I brought this topic up in this mornings shop meeting.
In the meeting of 4, I was the only person that has been on any guided hunts. So tipping a guide was news to the rest of the tool shop.
One guy snickers.....then asks
"Tomorrow is trash day. Should I tape a $5 to the can? My guy works hard and I am sure he doesn't make much money"
Then another toolmaker added several other services in our weekly life we are leaving out of the loop.
Seriously? You get your information from three guys who've never been on a guided hunt and think that's somehow relevant, and worth repeating on a forum with a bunch of guys who are either guides or have done multiple guided trips?
What's next, asking them how to treat a medical condition?
And here's a news flash for you--your trash men do work hard, they do appreciate tips, and a tip now and then (besides being a decent thing to do) pays back in spades. My wife always gives our trash men a card and a small tip at Christmas and they love her for it. A few times a year we will be out of town, or forget to roll the big trash can out to the curb. They will go into our back yard, find it, empty it, and return it to the back yard. And when I have a bunch of extra stuff to get rid of like dozens of leaf bags in the fall, they're not supposed to take it without charging me extra.
But guess what, they do. We're not asking for special treatment when we give them a tip, just being decent human beings. And they return the favor.
I wouldn't go into a restaurant and order a meal if I didn't intend on tipping the wait staff, because that's how they make their living and it's just a $hitty thing to do to a person.
I don't see why the same thing is so hard to understand when it comes to guides.
And PS, tell your buddy that no, he should not tape a $5 to the trash can. He should walk out, look them in the eye, say "thank you" for a thankless job, and put the money in their hands.
