Better Business Bureau offers a guide to end of the year tipping

The end of the year is a time to show appreciation for those who provide necessary services and little luxuries in your daily life. A little extra thoughtfulness can go a long way.

We recognize determining who to tip and how much to give can be confusing. To avoid extra holiday stress, BBB offers the following suggestions to help you tip confidently while staying within your budget:

— Consider your budget. Begin planning your tips by looking over your holiday budget, or creating one if you haven’t already. Tips aren’t obligatory, so if you don’t have the extra cash, consider other ways to show your gratitude. Homemade gifts or a simple note are perfectly acceptable ways to say “thank you” when funds are short.

— Start planning tips early. You don’t want to be scrambling through your purse to find some extra cash when you see your regular delivery driver pull up. Once you set your tipping budget, make a list of who you plan to tip and how much. Doing so as soon as possible can also help the recipient have extra cash for holiday spending.

— Tip with cash when possible. Cash is usually the best way to give a tip. It means the recipient has access to the funds right away and won’t have to pay any fees to use the money. That said, if you regularly pay someone via an app and want to tip that way, you can. Just make sure you include a brief note letting them know the extra money is a tip for their good service.

— Make the tip attractive. For a classic tip, The Wall Street Journal says crisp bills in an envelope that reads “Thank You” on the outside is ideal. You can even write a brief thank you note to express your gratitude when appropriate.

— Tip according to the depth of your relationship. Match your tip amount to the quality and quantity of work the person does for you. If you hire a babysitter once in a while, an appropriate tip might be the equivalent of one evening’s pay. On the other hand, if you have a live-in housekeeper, an entire week’s pay would be suitable.

— Know whom not to tip. Some professionals can’t accept tips because of ethical reasons, including doctors, lawyers and government officials. Some companies don’t allow their employees to accept tips. Don’t be afraid to ask up front if a professional or company employee can accept tips or if there’s a limit to what they can receive if you aren’t sure. When appropriate, a gift is a good alternative, as long as it also doesn’t violate a policy.

When it comes to the types of services offered, tips can vary by profession. Here’s some suggestions based on each profession:

— Personal service providers. For hairdressers, massage therapists or any other personal-service provider you regularly tip, consider upping your tip amount during the holiday season. If you normally tip 20%, make it 40%. Depending on your budget, you may decide to tip them the cost of an entire visit. The same goes for other service providers, like your dog walker or groomer. The equivalent of one service makes for a generous end-of-the-year tip.

— Nannies, babysitters and caregivers. A similar rule applies to tipping child care, home health aides and similar professions. Tipping the cost of a session, such as an evening’s pay for a regular sitter, is considered standard. For a live-in nanny, though, consider a bonus of up to a week’s wages. As noted above, for those hired through a service, make sure you check that they are allowed to accept tips before giving.

— Building staff. If you live in an apartment building, consider tipping cleaners, superintendents, security and concierges. Somewhere between $25 to $100 each is a good range for this kind of service.

— Mail and delivery service providers. U.S. Postal Service workers may not accept gifts of cash or gift cards, but they can accept small gifts worth $20 or less. FedEx and UPS employees are encouraged to decline cash gifts, but they can accept small personal gifts when making a delivery.

— Professional service providers. Most professionals, such as teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc., won’t accept cash gifts, so consider giving them a gift card or present instead with a note of thanks.

Gift cards are a classic way to show your appreciation, but each year BBB sees new frauds that create a need for a bit of research and attention to keep your purchases of gift cards safe.

Check the packaging of gift cards sold at retailers for tampering — a sign that someone may have already captured the card number and pin and are waiting to grab your funds once they are loaded on the card. Also look for signs that the card’s bar code has been covered with a sticker containing an alternate bar code. Scammers are now using this scheme to divert your gift card funds to their own cards.

Be careful with online gift card offers and be sure that you’re on the correct company’s website to purchase their gift cards. Impostors can easily create look alike sites and secure URLs that are extremely similar to the ones used by authentic brands. Those sites can also disappear just as quickly as they’ve popped up. Scammers may purchase online ads to help ensure their site appears at a high level in browser search results, making it more likely you’ll click over without paying attention.

BBB offers more tips at our Holiday Headquarters page, which you can find at bbb.org/holiday.

BBB’s Festive Forest

To complement EPB’s 40-year tradition in offering their joyful holiday windows, BBB is partnering with EPB and the city of Chattanooga to bring our community the Festive Forest in Miller Park! Come out to enjoy 50 beautiful Frazier firs that have been sponsored and creatively decorated by local, trustworthy businesses and organizations.

BBB has also designated trees for the community to bring ornaments to hang and display in memory of loved ones. The event is free and runs through New Year’s Day.

Michele Mason is president of the Better Business Bureau in Chattanooga.

    Staff photo / Chattanooga Better Business Bureau President Michele Mason