How to Tip a System Administrator

patrick.ogenstad — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:25:10 +0000

You’ve seen him running through the hallways countless times, saving the day, working late nights. After fighting chaos and returning things to order, you must have thanked the poor creature. If you are enlightened you might even have baked him or her a cake on that very special day. I bet you never gave a tip though. But don’t worry, just read through this how to and you’ll be fully equipped to make it right. If this guide is too long to read or you are unsure of what to do, just ask your system administrator.

Tipping can be quite complicated, it works different all around the world. In some parts the tip is included in the bill, while in other places it is wise to avoid eye contact after the meal if you don’t leave a tip.

At Harrod’s in London you will find a guy in the bathrooms who will point you in the direction of the loo, even if there are toilets all around you. When you’re done with your business he will raise his palm to you and produce a friendly sound from the back of his throat.

A guidebook to Rome will tell you that it is custom to leave a tip for the hotel cleaners. The process of tipping can be confusing, at a restaurant you might ask if the tip is included. But if a system administrator stretched out his hand, would you know what to do?

Although sysadmins aren’t as obvious as the guy at Harrod’s, you might have seen a few hints. Did you ever wonder why your sysadmin had two mouse pads but only one mouse? The next time you hear any of these phrases you will know what they mean.

“Good luck with your printer the next time then!”
“Did you by any chance make any backups of your own?”
“Tip is not a city in China.”

You won’t have to guess anymore after reading this guide, just leave a few coins and others will follow.

You might have realized it for a while now, but now you know it in your heart too; you should tip system administrators.

While you’re reaching for your wallet, your next question – a good one I might add – must be: how much?

Since you are tipping for a service you will first have to put a value to that service. If the help saved you five hours work, the tip should be 8 % of the value of those five hours. This is why tipping a sysadmin is also called giving a Byte.

If you’re system administrator has “saved your life”, you must ask yourself how much your life is worth. Divide the amount with the number of times you think the sysadmin will save you’re life, the Byte is 8 % of that value. You’re insurance company can help you with the first part and your system administrator with the second.

In many situations you won’t have all the coins needed to give the Byte. There’s no need for despair; the recommended way of dealing with this dilemma is to use PayPal.

Here’s a fictional encounter of how the Byte might be given.

Customer: “Thanks for the help mister sysadmin, here’s a Byte for the great service.”
SysAdmin: “Why thank you! But next time you can call me sir.”
Customer: “Sir?”
SysAdmin: “Yes it’s shorter, saves you time.”
Customer: “Why thanks for the tip sir.”
SysAdmin: “You are welcome!”

This encounter left both of the participants happy, I’m sure tipping will do the same for you. I hope this text has been informative. Good luck tipping!

[tags]system administration, how-to, tipping, byte[/tags]

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How to Tip a System Administrator