Forums  •  Classifieds  •  Events  •  Directory

 
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Do you tip doormen at year end?

  1. #1
    noraa is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    kowloon
    Posts
    14

    Do you tip doormen at year end?

    Hi, we have recently arrived in HK. We live in a pretty full service building (albeit one without many foreigners in it) and the staff (there are lots of them) are really helpful. They help us with our groceries, hail taxis for us, receive packages, all sorts of stuff. We used to live in NY and every year end it was expected that we provide building staff with a cash "bonus" (oftentimes quite a lot of money). Is there a similar expectation here? I read some older threads on tipping and it appears to be more of a Western concept. If a cash tip is out of line (if it isn't, please let me know, and also please let me know how much is appropriate!), does anyone give other gifts to staff to let them know their efforts are appreciated? What might be appropriate and appreciated? Thanks so much!


  2. #2
    carang's Avatar
    carang is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    6,259

    no, you don't not for christmas... if you like you can give them a "red pocket" with some money for CNY (nothing with "4" in it, ex. no $40). it can be as little as $20 or as much as $500, up to you. most, i would think would offer $50-100 per packet for such services.


  3. #3
    rani's Avatar
    rani is offline Administrator
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Pokfulam, Hong Kong
    Posts
    5,844

    Only at Chinese New Year :)


  4. #4
    noraa is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    kowloon
    Posts
    14

    Ah! Makes perfect sense! And thanks for the cultural guidance too, never would have thought of the "4" thing! Thank you so much!


  5. #5
    carang's Avatar
    carang is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    6,259

    it's because "4" sounds like the word "death" in chinese...


  6. #6
    AmyH is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Posts
    380

    I always wondered about the 4 thing (no floors with that number etc) so thanks for explaining that cara!


  7. #7
    southside852 is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    1,118

    only chinese new years tipping.


  8. #8
    Portia is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    502

    I usually give a big box of choccies, nuts or biscuits for all of the doormen to share at Christmas and a red packet at CNY (usually around $200 per doorman). I also live in a full service building, with around 40 flats in total. (When I lived in a building with 160 flats and less service from the doormen, I only tipped about $50 at CNY.)


Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Looking for Year 4 & Year 6 Tutor
    By louischong in forum Education
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 09-27-2009, 01:34 AM
  2. HK ID for 2 year old??
    By katelynBB in forum Everything Else
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 07-21-2008, 11:59 AM
  3. BCG for 4 year old
    By once bitten in forum Baby's Health
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-29-2006, 08:33 PM
  4. New Year's Eve
    By strong in forum Everything Else
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 12-07-2004, 09:58 AM

Tags for this Thread

Scroll to top