Fortunately, it's been a long time since I've had to throw a funeral.
Who are you supposed to tip after they start throwing dirt back in the ground? The girl from the funeral home? The bugler and the riflemen? The guy who dug the hole? Everybody? Nobody?
What is the proper protocol here?
i wouldn't tip anyone from the funeral home. they get enough as it is. i would ask the bugler and the leader of the riflemen what is typical. They're probably the most honest people in the whole process.
i'll ask my sister. she's almost as smart as Google.
EDIT: and then i googled who do i tip at a funeral?
I've never heard of anyone tipping anyone at a funeral and, I unfortunately, have been to a lot of them.
Interesting. Never heard of it before so I don't even know what to say. To be honest it's one of the reasons I never want to go back to the restaurant industry and I don't really care if I get rideshare tips.
I'll have to remember it though if it's considered the done thing as I'm not getting any younger and funerals become more of an occurence.
Our family used the same funeral home for 30+ years, I don't think a tip was ever brought up or disbursed. Did make a donation when the guard came out to do taps at my mom's dad's funeral though.
I've never heard of tipping at a funeral.
mtn said:I've never heard of tipping at a funeral.
Me either. But I didn’t know you tipped the wrecker driver.
In reply to spitfirebill :
Funny I did that recently. He appreciated it. Don't know if I learned that here or just googled it on the spot. 
In reply to nutherjrfan :
Well I did the last guy I used after I read about it here. He showed up early, loaded a dead TR3 in less than 5 minutes and was gone.
In reply to spitfirebill :
You always, always, always tip the wrecker driver, especially if he’s from AAA and the car isn’t exactly registered yet. You want these guys to approach every shady towing job with a positive attitude.
Besides, he’s probably a GRM reader.
If you are going to tip anyone in this situation.
The guys doing the groundskeeping, digging and filling the hole are working their asses off outside rain or shine for minimum wage and being treated like crap by their bosses in a very outdated, failing business model. The people in suits are trying to profit from the bereaved in any way they can.
The landscaping crew are literally wading in the ooze of rotting corpses trying to get by. They are the reason the cemetery is a beautiful place we feel good about interning our loved ones in. Hand that crew an envelope stuffed with cash or a case of beer, berk anyone working on commission
My best friend was a cemetery landscaper/grave digger/whatever for a decade. The stories he can tell are shocking.
In reply to Woody :
I understand about the shady towing situation.
The last tow was not cheap, but I knew what it cost in advance. I was glad to tip the driver for his professionalism.
My son has been screwed by tow companies so many times I developed a pretty hard heart for tow companies.
Talk to the Bugler or the Salute Team, make a donation to their favorite charity in their name?
spitfirebill said:mtn said:I've never heard of tipping at a funeral.
Me either. But I didn’t know you tipped the wrecker driver.
I had no idea you tipped in either of these situations.
of corpse you tip at a funeral, there is just not a large body of evidence for doing it
z31maniac said:spitfirebill said:mtn said:I've never heard of tipping at a funeral.
Me either. But I didn’t know you tipped the wrecker driver.
I had no idea you tipped in either of these situations.
I don't think I would tip anyone at a funeral unless they did something extraordinary. They are all getting paid to do their jobs.
I have tipped one wrecker driver $40. She picked up my wife's Liberty that had broken a ball joint and stuffed the tire up into the fender well. I assumed by the time it got home the fender would be destroyed. The lady managed to get the Liberty out of a grocery store parking lot and into my back yard with a rollback without damaging anything on the car. I was impressed with her skill and her willingness to go the extra mile. It was a little tricky to get it off the wrecker without tearing something up. That's the kind of behavior I try to encourage, hence the tip.
In reply to mad_machine :
lol.
Over the years I have paid for eight funerals using the same funeral home. Never felt the need for gratuities.
The next one I will be unable to.
I guess mainly I’m thinking of the Honor Guard and the guy with the shovel.
In reply to Toyman01 :
I have had a couple of tow drivers that were absolute masters at their job. They earned their money.
i give the tow truck driver $10 at the beginning of the encounter and tell him there's more where that came from if he takes care of my E36 M3.
If there is a church service as part of the funeral, I'd throw the kids who served the mass a few bucks, especially if they're not related to the family in any way. They're getting an hour or so of community service credit and that's it.
We had a hell of a time getting servers for my grandmother-inlaws funeral on a beautiful summer Saturday. One kid showed up on 2 hours notice after another bailed. Those kids did pretty good for giving up their Saturday afternoon to help our family mourn our loss.
When my mom passed, we did a memorial service at my parent's church. The minister, soloist, and pianist were all church members that volunteered their time. My dad gave each a gift card to a local restaurant they liked. The funeral home got their fee, and we used them as little as possible.
The other day someone tried to sell me a coffin.
I told him that's the last thing I'd need!
:)
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