A tip = A gift
Myids said:
A tip must be earned or it is not a tip.
Exactement! ... I think all this exposure to French is rubbing off
If you
ask for a gift, then is it really a gift?
Yes, certain occupations
rely on tips to supplement a low or mininum wage pay scale so in that case it's expected that you owe them a fair tip based on your satisfaction with the level of service you received.
Yes, these ladies do make more
per hour than most people do ... but of course it's only your
net income that pays the bills. It's not like they're paid that rate for a 40-hour work week.
Do you owe someone a tip? I don't think so.
But if a woman is working independantly then I think it would be a very considerate thing to do. If you really enjoyed your time together then do something nice.
For a high-end agency I don't think it's necessary or expected.
I've never actually been in a situation, though, where I was tipping after-the-fact. I think that would be akward - even more so than the intial "transaction". So maybe a gift would be more appropriate as a tip.
I don't mean candy or flowers ... what can she possibly do with that stuff? I mean something useful.
If she's a student maybe a gift certificate for the bookstore where she need to buy textbooks. Clothes ain't cheap and every woman needs those so a gift certificate for a store where she likes to shop. A meal would be a nice gift, I think, but I've read here that some women would also expect to be compensated for their time while dining. "But you were going to eat a meal anyway, right?" Whatever.