Tipping Your Dresser?- Page 2

[Fosse76]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 11:45am

"The bottom line is, you tip anyone who gives your good service, your waiter, the valet, your dry cleaner."

But somehow, you don't want to tip your usher at the theater. And I have never heard of tipping a dry cleaner...and at the rates manhattan dry cleaners charge I am in no way going to tipping them.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 11:55am

"But somehow, you don't want to tip your usher at the theater."

Me? No I've never tipped an usher because they haven't done a thing to earn it. I've never ben shown to my seat, I have to ask for a program.


Tipping ushers, I never understood, unless it was at the Hollywood Bowl or a dinner theatre. There you get served. Otherwise, they show you to your assigned seat. Why does that deserve a tip? I bought the seat. The usher isn't serving me in any way.


To Insure Proper SERVICE.

Pointing out my seat to me from where you are standing doesn't qualify.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:09pm

If you feel that you shouldn't tip your dresser because they are already being paid, then do you feel you shouldn't tip your waiter at a restaurant because they are already being paid? It is essentially the same thing.

Unless dressers make two or three bucks an hour before tips, I don't think it's the same thing as tipping a waiter. I'm not saying you shouldn't tip a dresser, but it's not the same thing at all.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:11pm

Then you've never needed a dresser, have you?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:17pm

And no, I haven't needed one, at least not in a professional show. Does college count?

I just don't understand why people have to tip for EVERYTHING. Yes, I know to To Insure Proper Service (although I think the word we want here is Ensure), but in a highly unionized system such as a Broadway show, I think it's weird that tips are expected in addition to the pay for work one is contracted to do.

How much would a dresser be tipped? Do dressers make three dollars an hour?

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:29pm

But then it would be "Teps" and where would that leave us?

I think the tipping of the dresser is something that goes back to a time when dressers didn't have a union and probably were only making a small pittance. The practice has simply been going one so long that, even though dressers may make more than they did then, it's still common to do so.

TheatreDiva, having a dresser sounds nice. Can you come to my house? I don't know if I can tip you but I can give you candy.

Wait...that sounds creepy...nevermind.

[otis33]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:43pm

A good dresser is a life saver. I've never looked at the tip as a way to insure proper service - but as a thank you. I consider it similar to showing appreciation to a friend who is always there for me when I need them - and my dressers often become friends. God bless the dresser who has to listen to me rant when I'm having a bad day... and does it with a smile.

Diva, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the proper way to tip in different arenas. When I toured, generally we tipped every week. When I work regionally, we tip at the end of the run. Sometimes money, sometimes personal gifts, often both. I know you touched on this a bit in an earlier post - but I'd be interested in specific amounts (without getting too personal). I've heard a lot of different thoughts on this from actors - like it should be this percentage of your pay check, or it should depend on how many changes you make - but it's not really a question you can flat out ask your dresser. I'd hate to think I was under-appreciating them. Thanks!

[nexttoelectric]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:47pm

you tip your friends?

[otis33]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:53pm

I've certainly treated friends to lunch, or seen something I thought they might enjoy and bought it for them just because.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:54pm

My friends tip me...


Otis, PM me the questions you want answered and I'll answer tham


I always thought that the subject of what people are paid and tipped is very private and personal.


I got up early to take care of some business,
but now I'm going back to bed for a bit.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:58pm

Surely there's some sort of base standard, though.

And was that a joke up there about tipping a spotlight operator?

[Okayfine]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 1:24pm

Tipping for sometimes unpleasant jobs is something that is quite common & I'm suprrised that there is so much resistance to the idea on this board.

Alan Cumming made a special point to thank the dresser who painted the swastika on his rear every night, proving, along with Sutton Foster's nod to her dresser, that actors do appreciate the extra effort put forth by dressers, that they understand that teh job can be difficult.

I should mention that all the tips in the world don't make up for mistreatement (a la Gregory Hines) that sometimes occurs. Keep your money & treat your staff better.

As for doormen, the job can be very hectic, stressful, & time-consuimg & they should be tipped. Unfortunately, some performers who avail themselves of the doorman's services the most are too inexperienced to understand that they should make a monetary gesture of appreciation, just as you would with any service position.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 3:23pm

Okayfine, what is Gregory Hines' story? Did he mistreat his dresser during Jelly's Last Jam?
Updated On: 12/30/08 at 03:23 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 3:24pm

Seriously, do you tip the spotlight guy or not?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 3:29pm

NO, you don't tip the spotlight guy.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 3:31pm

I hope these tips are reported to the IRS!

Off the subject, but why do you tip a cab driver and not a bus driver?

[Tom1071]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 3:32pm

It's the follow spot operators job to hit their cues. They aren't going out to their way to do anything extra.
Updated On: 12/31/08 at 03:32 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 3:56pm

Well, isn't a dresser's job to dress? I mean, any "service" job is the person's job to do.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 4:07pm

I'm a bitch about tipping. I only tip big when someone gives me the best possible experience.

I never tip when I'm picking up food at a restaurant. Delivery, sure. Sit down, of course. But for me walking there to get it myself? Nope.

I also don't tip when I know the entire staff is related to the owner. I'm a jerk, I know.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 4:14pm

I don't tip for carry out, either. But I overtip delivery drivers.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 4:14pm

I don't tip for pick up service either.

And you aren't suppose to tip the owner of an establishment...but the rest of the family? Yes...you have no idea how much or little they are making.

[dapperchapper]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 4:32pm

me- "If you feel that you shouldn't tip your dresser because they are already being paid, then do you feel you shouldn't tip your waiter at a restaurant because they are already being paid? It is essentially the same thing. "

Phyllis Rogers Stone - "I'm not saying you shouldn't tip a dresser, but it's not the same thing at all." and "Well, isn't a dresser's job to dress?"

How is that not the same? YES, it is a dresser's job to dress, just as it is a waiter's job to wait on you. When you feel a waiter is doing a good job, you tip them well. If you feel your dresser is doing a good job, you tip them well. It IS the exact same thing.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 4:54pm

She's just mixed up.

[Prisoner 24601]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 5:14pm

Initially, it didn't really sit right with me to hear about actors tipping members of the crew, because to me that just widened the gap between actors and crew that seems to exist to some extent in every show. You know, the attitude that all work done on the show is only meant to serve the people on stage. Every member of the production is working towards the same goal, putting on a good show, and it seemed odd for people working for the same entity to tip each other. But, when you describe your work, Diva, it makes more sense to tip, since extra work you do like getting coffee or handling mail is a personal service for the actor and not the show as a whole. I didn't know that dressers did so much more than, well, dress!

[Weez]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 6:18pm

How is that not the same? YES, it is a dresser's job to dress, just as it is a waiter's job to wait on you. When you feel a waiter is doing a good job, you tip them well. If you feel your dresser is doing a good job, you tip them well. It IS the exact same thing.

Does this mean we should go to the stagedoor armed with bills in small denominations? I mean, actors act, right? We should tip them too! How about the stage manager? They've been managing the stage; we should tip them! And the house manager, for that matter! Managing the house! Tip 'em! Tip everyone! Never let the madness end!

(Note: I'm mocking this hilarious reasoning, not the idea of tipping people who've done such an exceptional job for you that you feel they're worth a little extra. :P)

Updated On: 12/30/08 at 06:18 PM