We don't eat in restaurants much, so our tipping occurs in other places. Mainly in motels. I always leave a tip for the cleaning person. Sometimes if they haven't done it for a couple of days, I ask that they vacuum the carpet or change the sheets. I often tip the front desk clerk. I did this work once, and the abuse I took was memorable. The clerks love to get a tip, because they so seldom do. I might ask for a favor (like trying to keep an adjoining room empty if we are staying for a long time), but I do this before giving any tip. Then one day we'll be talking about something, probably their work, and I'll give the clerk ten or twenty dollars and thank him or her for being friendly and helpful. For the cleaning people, I talk to them all the time, practicing my motel Spanish and asking about their work and lives. Most love to talk and appreciate that I know the word for bath mat (tapete). At some point, we give one of the women twenty dollars or so, and ask her to split it with her partner. At Christmas, I often give a cleaning person money for her kids. She may or may not have cleaned our room. We've given workers coats, food, shoes, and many other things, in addition to money. We recently gave a man money to help him and his wife travel to their homeland to see the kids they had to leave there.
It would be better if workers were organized and made good wages and benefits. But they aren't and don't. So we give them money when we can. They need it a lot more than we do. Plus we move on, and they stay, doing shit work, making little money, and taking heaps of abuse. It's heartbreaking really. Any time poor working people revolt, we smile and cheer them on.