etc. And believe it or not, a lot of people who work in the service industry really like the aspect that they're helping people, and to know that their hard work was noticed can really make their day.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by jrabbit

Cons: if the service provider is used to getting 2 bucks a bag and only receives 1 bill - if they don't look at it they either think that you are generous (maybe tipping $5/bag) or more likely cheap - only giving $1/ bag.

In my experience the porters are usually pretty busy so they aren't looking at the amount of the tip - they're off to their next tip...er...I mean customer. THe room service staff might check out what their tip is on the way back to the kitchen.

Well going by that then the porters must really not like me LOL....I give one bill- a 10.00 one but it is only one bill LOL!

 

[ljm]

I really find it hard to believe there is a thread about $2 bills. They haven't been printed in many, many years. Most folks today would think it is a phony - they haven't seen them in decades. I remember when they went out of print I squirreled away a few of them to keep for posterity (and that maybe they'd be worth more than $2 someday). I wouldn't be surprised if some of the recepients had trouble spending them. Do you think the cashier at the local convenience/discount store has ever even seen one? I can just imagine the look they'd get at the local Wal Mart.

If you are bringing them to make calculating a tip for you easier, then fine. If you are bringing them just to be different, then that is your option. If, on the other hand, you think that the tip recepient will aprpeciate it more than 2 singles ( or 1 $5 bill), then you are most likely mistaken (unless your server/porter, etc. also happens to be a numismatist).

 

[tvguy]

Yep $2 bills take up have the space. But no one at my bank has ever seen one. Hadn't thought about folks thinking they were counterfeit. Although, all the new currency looks fake to me.
As for Wal-Mart, they were the only place you could get those "Sacajawea" dollar coins. I've never seen one of those either.

 

[Footnotegirl]

Actually, $2 bills are still considered to be in active circulation. They are in fact likely to be going through a new printing in 2005, as can be seen in this story. The Sacajawea dollar is easily available at most banks, and the machines at my post office give them as change. I get a roll of them to take to the Renaissance Festival out here to use for hat passes.

I could go on at real length about how we really should stop printing $1 bills and go with coins, but that would just bore everyone.