[offroadr35]

What is the etiquette here? My car is going in for the 1000 mile service on wednesday. Do you tip? If so, how much? Before or after? What's the protocol?

I usually lease cars so i don't really care if the techs take perfect care of them or not. I'd like them to treat this one well though.

-Steve

 

[_JD_]

I believe Transio was saying before that he tips the service guy- news to me. I guess it never hurts. Maybe a bottle of wine around Christmas of something of that nature would be a good idea

 

[Surferjer]

I never thought of tipping. I just try to treat them with respect and friendship. I like the Christmas present idea, though.

I'm not sure how much I'll see them, since I've decided to do my own oil changes now. I suppose a lot more after things get old and start braking.

 

[ivan1]

I suppose if you give them a nice tip each time, it can be arranged that your car needs service more frequently

kind of like positive reinforcement

 

[perryeyges]

My dad used to ba a commercial salmon fisherman, so when my mom would come in for a service on her Audi A8 she would usually bring a small platter of smoked salmon for the parts & service dept guys. Let's just say that there was ALWAYS room for my moms car at a moments notice while other customers were routinely told that it would be "at least three weeks before we could possibly even think about scheduling you car in for anything we are completley jammed".
Service writers are understandably a cranky lot in general. They usually only hear from you when there is something wrong with your car. Most people expect their complex machine(car) to function flawlessly and expect the machine to be repaired(correctly) in record breaking time..rotfl

 

[zvezdah1]

No tipping for me. It seems everyone expect tips nowadays.

We're thinking of placing a tip jar in our CV ICU
Chris

 

[JWA]

I like to bring the guys some donuts or similar, especially if the appt. is in the morning. They always seem to appreciate that.

--Josh

 

[CrashTestDummy]

I am a service advisor for the local Volvo dealership and I greatly appreciate it when my clients tip me or bring in donuts or some form of snacks. It helps to build a relationship and when there is a doubt about who pays, it is usually a warranty concern. I also know those clients will take care of me on a warranty survey even if I screwed up or the car wasnt completed on time. I make sure to take extra special care of there people.

BTW, unless it is one of these clients very rarely do service advisors get tipped or appreciated. 99% of the time it is an inconvience to go to the dealership and costs you money when you do. It is a very thankless job.

 

[babak]

No tipping for me. It seems everyone expect tips nowadays.

Ditto here, I simply can't see why we need to.

We're thinking of placing a tip jar in our CV ICU
[/B]

That would be hillarious, except that I'm sure that's a HCFA or JCAHO violation somewhere and I shore as hell don't want those guys PO'd at me.

 

[ROCKCENTER]

I would be MUCH more eager to tip generously if the MANDATORY service was not upwards of $250 ...

 

[Allan Gibbs]

Ditto here, I simply can't see why we need to.

Hmm. The next time I turn in something to the VP, I'm just going to stand they and wait for the tip.

I imagine his response will be, "Here's a tip for you. Get back to work and do the job that we expect you to do and pay you for."

 

[BarryB]

I never tipped till I had Harry work on my car at Bauer Lotus. From then on, I gave him a gift around x-mas. When you find a tech you really like, I don't think you'll mind...

Barry

 

[Eddie Haskell]

I tip my Land Rover service guys. They typically "bump" me up the service list when I need it. I also know they tend to give me the benefit of the doubt on warranty issues.

I plan on doing the same with my Lotus.