Do you tip car guards?

Do you tip car guards?

  • Yes

    Votes: 64 22.2%

  • No

    Votes: 106 36.8%

  • Occasionally

    Votes: 113 39.2%

  • Other

    Votes: 5 1.7%
  • Total voters
    288
Thankfully usually park in either paid for under ground parking, street parking away from guards, and malls and such. The only two malls near me would be at Paddocks and Dolphin Beach. Both have mall car guards who want tips. I tend to avoid those.
 
Pufferfish94 said:
Its tough because its not an opt in service and honestly its a fairly useless service. My car has cameras and sensors, I have a drivers license, so unless they assist with loading groceries, taking my trolly back for me or helping me get in or out of a parking on a busy road I feel giving them money is purely charity.

Also you cant say they protect your car as my cars have been broken into at shopping malls with car guards more then anywhere else.
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They're not needed for any of that. Unless you are physically disabled you should not need anyone to help you with loading your boot with usual shopping. Granted maybe you're buying something heavy like a portable aircon or a battery trolley but otherwise asking these people for help creates problems for the rest of us, people who can put our trollies back and who don't need help to reverse. And your car has cameras, so it's easy to reverse and drive away.
 
Smugs said:
What for..??
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Many South Africans grew up with home and garden help. Never vacuumed a floor or any such. Never did any DIY at home. Contractor built homes. Big plugs with on/off switches to avoid electrocution, while in Europe we have our rubbish plugs and 90% of us die via electric shock. Even now you'll hardly ever see a local of a middle class actually doing something with their own hands, they get help to do it. So given this, it's no wonder people need help with 1. Loading their boot with groceries. 2. Need help putting the trolley back. 3. Need help to flag down other shoppers to allow them to reverse out of the parking bay.

Manual labour was always very cheap in SA. And the lifestyle of many people made them allergic to even the most basic forms of it. Hence we need car guards, petrol pump attendants, and such people.

FFS there are companies which wash peoples' wheelie bins. Really? That is so difficult to do? It's peoples' own trash which goes into these. Need a maid to scrub the toilet with one's own waste in it too.
 
SlowInternet said:
Some car guards are starting to get aggressive if you don't tip them.
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That's because they've been conditioned to expect a payment by previous people who parked there. The only solution is to avoid parking there and let those businesses suffer and maybe move away to a mall or business park location where car guards are seen as trespassers.

That's the problem with human nature. With most people, you do something nice for them, i.e. pity them and give them some cash because their value in car guarding is absolute 0, and then they start to think they provide an essential service and need to be tipped each time.

Charities which run soup kitchens, shelters, education and rehab programs, and some sort of provision of second hand clothing should be supported by those who feel charitable. The rest is no good. Car guarding is not a real job.
 
I do not like tipping culture and mostly do not support it.

I only tip car cards if I was away from my car for at least 4 hours and the car guard was there when I parked.
 
Mirai said:
They're not needed for any of that. Unless you are physically disabled you should not need anyone to help you with loading your boot with usual shopping. Granted maybe you're buying something heavy like a portable aircon or a battery trolley but otherwise asking these people for help creates problems for the rest of us, people who can put our trollies back and who don't need help to reverse. And your car has cameras, so it's easy to reverse and drive away.
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Not needed sure but in a country full of unemployment I am happy to pay someone a small fee for less inconvenience on my side. You can very easily tell someone not to take your trolly or help you with your groceries, but if I do I will tip them.
 
No. I dont bother. 80% of the time they can not even say which car is mine. I've found scratches on my car a few times, and then when I ask what happened they are clueless.

And lastly I have insurance.

We had a problem a while ago where car guards was actively scratching cars when clients didnt want to pay them.
 
Pufferfish94 said:
Not needed sure but in a country full of unemployment I am happy to pay someone a small fee for less inconvenience on my side. You can very easily tell someone not to take your trolly or help you with your groceries, but if I do I will tip them.
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That creates problems for the rest of us because these guys should be paid for by the mall (if needed) and they then hassle the rest of us who are able bodied enough to load our groceries and put the trolley back.

In this country there is an expectation that the most basic of paid for service needs additional tipping.

If a guy pushes trollies at a mall, he is already earning a salary. He is wanting extra and I know some malls discourage this. Because the guy approaches you and ahem... wants a few bucks because he will take your trolley from you because that's his job anyway. Don't tip these guys. They have a job. Lock your car and walk the 5meters to drop the trolley off.

Moms with tots get to park up close anyway so these people have it easy and sure they can tip if they want.

During covid I'd help a few of these guys with a bag or rice or pap but Covid is over. They have a job, there is no need to tip them as that spoils them. They become entitled and expect and sometimes DEMAND tips from people who already paid for their service by shopping at the given mall and sometimes even paying for the parking on top of that.
 
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LCBXX said:
No.

I do enjoy watching how car-guards have caught on to the fact that they can successfully hassle feminized men the same way they can with women.
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That too but it's human nature. If you give one finger, people will want the whole hand.
 
Mirai said:
That creates problems for the rest of us because these guys should be paid for by the mall (if needed) and they then hassle the rest of us who are able bodied enough to load our groceries and put the trolley back.

In this country there is an expectation that the most basic of paid for service needs additional tipping.

If a guy pushes trollies at a mall, he is already earning a salary. He is wanting extra and I know some malls discourage this. Because the guy approaches you and ahem... wants a few bucks because he will take your trolley from you because that's his job anyway. Don't tip these guys. They have a job. Lock your car and walk the 5meters to drop the trolley off.

Moms with tots get to park up close anyway so these people have it easy and sure they can tip if they want.

During covid I'd help a few of these guys with a bag or rice or pap but Covid is over. They have a job, there is no need to tip them as that spoils them. They become entitled and expect and sometimes DEMAND tips from people who already paid for their service by shopping at the given mall and sometimes even paying for the parking on top of that.
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I get where you’re coming from, and I totally agree that tipping can sometimes create unnecessary expectations. Ideally, these workers should be paid directly by the mall, and tipping wouldn’t even be a factor. But the reality is, in a country with such high unemployment, a lot of these guys rely on tips to make ends meet, even if they’re already earning something.

For me, it’s not about feeling obligated to tip—it’s more about offering a bit of support where I can. If someone helps me out, whether it’s taking my trolley or loading groceries, I’m happy to give them a small tip. I see it as a way to contribute, especially in this tough economic climate.

But I also get that this approach isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. Tipping should always be a personal choice, and we should all feel free to decide what works best for us without pressure.

I can only speak from personal experience but when I ask them not to take my trolley or help load my groceries they are happy not to and dont yell and perform if I then dont tip them.
 
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