Should referees get $$$ tipped?

[adam shannon]

ive seen refs get tipped, unfortunately not the game i was working. alot of private games at the field i work at are corporate affairs or wealthy buisness types who are blowing off steam. these folks are used to tipping bellboys, cabbies, maitre'd's, caddies...etc. and the nature of the game outside with an employee who is responsive to your needs and walks you from game to game ive heard them accidentally refer to the ref as "our caddie". given the proper circumstances a tip at the end of the day is appropriate if the group sees fit to do so.

some guys feel wierd accepting a tip...like its begging or smething. its not, its the way the other half of the world operates...its customary and not a big deal for the tipper and tippee. i mean dont stand there with your hand out and clear your throat like a bellboy...but if they offer, take it with a thank you!

when the parking lot is packed with excursions, escalades, and H2's...take the tip.

[SlipknotX556]

I do think that if refs get offered a tip, they should accept it. Why? Well for one, they are out in the sun all day, in a mask, also they get shot to make sure that your game is going smoothly.

[Carbon]

I think in a rec ball/ Private game the refs should take the tip money after the game.

But as a person/ref, you should not expect it. As a reff its your JOB and #1 priority to make sure everyone is SAFE. Thats what your paid for. yeah it can be a difficult and stressfull job, what service-type industry isnt? No one is forcing you to work under those conditions. Dont feel guilty taking the tip either, they offered it.

If the customer notices that you are doing hard work, or workin harder than the other field staff, you shouldnt be ashamed of getting more tip money than the other reffs.

Food service industry, yall oughta try it some time. It'll change your prespective somewhat.

As for Pro/tourney games, well duh, of course not. MLB Umpires dont get tipped, or any pro sports official for that matter.

[.bolink]

I was actually wondering about this the other day. I was cleaning a table where I work (waitor at small Italian eatery) and was like, "Wow thatd be way cool if people tipped me when i'm reffing". I mean I get paid in paint...and get a good amount for 6 hours worth of work (1500rnds) but I gotta have some spending cash. I mean what good is a stockpile of 6000 rnds in the corner of my room when I only play every other weekend for team practice ( I must say it is reallky nice being able to be overly generous with your paint, especially to your back guys.

[tazman]

Tipping the Ref

Hi:

As a longtime referee I feel very flattered when a group offers a tip at the end of the day. To me this states they appreciate the time and effort you took with them and want to show it. Often times at the end of the day people walk away without even saying "thanks", so these rare occasions are very appreciated.
Just my 2 cents.

[Wickster]

I agree with Thordic as well.

I used to ref pretty often (at Skirmish) a few years ago. They get mostly private groups, so sometimes refs would get a tip, sometimes not. Usually the refs doing walk-ons didn't get tipped. It never seemed a problem, except that sometimes some refs wondered if specific refs were given specific groups who were more likely to tip.

The memories come back......

Check him ref! I hit his foot! Check him! I run across one side of the woods to the other..... then back....

Take the money, you earned it (if you did a good job).

[jaylock33]

On private games refs should take tips if they are offered them. Their job isn't the easiest and when it's done well they should be rewarded.

[TheJester]

it's only a bribe if it's before the game. if it's after the day's over, what's the harm? what calls are you going to make when the playing is over?

[Halliday]

RecBall: sure
TourneyBall: no way

[logamus]

for private parties i see no problem with tipping the ref. but for regular walk ons, if someone tips on a regular basis there is a good chance that someone might get a few calls to go their way. for walk ons, i like shartlys idea of a tip box that can just be split up at the end of the day. most refs i know dont work for cash so a few bucks at the end of the day might be encentive enough to do even better the next time they ref.

[pito189]

If it is at the end of the day, I don't see any problem with it at all. Other than that, tell them Thank You, and get back to work.

[deathstalker]

Originally posted by shartley

My "foot wedge" and I strongly disagree. I can't tell you how many times I've said the words, "That sure did come close to going out of bounds!" or "Another foot to the right and you wouldn't have a shot!"

However, and I voted the same, it all depended on the situation. I spent about 13 years of my life working at an exclusive golf course in various functions, many as a caddy. Much of the club's revenue was generated from guest play ($75-$125 for guest greens fees) and there were a few members who brought upwards of 15 guests a week. I guarantee you most of those players had 5-10 strokes a round taken off their score. The sponsoring member was good business for the club and he wanted to make sure his guests had a great time. We were happy to oblige.

We routinely kicked balls out from behind trees, kicked them back in play, scooped them out of the water, and shortened putts by the way way we marked balls. You only did it when the situation presented itself and you never did it if there was a chance you would get caught. We all knew the course very well and how long it would take players to come into view after hitting their shots. We were always paid handsomely and our little arrangement was always "understood" between us. There was sometimes a little innuendo ("foot wedge" comments were common), but we were never told to do it nor did we ever tell the members we did.

I was considering voting flat out "No" and the reason is I have seen that the people who tip better receive preferential treatment. At the golf club, no member was ever mistreated, but some were definitely treated better than others. I blame the employees for this and can easily see it happening at a paintball field. If refs are routinely compensated through tips, they might purposely cheat in hopes of getting a bigger tip. I'm all for having a good time and giving rec players the benefit of the doubt in close calls, but I still want a fair game.

If tipping at a field becomes prevalent, I would much rather pay a couple extra dollars for field fees and be told uip fromt that this money will go directly to the refs. This is similar to restaurants automatically adding a gratuity to large parties.

[Warewolf50]

After reffing at my local field for about 2 years, i think that refs should be tipped. I didnt really mind that just generla recballers didnt tip, it was the private groups that should tip. I am saying this cause the place i reffed only paid in paint, which is good at saving money when playing but I never had any money off the field.

[Blazestorm]

I reffed once and the fact that this group was a bunch of rehab kids in their late teens. The fact that they were jackasses to eachother and when I was 6-7 years younger than them... they were kind to me. After that day they each personally thanked me for being their ref, said it wouldn't have been the same without them (I cleaned their barrels before the game... cleaning 10 spyders... aint fun) But they had a better day with me reffing. I think getting personally thanked, seriously made my day. I missed playing that entire day, but I didn't care, I had a great time reffin.

It depends on the group, if they were utter jackasses and didn't listen to me or anything, I would accept a tip, but if they were like the first group, I wouldn't.

[madmatt151]

Always...

I always tip, mainly because the refs work hard and Iusually bring a big rowdy group to play on the field. I have have refs that weren't so cool and acted fairly unenthused, but I still tipped them. THe last game I organized, there was someone who came with my bunch of guys and he was a NIGHTMARE! He did everything wrong, every safety rule broken etc. The finallt took his stuff and told im to leave, but not after a loooong day. I personally gave the refs $40 plus the $2-3 I collected form each person. It just seems right, especially when I was a waiter for 4 years!