I got a $50 tip today! On my Thomas the Train cake. I delivered it for free because it was near my house and my morning schedule would have made it difficult for her to pick it up, so I I just delivered it after karate. She signed for it then handed me cash. I just thanked her and left, but found later when I looked that it was $50!
Now let me ask this: I've heard that it is improper to tip the owner of the business. Frankly, I was concerned about offending her, so I just took it.
What should I have done?
IMHO -- what you probably already did: say "Thank you!"
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I for one, believe that even the owner of a business can be tipped if said owner personally renders a service to you.
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additional thought -- is this maybe a hint from her to you to: raise your prices?
I'm not sure how the "never tip the owner" actually comes into play.
If the owner does nothing but back office work, and just comes out periodically to make an appearance, then said owner didn't really "do" much of the service provided to the customer. (set aside the points about running, selling, and otherwise managing).
But if you, as the owner, baked the cake, decorated the cake, delivered the cake, were you not functioning as the baker, the decorator and the delivery guy/gal? Would the delivery person get a tip? Would the decorator get a tip?
I'm not advocating one way or the other .... just playing Devil's Advocate and asking what the details are on this 'old saying'. 
I agree. Smile, say thank you and spend it on something special for yourself. 
Phew....I did thank her very much. I'm not sure where/when I heard that old saying, but of course it came back to me today as I've never received a tip before.
I was so shocked at the amount. I charged her $240 for that cake (half sheet with the Thomas the Tank engine and friends, pic in my photos). I would have NEVER expected that big a tip, even if I ever expected a tip at all.
As usual, you make an excellent point, Indydebi.....
I did deliver it for free, but it was literally 5 minutes from my house, and is nowhere near a $50 delivery!
I would say "Thanks so much for the generous tip! I appreciate it very much!" Just to make sure that it was indeed a tip and that she didn't make a mistake with the money in there, and also to make sure she wasn't testing my honesty. Sorry to look at it that way, but it covers all your bases. I do housecleaning and have had people do that to me like 5 times already. Turns out that out of the 5, only one of them was intentional. All the others were mistakes, or a test of my integrity, I think. I'm not saying that a generous tip is not the case here, just to make sure you cover those bases airtight! But I have a feeling it was just a tip from a customer who was overwhelmingly happy with your work!
Hmmm....so I should send her an email thanking her for the "generous tip"?
I just thanked her without looking at it (figured it would be rude to look and or count it).
I don't want her to think I was trying to get away with anything, but really.....I did NOT solicit this in any way.
Hmmm....so I should send her an email thanking her for the "generous tip"?
I do that with my brides all the time. Like you, I find it rude to look or count the tip right there, so I just slip it in my pocket. Later, I send them an email thanking them for their very generous recognition of my staff's work for their event.
I've done that before--didn't look at the money and the person expected change--awkward mcAkwardkins. 
Oh my goodness, that is a tip alright! That is a hard situation, because it's not like you are a waitress or someone who frequently receives tips. I know when I was waiting tables/serving drinks, I did like you and didn't look at or count the money that people would hand me, but that's because everyone involved knew it for what it was- a tip. I probably still would have done what you did out of habit. My opinion, you'd be just fine to leave it as is and accept it as a tip. If it's bothering you at all, you could shoot her an email and say something like, "Oh gosh, I was so flattered by your generous tip, I'm so happy that you enjoyed the cake!" That way at least she knows you're construing it as a tip and not trying to pocket an accidental overpayment. But really, this may just open up more problems than it's worth, or even worse, make her feel like she over-tipped and put the kibbosh on any future tips! Worst case scenario, if she made an error and gave you more than she intended, I don't see how she could hold that against you- how were you to know that it wasn't intended as a gratuity? Maybe in the future, if someone hands you what you think is a tip, I have done this before where you kind of glance at the money for a half-second with an eyebrow raised; usually at that point they will say, "Oh that is for you/for your trouble/etc".
I still don't usually count it--but I do say--Do you need change?
Well, I am positive it was a tip and not an overpayment, since the order was 100% prepaid.
I don't want to upset or embarrass her by accenting the generous nature of the tip..... my DH did point out to me that since the cake was $240, a $50 tip is about 20%, which is the accepted tip range nowdays.
So....maybe an email thanking her for her generous tip and hoping she and her family enjoyed the cake as much as I enjoyed making it?
Oh even better!!!! Multiplied Congratulations!!!
ps wasn't trying to rain on your parade I was just relating/confessing my experience.
Oh even better!!!! Multiplied Congratulations!!!
ps wasn't trying to rain on your parade I was just relating/confessing my experience.
Oh, I know....I was just trying to clarify where I was coming from. I think dovelady might be right. I'll send a nice thank you note. That would make me feel better.
I think the "don't tip the owner" saying is only in play when you've got employees (ie. nail/hair salon). The owner usually gets a cut of any income the employees generate, especially if the 'employee' rents a chair in their store, so they don't 'need' a tip. However, being a sole business person, you don't have employees, so it doesn't apply.
If it had been $10 or $20, then I would have questioned if she wanted change. $50 is obviously overpayment of the good kind. Take hubby out for dinner!!
I would ask if they want change as well. I went to dinner one time and the bill was like $55-60 bucks, My husband paid with a $100 and the guy came back with the receipt & no change! My husband asked the waiter where was our change? He was like " Oh, I thought that was my tip". -
Did we tell you that?! Did you ask us if we wanted change back & we told you no?! We saw him one time, took our drink order and that was it!
I've done that before--didn't look at the money and the person expected change--awkward mcAkwardkins.
Who gives tips and expects change???
I would ask if they want change as well. I went to dinner one time and the bill was like $55-60 bucks, My husband paid with a $100 and the guy came back with the receipt & no change! My husband asked the waiter where was our change? He was like " Oh, I thought that was my tip". -
Did we tell you that?! Did you ask us if we wanted change back & we told you no?! We saw him one time, took our drink order and that was it!
Wishful thinking on his part. Maybe he thought you would forget about it...
I would ask if they want change as well. I went to dinner one time and the bill was like $55-60 bucks, My husband paid with a $100 and the guy came back with the receipt & no change! My husband asked the waiter where was our change? He was like " Oh, I thought that was my tip". -
Did we tell you that?! Did you ask us if we wanted change back & we told you no?! We saw him one time, took our drink order and that was it!
I just read your post to my daughter who is a waitress at a very upscale restaurant, and she said that your waiter would have been fired on the spot if the owner of her restaurant were his boss.
He recently fired one of my daughter's good friends because he kept over hearing her ask her clients if they "needed change" when she picked up the check at their table.
He doesn't want his wait staff to ask if the customer wants change he wants them to assume they do and say "I'll be right back with your change".
Well, this girl couldn't quite grasp that so after a few times, he fired her on the spot. 
As far as tipping the owner........I get tipped by all of my clients at my hair salon. In 28 yrs of hairdressing I can only think of a few clients that didn't tip me.
I really think the "tipping the owner isn't kosher" thing went out the window a long time ago.
To the OP, if the order was paid in advance then this client did indeed mean to tip you the amount she gave you. I'd definitely send a thank you note e-mail to her.
Congratulations, that's a really nice feeling when someone shows you just how much you're appreciated.
People don't tip their hair dresser?! - What?! I've never heard of such a thing and that is tacky,JMHO. My oldest daughters have gone to my haidresser on special occasions and trims and I'll always tell them "Did you like what Keisha did, then tip her. You always tip a good hairdresser!" A good hairdresser is so hard to find. Gotta show her love!
I've done that before--didn't look at the money and the person expected change--awkward mcAkwardkins.
Who gives tips and expects change???
I don't know.
What I meant was that when I was at work once and coming back from break, someone paid me for a cake. I didn't look at the money, I just got back to my cube so I could log in on time.
She had actually over paid me by five bucks and at first I was happy then I thought--eww--what if she expected change--so next chance I got I said--I'll get you the change. So it was not a tip.
But I did get a straight up fifty dollar tip once from the groom and glory does it feel great.
When I was still working in my office job and doing cakes part-time, I got a $100 tip from my boss'es boss for a cake I made her (it was a big three tier cake). She told me every time I made her a cake that I wasn't charging her enough. Even though I was slowly raising my prices, she didn't think it was fast enough, so she just gave me tremendous tips. That one was unprecedented, though.
I thanked her for her generosity and her ongoing support. She's a good woman, and she was one who was very supportive of me doing this full-time. It's a great confidence builder to get that big of a tip.
When I was still working in my office job and doing cakes part-time, I got a $100 tip from my boss'es boss for a cake I made her (it was a big three tier cake). She told me every time I made her a cake that I wasn't charging her enough. Even though I was slowly raising my prices, she didn't think it was fast enough, so she just gave me tremendous tips. That one was unprecedented, though.
I thanked her for her generosity and her ongoing support. She's a good woman, and she was one who was very supportive of me doing this full-time. It's a great confidence builder to get that big of a tip.
I would ask if they want change as well. I went to dinner one time and the bill was like $55-60 bucks, My husband paid with a $100 and the guy came back with the receipt & no change! My husband asked the waiter where was our change? He was like " Oh, I thought that was my tip". -
Did we tell you that?! Did you ask us if we wanted change back & we told you no?! We saw him one time, took our drink order and that was it!
OMG! WTH, he was thinking he was getting a 100% tip? Yeah right. Plus, as a former waitress, it is incredibly tacky to reference 'your tip' at all to the customer. At the end of the day, a tip is just that- a tip. Granted, waitstaff usually earns about $3 an hour, so tips are pretty much expected, but still. I usually felt tacky enough when I would bring back change that was 'broken down' to facilitate easier tipping.
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