'Tis the tipping season. Time to show appreciation for those making our lives better or easier: the hairdresser, the babysitter, the mail carrier.
But in Manhattan's high-end buildings, there's another category of helper to reward: the doormen. The Big Apple version of the British beefeater, proud and loyal standard-bearers guarding some of the most expensive real estate in the world.
In high-rise condos with 800 apartments and dozens of employees, workers generally receive $5 to $100 each. In the snootiest buildings, tips swing from the miserly to the munificent: $50 to $1,500.
Non-New Yorkers might assume our trusty doormen only open doors, hail taxis and accept packages. That's like saying a nanny just wipes up spilled milk.