At Last! Doorman Tipping Reduced to a Science!

The nice people at Triplemint real estate brokerage have taken the mystery out of one of the most vexing questions in the lives of New Yorkers: How much should I tip the building staff at the end of the year? After polling more than 100 Manhattan doormen, Triplemint has developed what it calls a Tip-O-Meter, giving a range of acceptable tips for doormen, as well as supers and porters. The range runs from a big fat zero to $600. 

Users can click here, then fill out a simple questionnaire that asks whether they rent or own their apartment, how long they’ve lived in the building, how many units it has, how heavily they use the staff, and what type of tipper they consider themselves, ranging from “grinch” to “generous.” The Tip-O-Meter instantly delivers a dollar range for your tip.

Though deeply scientific, the Tip-O-Meter does contain this caveat: “There are obviously many personal factors that go into deciding a tip amount, like whether not you tip during the year for help with moving, packages, handyman, work, etc.”

So not even the Tip-O-Meter can overcome the fact that tipping is, in essence, a deeply personal transaction between two human beings at a festive time of year. Happy holidays to you and your building staff.