Does anyone ever "tip" the service personnel at the dealership?

Hi....just wondering if anyone tips the fellas who help at the dealership. At BMW....i usually have such a bad feeling when I leave it doesn't occur to me. At Porsche, they treat me so well, and do everything they can to make me happy. And they wash the car so damn well. Now, my service dept. did me a solid and fought for me and got another dealership/NA to cover a brake issue. I know they make moola when they get work to do. Was wondering if anyone "takes care" of these guys? Thanks, J

Why would you tip someone for simply doing what is expected of them?

One time I had water in the passenger side rear lens, drove past the dealer on the way to work and asked about making an appointment... they looked at it, pulled a new one out of box and replaced the unit right there. I signed a piece of paper for Porsche and was on my way in 5 min. I gave the guys $20 for breakfast because it saved me much more than that in time. So yes, if they do something above and beyond the norm.

All the time.... As a rule I do the lighter work myself but when I use an indy or the dealer, I always go out of my way to acknowledge the efforts or stellar work. I can't tell you how far that goes to building a realtionship and usually affords you the chance to ask for whatever, whenever and however you want things. Its a small investment but yields a big return.

I do not. Over the past 15 years I have had 4 Porsches and have always used the same dealer but have had at least 6 different service advisors. They don't even remember my name from one time to the next. Additionaly service writers make very good money unlike a waiter, carpet cleaner, Valet or something. They are not counting on your tips to make ends meet.

fixed it for ya

Yep - I give them a tip alright... It's, "don't you dare wash my car or I'll kick your @$$"! Seriously - it took me two days to get out all of the scratches and swirls the one time I didn't give them 'the tip'!!

I've tipped with a case of Corona. Often much appreciated by the guys in the back.

I tip the shuttle driver, not service personel

Yes. I usually tip on arrival. I also tip the car washing folks separately. -td

Holy crap dude you've been on the shuttle?? j/k

Was he the one that was drunk?

I normally get him a Christmas present and drop off some homemade cookies every once in a while. Nothing that looks like a 'bribe' but something to show that I appreciate their work and accomodation. BTW, that is NOT the Porsche dealer.

Like Riad said, unless its exemplary service, I do not..... I hope that Christmas presents and cookies was a joke..... I don't feel its my fault the stealership doesnt share the wealth... Guess what I did when I had a job that didn't pay me what I was worth...... (I almost let you guys guess..... ) Changed jobs!!!!

So you don't tip your food server at a restaurant?

I tip them everytime I purchase a $100.00 item that costs them $5 bucks to make.

Holy crap, you guys must be treated totally different than me when you have your car in for service. So far it's never even occured to me to tip a stealership. They would really have to step up the level of service and work for me to tip. I feel like I'm getting raped most of the time when I'm there.

You guys are insane! Why the hell would you tip them for doing their jobs without screwing up, and then charging you an arm and a leg for doing it?!?! Crazy.

I'd tip the mechanic but not the service guy if I ever felt he treated me special.

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I have a totally different approach with my service advisor and parts representative. Instead of tipping them with money I show them appreciation in different ways. Take them coffee in the morning when bringing the car in or will bring the advisor lunch sometimes. I did a personal favor to the parts rep. once and he helps me out alot when buying parts. I must say that the service I get is second to none. They are very polite, friendly and always treat me right. I never make appointments when taking the car in and they always give my car priority over others. I have never had my car in the dealership for more than two days for any repairs and I have had a few, RMS, tranny issues ect. Even though they may make good money, they treat me in a speacial way. This type of service should be rewarded..

I bought a new Porsche and the wheels had been changed by the sales dept. The car was very harsh over bumps. At 1100 miles I bought new wheels and noticed something was missing from the original tires (a stamp) so I brought this up to the dealer, to make this short I was given 4 new PS 2's, mounted and balanced on my new wheels and told to keep the originals. My A/C quit at 500 miles and the dealer was swamped but the service person went to the back and grabbed a tech. The tech said it's a switch and went to get one. He returned and installed it. This took about 15 minutes. In my work I sometimes receive little a "thank you". I had three of these in my desk so I took them to the dealer and thanked all three of them. They have taken care of me on parts and service ever since.

No Michael it wasn't a joke. They go above and beyond what they 'have to' and I appreciate it. I like them and want them to know that I appreciate their extra effort.

I tip my indy...only go to the dealer for warranty...so it was because the damn thing broke and it was a PIA.

I always bring in a box of donuts the morning I drop off the car (to the Indy). Dealer tipping is a no-no.

They are on commission !

A good mechanic is on >$100K, tell me again why they need to be tipped?

I've never tipped a Porsche mechanic, indy or not. They charge me over $100 an hour! The indy owns the place, so no tip. And the dealer? - fuhgeddaboudit!

This is downright freaky right here.... You take the word tipping seriously....JK JK

wow.....a wide variety of answers. I basically asked the cuestion (cue button busted...still) b/c I'm getting new pads and rotors on the fronts for free. This is entirely due to my current service dept. advocating to Porsche NA on my behalf, and they got the Florida dealer to do the "right" thing. I am very confident that my local service dept's representation got this done. And all of this was happening without my knowledge. They bascially called and said....."hi jon...guess what?....you're getting new brakes up front for free." I think bringing in donuts is a fantastic idea, and will show my appreciation for their efforts, and I'm sure the fellas there will appreciate the gesture. I only feel this way b/c I've never encountered a dealer that bent over for me so well (that sounds bad, LOL). Although my recent experience with Honda on an out of warranty repair comes pretty close. I wonder if I will feel the same once my warranty is out. Thanks all, J

After getting my car back from sitting in the shop for nearly 3 weeks for a replacement motor, I thought about tipping the head service tech that did all the work. When I got the car home I realized he had deactivated my PSE which required me to remove the rear bumper cover to get t working again. Also my shifting became more and more difficult and the car would shake and shudder when starting off in first gear and if shifting hard the motor felt loose. I jacked up the car and found the shifter cables were not seated correctly and loose, more alarming was that all the forward fasteners that held the motor and trans assembly to the body were loose and the nuts were just barely started on the threads. After finishing up their job at home I no longer felt like tipping them.

try again

Concur with manny. I do, but not in the traditional "golden handshake" cash type of way. It's not about the money. I went out of my way to get to know the Service Manager and the Porsche wrench at the Indy shop I use, and when they do work on my car for me, I always drop off a six pack of microbrew for them when I pick up the car. It's a gesture, not compensation- it says "thanks for taking care of my baby- have a cold one on me!", not "here's a few extra bucks". They know the car, did my PPI, are honest with me, and do good work. I appreciate that. People come from all over to have this particular guy work on thier Porsches. That says a lot. On any given day you can see a wide variety of P-cars outside from to 997's. I get great service from them, and I let them know I appreciate it.

Brad, in your experience what percentage of people tip the tech's? If they tip how much do they usually give?

Did something similar - after "qualifying school" for the Silver State last year, I had an odd noise from the rear brakes. I dropped into the Vegas dealer, who had never seen me before and had no special reason to help me. Their service department was booked solid for the day, but they still took my car round the back, found a warped brake dust cover, and bent it back out of the way in a couple of minutes. I got to run the race, and left the tech with $20 (if I'd had more on me, I'd have gone to $50 I think). Like Riad says, service way beyond the call deserves some recognition - it's not that our $20 will make them rich, but it shows we appreciate their help.

Hey Brad, I bet you find this thread hilarious with everyone thinking they know what techs get paid etc.

.00000000000009% I dont know.,........................... we arent allowed to take tips, I have gotten the occasinal 6 pack or a hand shake. im sure that lots of people tip the serivce advisers in most dealers (again here they arent alowed to take tips) and some problay give the money to the adviser to give to the techs but i doubt if the techs ever see it

i think you would find that most techs have a hard time breaking 50k a year and those that do are the guys who either work 12 hour days 6 days a week or are complete butchers and rapeing people when they bring their cars in. dealers charge customers 130 an hour techs would be doing well to get 15-20 % of that.

When I first got my Boxster, some idiot tapped me in the rear at a stoplight, no real visible damage except some small marks on the bumperettes, but I drove to the dealer and they took it right in to check underneath. It was actually the one time they went out of their way and did a good job. I was not sure if I should tip, but wanted to let them know I appreciated the effort so I bought the tech an autographed poster of the 917 by Vic Elford, and the advisor an autographed photo. Not sure if they appreciated it. But I thought it made an appropriate "job well done, thanks."

When the service is fast & well-done, yes, I will give the guy a tip. I don't tip the car wash guy because I don't let them wash (scratch) the car.

I personally dont know and will not comment on how much they make. But I just dont agree on paying someone a premium for what they agreed to be paid to do, and do right. A man should not be granted a bonus for having enough pride to do good work..... Although I do agree in certain situations some recognition whether or not monetary are earned.

TD - you tip them NOT to wash you car, right?

No, although I do give each of the managers at the dealer a good bottle of wine twice a year

Tell me where mechanics make this amount of money. As a mechanic I am getting it DRY, if you know what I mean. If I was making that amount I wouldnt even try to finish college. On the tip side, mechanic work sucks twisting and bending in all directions, working in confined places, and dealing with whatever the weather is outside, hot or cold. Tipping would be appreciated and if I owned an Indy, I would allow the techs to get tips. It will make the tech strive for better quality and the tech will enjoy better employee satisfaction.

$100 an hour? in new jersey $85-95 seems to be the range. new york city, easily $100+ but then again, our two car garages are priced like a lot of people's homes!

I know for a fact that a local Mercedes tech was making in excess of 100k per year. Of course, he'd been working for so long that Mercedes would actually consult him on issues they couldn't figure out.

you think dry is bad, try gettiing it with your pants on

Many Master Auto Techs in the Chicago area make much more than $100m/year. I know of one Chrysler Tech making $145,000/year.

My comment was based purely on an article I read last year about the increasing computerization of cars and how it meant that a well trained mechanic could now pull in those numbers for a salary. I apologize, I should have verified before posting. I was in a hurry and distracted today. ... although, looking at the posts that came in afterwards it appears that the number wasn't unrealistic for some mechanics.

there are a few that may break the 100k mark but like i said the average is probaly closer to half that

Wow, that is a bad visual

OK so I waited to answer this thread, and my answer is NO

Do you mean a Service Manager or Advisor? Sounds right for them.

I used to get great personalized service from my BMW dealer, so one Christmas I bought a nice bottle of booze for my SA and the mechanic who would usually work on my car (I would ask for him). Then I ended up moving 6 months later. Doh! After I bought my 996 I tipped the SA at the stealer because he had run service history on some cars for me when I was looking, and I thought that was especially nice of him. I would have liked to tip the tech last time I brought my car in, but since the car's exterior and interior was pretty greasy and he somehow scratched up the horseshoe dash cover, I didn't feel that he deserved any special favors. Other than maybe a kick up the backside. Michael

Yup.

Yea, like I tip my health insurance provider, LOL

This is a great thread! ...but what do you do in this situation: the service advisor is a major lying ***, who is apathetic and blank-faced? You know the kind; never calls back, never ensures that all the work has been done, etc. Personally, I don't reward bad behavior, but now I'm wondering whether a little gesture here and there would have obliged the guy to do more. Complaining did not improve things... This, at Morristown Mercedes... J

The best service I have ever had was a service tech at the local Cadillac hummer Saab dealership. Wife had a Saab 9-3 vector turbo, and any time anything was wrong he would immediately invite me down and give me a loaner (once it was a turbo wagon though). If i would bring it in for something electrical, he would go over the car and order parts not even related to the visit. I came in once for an oil change and he said he also noticed substantial wear on the lower front spoiler and the third brake light housing in the back seat and he had ordered replacements. The honorable thing is that he would sternly decline any offer of a tip!

Do you live in the Charlotte, NC area too? Oh, wait... I guess not.... your ID location states NJ.... and you said Morristown..... and you said Mercedes. I thought you were talking about a Porsche delaership (and a Mercedes dealership) local to me because most of the description fits.

Once I had a flat and I lost the lug key after putting on the spare. The tire wasn�t any good so I called around and found a place that had tires in my size that I like but I couldn�t remove the wheels. I brought it to the Porsche dealer and the Service Manager went get the master key kit (said it cost $4K) and removed to lugs and put on regular lugs so that I could get my tires changed. I didn�t have an appointment and they were as busy as heck so I slipped him a $20 because I think that he went out of his way. Normally I wouldn�t tip as I pay $102 per hour for service and I know for a fact that most of the time it doesn�t take nearly as long as to do the job as they claim; for example I was quoted and paid for 8 hours labor to have my clutch changed but the Porsche Service Manual says it�s a 3.5 hour job.