Xeap Xians, Part 1,327 and the Rambling Islamic Variant

[onager]

We've all heard waitresses complain about cheap-ass customers who leave religious propaganda instead of a tip.

This is from a Yahoo Travel story today, "Confessions of a Hotel Housekeeper." The writer, Alison Rupp, worked at Yellowstone Park's historic Old Faithful Inn during 2004:

I didn't know maids received tips, so it took me weeks to realize that the coins left in rooms were an intentional gift.

My tips were paltry. I almost never made more than $1, and at times guests left religious pamphlets.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-25303242

G-r-r-r! What assholes!

And FYI, there is an Islamic version. Thought they don't leave pamphlets, or anything else except a giant mess.

For nearly 2 years I lived at a hotel here in Alexandria, Egypt. It was American-owned and a favorite of uber-wealthy, uber-pious Gulf Arabs--Saudis, Kuwaitis, etc. They were notoriously cheap bastards who never tipped anybody, according to my friends working at the hotel.

As you'd expect, they treated all hotel staff like personal servants. These asshats were easy to spot, and not only by their distinctive clothing. They usually had 47 studiously ignored kids and 1 or 2 Filipino/Indonesian nursemaids with them. When they ate in the hotel restaurant, the kids literally ran wild. Throwing food, playing with dishes/silverware, etc. The parents would sit there and not say a word. Just amazing.

One of my most treasured souveneirs from over here is a hand-written note, in phonetic English, from the hotel maids who worked my floor. They left it in my room after I returned from a trip to the U.S. It says they are very glad to see me back. That always touched me.

Yes, I tipped. At the end of every week. Generously. The maids not only kept my room very clean but brought in fresh flowers. Or even better, they folded towels into the shape of a swan or crocodile and left them on the bed. Even when I came in from a crap day at work, it was hard not to smile at a towel-swan on my bed.

Oh, I tipped with one exception. The smarmy, officious little prick who used to come in and ostentatiously berate the maids while they were cleaning my room. Pointing out minute water stains on the tub and other picky little stuff I didn't care about.

One of the maids spoke pretty good English (she left me the note). One day I asked her, "Is that guy your boss?" She said no, he was just an employee like her.

So I guess he thought it would impress me if he came in and yelled at the sub-human females. It sure did. I never tipped that shithead. And whenever the hotel manager asked if everything was OK, I always put in a good word for the maids.

[progressoid]

1. Religious pamphlets for a tip?

The sad thing is they probably think they are doing a good thing.

I've heard that housekeepers on cruise ships can get really screwed. Since their pay is so low, they rely on tips to live. Imagine cleaning someone's room for a week and then find NOTHING at the end of the cruise.

[southpaw]

2. Damn, I never knew you were supposed to tip hotel housekeepers!

:blush:

Seriously, somehow I have made it 42 years without ever hearing of such a thing.

It makes perfect sense, of course... it just never occurred to me and this is the first time I've heard it discussed.

From now on, I will leave a tip for the housekeepers when I stay in a hotel... and I'll make sure to mark it as such. I read an article just now that said that many hotel employees are forbidden to take any money left in a room unless it is clearly intended to be a tip.



Or maybe I'll just stock my travel bag with an assortment of Chick Tracts. :evilgrin:

[onager]

3. "Clearly intended..."

Ha! We had one short-term Amercian employee here in Egypt who learned that the hard way.

He left 200 Egyptian Pounds (about $30 US) on the coffee table in his hotel room. He DID NOT intend for it to be a tip. Just forgot it when he left for work in the morning.

That afternoon the money was gone. But he certainly got fresh flowers in his room and extra free snacks every day, for the rest of his stay.

He took the same attitude most of us do here: this is such a desperately poor country, you don't want to take anything away from people, even if it was given accidentally. And as he said, if he went to hotel management and complained, the maid would be fired. Definitely the LAST thing he (or any of us) wanted to happen.

OTOH, the hotel was incredibly picky when I wanted to donate some stuff to charity. I was leaving for an extended stay back in the US and had some clothes and other items I no longer wanted. I had to fill out a long itemized form and sign a notarized document, certifying that I was giving the stuff of my own free will, etc. etc. I guess they do that to ensure no theft or coercion was involved. Weird.