Believe it or not, doormen care more about your behavior than your tips

By Mayra David | December 2, 2015 - 3:59PM

Welcome to tipping season, New York City! It's that the time of year when we fret and frown over if we should, or how much to, tip the people who service our buildings. We went straight to the source and asked five NYC doormen: When it comes to building residents, would you rather have a really nice person who didn't tip or a really grouchy person all year who tips big for the holidays?

Keep your cash I’d prefer a friendly person any day. In fact, this year, I’m thinking of giving back a particular resident’s tip just to show them how much I do not appreciate their attitude. That’s how rude and inconsiderate they are. The service may not be perfect for you, but I’m doing the best I can and you’re trying to tell me that I’m not even doing my job?? I’ll tell you something else, the snow makes people feel very festive and gets them in the holiday spirit and you can tell that in their holiday tipping. —Bernard, Hamilton Heights condo
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. I’d take a friendly resident who doesn’t tip over a jerk any day of the week. I want to be treated with respect in my daily life and in my work, you know? It’s about respect. Some people don’t give you the time of day. Whatever, if that’s how you are. But don’t treat me badly. —Tammy, NoMad condo
Be a human I’ll always go for someone nice. I’d like somebody who’ll treat me like a person! Be a human. I don’t need your tip if you’re going to disrespect me. Won’t make a difference in my life. —Sharon, Harlem co-op
Smiles go a longer way I don’t have that much interaction with people who are not nice. They just go in and out. That’s fine. I don’t need to be friends. It’s nice to have people that greet you back. But don’t be a jerk. There’s no call for that. I’m just here doing my job, and I know my job. If you’re going to tell me to do this, this, and that for you that’s not part of the job, you have to be nice in asking. If you’re not nice, you better tip! But no, honestly, I’d rather they were nice than make up for it with money. I don’t need that. —Lou, Midtown East condo
Family affair Everybody in this building is friendly. It’s a family building, you know? You get grumpy people, but that's not the norm. People can have bad days and be short with you. But people will apologize for that, too, you know? It’s very personal, and I like that. Tips are nice, but I’d rather be friendly with people. I send them off to work and greet them home, you know? So I like to be friendly. Just be friendly back, and we’re good. —Trenton, Upper West Side co-op

Verdict: Nice wins over naughty, any day!

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