to tip, or not to tip

**boundforsun** · 08-17-2010, 06:34 PM

hey all, just have a question that i have been meaning to ask for awhile, but feel really stupid asking, of course that usually doesnt stop me!! after having some of the best times of our lives at H3 and now looking forward to H2, i want to go without having this question hanging over my head: we are always more than happy to tip all of the wonderful people that make Hedo the best place to be. they all do their very best to make you happy and to make your trip the best ever, for us its just something we want to do just to let them know that we appreciate all their efforts. here is my question, does anyone ever tip the EC,s ? i am going to feel so bad if it turns out that its something we should have been doing all along, i dont know why it never dawned on me to tip them, Andrea, Fifty, and all of the EC,s always spent so much time making sure we had a good time, i dont want to make the same mistake again, if thats the case. maybe its not the same at H2 either, so any input from 2 or 3 repeaters would be appreciated.

**Calliope** · 08-17-2010, 08:07 PM

If you tip, tip discreetly, discreetly.
We have never tipped and we always get good service, so don't think you have to tip or that you are are getting good service because you tipped.
And, try to remember the staff's names, they take the trouble to remember your name and who you are and they appreciate it when you remember them

**chrisandlizvt** · 08-18-2010, 09:05 AM

You do not need to tip anyone. It is totally up to you if you do and you have to remember that the person you are trying to help could lose their job....so discretion. We've been going for years and over the years have tipped a few people who normally don't get tipped...and stopped bringing things for people EVERYONE raves about (but we feel takes advantage....ie. has a list of items wanted).

Bringing down some school supplies for children is always a wonderful thing to leave with your housekeeper or to give to someone you particularly hit it off with. If they don't have young kids, they have family that do. Body butter or moisturizers are a hit with housekeeping as well. Leave a note of what you gave to whom with the package so they don't get in trouble. It's okay to gift....but not cash.

We love bringing a little something for those staff that quietly and efficiently do their job...as we know the ones that stand out get plenty of things.

Liz

**mac_r_a** · 08-18-2010, 10:11 AM

I tipped one EC when we were there in April, as she went above and beyond and she was just so darn lovable, lol. I tipped the housekeeper, nude grill, and 2 bartenders when we were there. That's it. The housekeeper was in the beginning (half of what I planned to give her, the other half for the end), the rest were along with our goodbyes and thank yous for making our trip special. I only tipped those who would forever have a place in my memory as making my trip one I would not soon forget!!!

**CandG** · 08-18-2010, 11:13 AM

This is always a touchy subject and one that comes up often on this and other boards. People tend to have very strong feelings, one way of the other, about tipping. We do tip, but like mac r a we tip at the end of our trip as we say goodbye. We don't tip in order to get better service, but rather to thank people who made our trip special and added to our enjoyment of Hedo. And, yes, we do tip the EC's who went out of their way to spend time with us and add to our fun (four EC's on our trip a couple of weeks ago and five other employees). You MUST be discrete as employees can and do lose their jobs for accepting tips. Management does allow employees to accept gifts but you must include a note listing what was gifted. We also put our names, room number and trip date on the note so there is no confusion about whether it truly was a gift. We always leave the housekeeper anything that we're not going to take home with us (i.e. unused blow up rafts, left over glow bracelets/necklaces, etc., and last time even a bottle of rum we had won). In fact we put all the stuff in our beach bag which had some ganja in it all week and we were worried about drug sniffing dogs at airports and left the bag for her too. One of the EC's loved a pair of G's 7" heels and happened to wear the same size so we gave them to the EC on our last night, along with a note, of course. There is no need to tip to get good service because good service is the norm anyway, but we like to show our appreciation to people who go above and beyond for us.

**chrisandlizvt** · 08-18-2010, 12:06 PM

Forgot to add...We've left lots of outfits, boas, accessories with the staff (mostly ECs) over the years. And whenever we do tip it is always as we are leaving.

**boundforsun** · 08-18-2010, 02:40 PM

thanks everyone for the info, rest assured we have always been discreet when we tip, never would want to get someone fired. just wasnt sure about the EC,s and we all know how hard they work at making sure we all have a good time. we also will tip at the end of the trip, never thought about bringing gifts, thats a nice thought. tell us who some of your favorites are at h2, who are we going to be loving by the end of the trip? dont know when we will get there for sure, wont be soon enough !!! just did the quad squad at h3 in june, so maybe rite after the first of the year, (can only hope). believe it or not we were there one time, but it was 26 years ago for our honeymoon, what a hoot !! im thinking there mite be some new staff by now lol. thanks again for all the info

**CandG** · 08-18-2010, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by boundforsun

thanks everyone for the info, rest assured we have always been discreet when we tip, never would want to get someone fired. just wasnt sure about the EC,s and we all know how hard they work at making sure we all have a good time. we also will tip at the end of the trip, never thought about bringing gifts, thats a nice thought. tell us who some of your favorites are at h2, who are we going to be loving by the end of the trip? dont know when we will get there for sure, wont be soon enough !!! just did the quad squad at h3 in june, so maybe rite after the first of the year, (can only hope). believe it or not we were there one time, but it was 26 years ago for our honeymoon, what a hoot !! im thinking there mite be some new staff by now lol. thanks again for all the info

This is dangerous because I know I'm going to leave someone out, but here goes:

EC's - Sticky Nikki, Stephanie, Ferrario, Chrystalee, and of course the inimitable Winston (you'll also see some familiar faces because a few EC's are coming over from H3)
Delroy at the nude bar and Nigel at the nude grill
Agustus is a legend on the beach (that's the correct spelling- there is no u after the A)
Devon and Noel in Watersports
Dion in the piano bar

**harry bawls** · 08-18-2010, 10:48 PM

When I didn't tip I noticed others in line getting drinks first even though I was there ahead of them, watersports guys kinda pushy,blunt, etc....Next trip tipped em all up front and I was the guy getting served ahead of others, treated like royalty, etc...Not saying I ever got BAD treatment at Hedo. Everyone does their job, is cordial, etc. but some things were differnet when we tipped. Don't know if we will tip again or not. One of the major bartenders just got laid off temporarily for taking tips. If you do tip do it discreetly. If an employee is worried about their job, etc they can always not accept the tip but by tipping we are tempting the employees to violate their employment terms.

**caughtyoulookin** · 08-19-2010, 12:09 AM

Remembering that the wages in JA are about $600 mo., I tip discreetly. Practise the palm handshake, it works.

**TandM** · 08-19-2010, 01:32 AM

We leave a nice big chocolate bar for our housekeeper everyday, knowing that her kids are jumping up and down when Mom gets home to find out what kind of chocolate she got today.

We'll also give chocolate to the watersports guys after a scuba or snorkeling outing.

We also bring school supplies and gifts for the kids. We've gotten to know a couple of the staff and will arrange to meet them off the resort to give them the goods so they do not have to go through any of the hassles with the boss/security trying to take the stuff out themselves.

And as stated earlier - cash tips must be handled discreetly. If you feel the need to tip a particular employee do it only once and not multiple times. Limit their risk in accepting a tip as much as possible.

**PatrickNLissa** · 08-19-2010, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by briankinley2004

When I didn't tip I noticed others in line getting drinks first even though I was there ahead of them, watersports guys kinda pushy,blunt, etc....Next trip tipped em all up front and I was the guy getting served ahead of others, treated like royalty, etc...Not saying I ever got BAD treatment at Hedo. Everyone does their job, is cordial, etc. but some things were differnet when we tipped. Don't know if we will tip again or not. One of the major bartenders just got laid off temporarily for taking tips. If you do tip do it discreetly. If an employee is worried about their job, etc they can always not accept the tip but by tipping we are tempting the employees to violate their employment terms.

@briankinley2004: Oh no! Who got canned?

**harry bawls** · 08-19-2010, 10:15 PM

It was posted on DennyP...one of the two main players by the nude pool....I'm thinking the bar is named after him...he is back now but was laid off a week or two for getting caught leaving with a tip

**CandG** · 08-19-2010, 11:29 PM

Originally Posted by briankinley2004

It was posted on DennyP...one of the two main players by the nude pool....I'm thinking the bar is named after him...he is back now but was laid off a week or two for getting caught leaving with a tip

Nobody got canned but someone did get suspended for two weeks. He returned from suspension the day after we arrived a few weeks ago. The story is that someone gave him a gift of a pair of sunglasses and slipped money into the case without telling the employee. The person's heart was in the right place, but his head wasn't. All employees are searched when they leave the property and when this employee was searched they found the cash in the case. My understanding is that they were going to fire him but guests intervened and appealed to management so he was suspended instead. This is exactly why extreme care needs to be taken when tipping employees.