Tipping College Tour Guides?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:At the conclusion of our tour of UVA this Spring, our guide shamelessly told us that she was not paid by the University, and that she accepted cash tips and Venmo. It was very awkward. I have been on many college tours and never before tipped or even thought of tipping. .

I was going to post this exact same thing. We just did a tour of UVA two weeks ago and our female guide asked for tips, not once but twice. I was SHOCKED! I did see one family hand her a $20 bill at the end of the tour.

Wow! I would call the school and say something. If they allow this, they need to post on the tour booking page that guides are unpaid and that a gratuity would be appreciated. There should be full disclosure.

Troll. I’m at UVA. It’s a position of honor. It’s very competitive to become one.

This is NOT a troll. The woman who gave us the tour had an impressive/compelling story to tell when she talked about why she chose UVA so I understand why she was chosen as a guide. She was very good. I have been on multiple college tours, including UVA before - we were with our youngest and I have two other children in college. My DH and I were very uncomfortable when she asked for a monetary tip, not once, but twice because it's never happened before.

I am the OP, and not a troll. This happened this March on a tour with DD, who is not my oldest. As such, I have been on many college tours and have never even thought of tipping a student tour guide. This woman plainly stated that she was not paid by UVA and appreciated tips for her time, and if you didn’t have cash, she also accepted payments via Venmo. Everyone in our group was taken aback.

I guess you’re going to have to tell me what’s so horrible about her doing that.

DP. No one is forcing her to give tours. If she didn't want to give her time for free, she should have not agreed to give the tour. Likely UVA has no idea that she is doing this, and it reflects poorly on them because it's incredibly tacky. As someone else said, if they are OK with it, they need to let families know in advance it's a thing rather than having an incredibly uncomfortable moment where someone is unexpectedly hitting you up for cash.

This. I frequently don't have any cash on me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the conclusion of our tour of UVA this Spring, our guide shamelessly told us that she was not paid by the University, and that she accepted cash tips and Venmo. It was very awkward. I have been on many college tours and never before tipped or even thought of tipping. .

I was going to post this exact same thing. We just did a tour of UVA two weeks ago and our female guide asked for tips, not once but twice. I was SHOCKED! I did see one family hand her a $20 bill at the end of the tour.

Wow! I would call the school and say something. If they allow this, they need to post on the tour booking page that guides are unpaid and that a gratuity would be appreciated. There should be full disclosure.

Troll. I’m at UVA. It’s a position of honor. It’s very competitive to become one.

This is NOT a troll. The woman who gave us the tour had an impressive/compelling story to tell when she talked about why she chose UVA so I understand why she was chosen as a guide. She was very good. I have been on multiple college tours, including UVA before - we were with our youngest and I have two other children in college. My DH and I were very uncomfortable when she asked for a monetary tip, not once, but twice because it's never happened before.

I am the OP, and not a troll. This happened this March on a tour with DD, who is not my oldest. As such, I have been on many college tours and have never even thought of tipping a student tour guide. This woman plainly stated that she was not paid by UVA and appreciated tips for her time, and if you didn’t have cash, she also accepted payments via Venmo. Everyone in our group was taken aback.

I guess you’re going to have to tell me what’s so horrible about her doing that.

DP. No one is forcing her to give tours. If she didn't want to give her time for free, she should have not agreed to give the tour. Likely UVA has no idea that she is doing this, and it reflects poorly on them because it's incredibly tacky. As someone else said, if they are OK with it, they need to let families know in advance it's a thing rather than having an incredibly uncomfortable moment where someone is unexpectedly hitting you up for cash.

Curious, do you feel this way about jobs in general?

Why would anyone take and unpaid job if they want to be paid? They know upfront whether the position is paid or not. Last year DC did an unpaid internship. This year DC ruled those out because DC would like to be paid.

[Anonymous]

I was a college tour guide and we 100% were not allowed to accept tips.
The job was really good (during the summer we got full time pay and only had to give 1-2 tours a day, I studied and read a lot), so no way would I have risked it by accepting tips.

And no, we had zero say over whether your kid got in so it would not have done any good for admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some universities don’t pay their tour guides.

I was a volunteer tour guide for my college. I would never accept a tip - too much like a bribe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the conclusion of our tour of UVA this Spring, our guide shamelessly told us that she was not paid by the University, and that she accepted cash tips and Venmo. It was very awkward. I have been on many college tours and never before tipped or even thought of tipping. .

I was going to post this exact same thing. We just did a tour of UVA two weeks ago and our female guide asked for tips, not once but twice. I was SHOCKED! I did see one family hand her a $20 bill at the end of the tour.

Wow! I would call the school and say something. If they allow this, they need to post on the tour booking page that guides are unpaid and that a gratuity would be appreciated. There should be full disclosure.

Troll. I’m at UVA. It’s a position of honor. It’s very competitive to become one.

This is NOT a troll. The woman who gave us the tour had an impressive/compelling story to tell when she talked about why she chose UVA so I understand why she was chosen as a guide. She was very good. I have been on multiple college tours, including UVA before - we were with our youngest and I have two other children in college. My DH and I were very uncomfortable when she asked for a monetary tip, not once, but twice because it's never happened before.

I am the OP, and not a troll. This happened this March on a tour with DD, who is not my oldest. As such, I have been on many college tours and have never even thought of tipping a student tour guide. This woman plainly stated that she was not paid by UVA and appreciated tips for her time, and if you didn’t have cash, she also accepted payments via Venmo. Everyone in our group was taken aback.

I guess you’re going to have to tell me what’s so horrible about her doing that.

DP. No one is forcing her to give tours. If she didn't want to give her time for free, she should have not agreed to give the tour. Likely UVA has no idea that she is doing this, and it reflects poorly on them because it's incredibly tacky. As someone else said, if they are OK with it, they need to let families know in advance it's a thing rather than having an incredibly uncomfortable moment where someone is unexpectedly hitting you up for cash.

Curious, do you feel this way about jobs in general?

Why would anyone take and unpaid job if they want to be paid? They know upfront whether the position is paid or not. Last year DC did an unpaid internship. This year DC ruled those out because DC would like to be paid.

Being a tour guide can be a feeder job to working in the admissions office after college, which at least at my school was a pretty good job. Our tour guides got paid but if other colleges have that same admissions feeder aspect, that could be a strong motivator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the conclusion of our tour of UVA this Spring, our guide shamelessly told us that she was not paid by the University, and that she accepted cash tips and Venmo. It was very awkward. I have been on many college tours and never before tipped or even thought of tipping. .

I was going to post this exact same thing. We just did a tour of UVA two weeks ago and our female guide asked for tips, not once but twice. I was SHOCKED! I did see one family hand her a $20 bill at the end of the tour.

Wow! I would call the school and say something. If they allow this, they need to post on the tour booking page that guides are unpaid and that a gratuity would be appreciated. There should be full disclosure.

Troll. I’m at UVA. It’s a position of honor. It’s very competitive to become one.

This is NOT a troll. The woman who gave us the tour had an impressive/compelling story to tell when she talked about why she chose UVA so I understand why she was chosen as a guide. She was very good. I have been on multiple college tours, including UVA before - we were with our youngest and I have two other children in college. My DH and I were very uncomfortable when she asked for a monetary tip, not once, but twice because it's never happened before.

I am the OP, and not a troll. This happened this March on a tour with DD, who is not my oldest. As such, I have been on many college tours and have never even thought of tipping a student tour guide. This woman plainly stated that she was not paid by UVA and appreciated tips for her time, and if you didn’t have cash, she also accepted payments via Venmo. Everyone in our group was taken aback.

I guess you’re going to have to tell me what’s so horrible about her doing that.

DP. No one is forcing her to give tours. If she didn't want to give her time for free, she should have not agreed to give the tour. Likely UVA has no idea that she is doing this, and it reflects poorly on them because it's incredibly tacky. As someone else said, if they are OK with it, they need to let families know in advance it's a thing rather than having an incredibly uncomfortable moment where someone is unexpectedly hitting you up for cash.

Curious, do you feel this way about jobs in general?

Why would anyone take and unpaid job if they want to be paid? They know upfront whether the position is paid or not. Last year DC did an unpaid internship. This year DC ruled those out because DC would like to be paid.

Being a tour guide can be a feeder job to working in the admissions office after college, which at least at my school was a pretty good job. Our tour guides got paid but if other colleges have that same admissions feeder aspect, that could be a strong motivator.

Fine, but you know upfront you aren't getting paid and you're doing it for a potential future job. Don't then ask for tips from people out of the blue. You made your choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the conclusion of our tour of UVA this Spring, our guide shamelessly told us that she was not paid by the University, and that she accepted cash tips and Venmo. It was very awkward. I have been on many college tours and never before tipped or even thought of tipping. .

I was going to post this exact same thing. We just did a tour of UVA two weeks ago and our female guide asked for tips, not once but twice. I was SHOCKED! I did see one family hand her a $20 bill at the end of the tour.

Wow! I would call the school and say something. If they allow this, they need to post on the tour booking page that guides are unpaid and that a gratuity would be appreciated. There should be full disclosure.

Troll. I’m at UVA. It’s a position of honor. It’s very competitive to become one.

This is NOT a troll. The woman who gave us the tour had an impressive/compelling story to tell when she talked about why she chose UVA so I understand why she was chosen as a guide. She was very good. I have been on multiple college tours, including UVA before - we were with our youngest and I have two other children in college. My DH and I were very uncomfortable when she asked for a monetary tip, not once, but twice because it's never happened before.

I am the OP, and not a troll. This happened this March on a tour with DD, who is not my oldest. As such, I have been on many college tours and have never even thought of tipping a student tour guide. This woman plainly stated that she was not paid by UVA and appreciated tips for her time, and if you didn’t have cash, she also accepted payments via Venmo. Everyone in our group was taken aback.

I guess you’re going to have to tell me what’s so horrible about her doing that.

DP. No one is forcing her to give tours. If she didn't want to give her time for free, she should have not agreed to give the tour. Likely UVA has no idea that she is doing this, and it reflects poorly on them because it's incredibly tacky. As someone else said, if they are OK with it, they need to let families know in advance it's a thing rather than having an incredibly uncomfortable moment where someone is unexpectedly hitting you up for cash.

Curious, do you feel this way about jobs in general?

Why would anyone take and unpaid job if they want to be paid? They know upfront whether the position is paid or not. Last year DC did an unpaid internship. This year DC ruled those out because DC would like to be paid.

Being a tour guide can be a feeder job to working in the admissions office after college, which at least at my school was a pretty good job. Our tour guides got paid but if other colleges have that same admissions feeder aspect, that could be a strong motivator.

Fine, but you know upfront you aren't getting paid and you're doing it for a potential future job. Don't then ask for tips from people out of the blue. You made your choice.

Also, if you've accepted an unpaid position hoping to be offered a paid one, how stupid do you have to be to start asking for tips? You're just going to get fired from your volunteer position and blacklisted from any future position.

But I agree that the unpaid internship as path to paid position is unfair. Only certain kids can afford to do it. The answer is not, however, to shake down unsuspecting parents at the end of a college tour. A well-worded opinion column in the school newspaper would probably be a better place to start.

[Anonymous]

I personally would not report a student asking for tips. College is expensive & there are likely hungry students who need to eat. Not everyone has parents who deposits money in their checking account.
I remember being so poor in college and being so hungry. There were times all I could afford was McDonald's burger but no fries because of budget.

To the posters screaming that it is tacky, please be kind and show some empathy. It's outrageous that people want to snitch for something so small. You can choose to donate or ignore and not donate when asked for tips.

[Anonymous]

During Covid when there were no tours, a nice student we met while wandering volunteered to give us a tour, just to be helpful. Like it wasn’t his job or anything. He did an amazing job and took a good bit of time, took us all over and answered my student’s questions. Was amazing. Gave him a Starbucks gift card as thanks. Went on other tours that were formal and official at other schools - didn’t even consider giving a tip of any kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally would not report a student asking for tips. College is expensive & there are likely hungry students who need to eat. Not everyone has parents who deposits money in their checking account.
I remember being so poor in college and being so hungry. There were times all I could afford was McDonald's burger but no fries because of budget.

To the posters screaming that it is tacky, please be kind and show some empathy. It's outrageous that people want to snitch for something so small. You can choose to donate or ignore and not donate when asked for tips.

+100

[Anonymous]

As much as we often feel like our students are all competing for spots at top colleges, please remember that colleges re also competing for your students. A college tour is a marketing presentation. For the most part, they tell you what they want to tell you and show you what they want to show you. It's not like you are getting a "secret underground" tour of the college - "What U of state doesn't want you to know!" - showing you the roach infestation in the back cafeteria kitchen or the dorm the was flooded and is still moldy 2 years later.

A college tour is a marketing presentation. Tour guides are part of the college's marketing machine, paid or not. It is just gross for people to try to sell you on a college and then ask for tips. It's like touring an open house of a home for sale, and the realtor asking for tips at the end. I mean, wtf, no!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As much as we often feel like our students are all competing for spots at top colleges, please remember that colleges re also competing for your students. A college tour is a marketing presentation. For the most part, they tell you what they want to tell you and show you what they want to show you. It's not like you are getting a "secret underground" tour of the college - "What U of state doesn't want you to know!" - showing you the roach infestation in the back cafeteria kitchen or the dorm the was flooded and is still moldy 2 years later.

A college tour is a marketing presentation. Tour guides are part of the college's marketing machine, paid or not. It is just gross for people to try to sell you on a college and then ask for tips. It's like touring an open house of a home for sale, and the realtor asking for tips at the end. I mean, wtf, no!

You are free not to tip but there's nothing wrong with some of that don't mind tipping young students who might be in need of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As much as we often feel like our students are all competing for spots at top colleges, please remember that colleges re also competing for your students. A college tour is a marketing presentation. For the most part, they tell you what they want to tell you and show you what they want to show you. It's not like you are getting a "secret underground" tour of the college - "What U of state doesn't want you to know!" - showing you the roach infestation in the back cafeteria kitchen or the dorm the was flooded and is still moldy 2 years later.

A college tour is a marketing presentation. Tour guides are part of the college's marketing machine, paid or not. It is just gross for people to try to sell you on a college and then ask for tips. It's like touring an open house of a home for sale, and the realtor asking for tips at the end. I mean, wtf, no!

You are free not to tip but there's nothing wrong with some of that don't mind tipping young students who might be in need of money.

No. It's just wrong & underhanded. If you are too poor to work a volunteer position. Don't volunteer!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA tour guide literally said they aren't paid and would appreciate tips. All parents ended up tipping.

It's just so UVA. 😞

Yep.

It’s not what they do. DS tried hard in the competition to be selected as a tour guide. It is competitive and an honor (DS didn’t get picked). It’s unbelievable that any tour guide there would ask for tips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally would not report a student asking for tips. College is expensive & there are likely hungry students who need to eat. Not everyone has parents who deposits money in their checking account.
I remember being so poor in college and being so hungry. There were times all I could afford was McDonald's burger but no fries because of budget.

To the posters screaming that it is tacky, please be kind and show some empathy. It's outrageous that people want to snitch for something so small. You can choose to donate or ignore and not donate when asked for tips.

There are many other ways to make some money or get free food at college. You dont have to beg for tips and put prospective families in an uncomfortable position. This is ridiculous.