[Romans:] Every year the same questions drive us nuts at holiday time and it has nothing to do with relatives. Who to tip, how much to tip, when is cash appropriate, how much cash is appropriate? You feel like you have $20 bills falling out of your pockets.
[Velshi:] I'm waiting for the book, I might actually write it, everybody tips too much. I can't find that one this season. We book Stacie Krajchir, she is the co-author of the "Itty-bitty Guide to Tipping."
[Romans:] She wrote the book, you can't write the book.
[Velshi:] She wrote the book. She's here to tell us about tipping. Stacie thank you for being with us.
[Stacie Krajchir, "the Itty Bitty Guide To Tipping:] " Thank you so much, how are you doing?
[Velshi:] This is one of those confusing things for Christine and me and everybody I run into about how many people you actually need to tip around Christmas. What have you got in here? What can you tell us?
[Krajchir:] The bottom line is that I think we wrote the book to try to demystify the whole craziness of tipping and I think during the holiday season before you start doling out the dollars and freaking out about who to tip, when and how much, really, I think, take a deep breath and ask yourself, who are my team players? And that's kind of everybody who helps simplify your life during the whole year. People you see regularly and who help offer you a service pretty regularly.
[Romans:] Let me ask you about the baby sitter, the nanny, in particular. More and more women working and more and more households have to have a nanny. How much do you tip a nanny?
[Krajchir:] You know, generally one to two weeks pay and a small gift from your child is appropriate. You know your nanny pretty well; you're giving your most prized possessions for her to watch over. Pay attention to your nanny, her likes and dislikes and, you know, you can also get her that small gift that is about her and what she likes.
[Romans:] If you love your nanny, don't scrimp on the nanny.
[Velshi:] One of the guys that work with us in the studio was saying the one you have to take care of is your mailman. He knows everything about you, he controls your life. That is the guy or woman you have to take care of.
[Krajchir:] Exactly. Interesting thing about the postal worker is it's actually illegal to tip your postal worker more than $20 in, you know, amount that it's worth. You're not supposed to tip them cash at all. You have to think baked goods, manicure, pedicure, foot massage.
[Velshi:] For your mailman, that's interesting. I suspect my mailman I see him every day. He might pound me in the head if I give him a manicure gift certificate. That's okay.
[Krajchir:] At the end of the day really it is just something thoughtful. Even a card that says, hey, thanks so much. I really appreciate you.
[Romans:] The newspaper carrier, another one that's a popular, people always worried about giving the kid. A kid doesn't deliver my newspaper, a corporate machine.
[Krajchir:] There are situations that now with all the technology, you know, they cut out the school newspaper boy. In all honestly, that's not a big tipping situation come holiday unless you're in a smaller town and community.
[Velshi:] It goes back to what you said. If they're part of your team. If you know this person and this kid that delivers your newspaper and he gets it to the right place and it's dry, that's probably a better guideline. If these people are important to you, then that might be a guide.
[Krajchir:] Right. A $10 tip or something small and nice is fine. But, again, like you said, pretty automated these days.
[Romans:] You have doorman buildings in New York City and in smaller towns you don't have some of this tipping. I am from Iowa and I didn't tip anybody until I moved to Chicago. I can't figure out why no one was opening the door and helping me with my package. I want to talk about teacher because everybody in the country, if you have a kid, has a teacher. And in some places it's just not appropriate to give an expensive gift to a teacher. In other places, all the moms and dads team up and buy one gift. What should you do? Gauge what your community does?
[Krajchir:] I really think that in terms of a teacher, I think it is very competitive. Some regions are very competitive. There is waiting lists and all that. With teachers, keep it simple. Obviously, your kid has friends at school. Why don't you get together with those friends, mommies and get her something that she will really appreciate. For example, a massage. Something that pampers.
[Romans:] Some really expensive ear plugs and a bottle of wine.
[Krajchir:] Something that helps her tune out and think about herself. Something really nice. I think ganging up together with other parents is a really nice gesture and keeps it simple for all of you.
[Velshi:] Fascinating stuff, Stacie, thank you so much.
[Romans:] Now, for this week's edition of "Life after Work."
[Velshi:] It's show time. And Sharon Jones is taking center stage at the Apollo Theater in New York. But it wasn't that long ago when she worked under a different set of spotlights, as a prison guard.
[Sharon Jones, Singer:] I was at liklikes. Once you were inside, those guys were criminals.
[Velshi:] Jones grew up wanting to be a singer but in her 20s the record labels told her she didn't have the right look. She detoured into other jobs. Ten years ago at the age of 40 she had the right sound for a group of 20 something's playing old-school soul music. They were looking for a singer.
[Jones:] What do these young, little white boys know about funk? Once they started playing, it was like, OK, they know about funk.
[Velshi:] So Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings were born. They released three albums and toured around the world and provided music for other big-name artists like Amy Winehouse. Those songs got them more attention in the United States. Now, Sharon finally has the spotlight. And the crowd seems to find her look just fine.
[Jones:] To walk on that stage and when I heard that roar from the crowd, every goose bump, it was such a great feeling.
[Velshi:] All right, coming up, never get another unwanted catalog in the mail, again. Stay tuned to find out how.