I certainly didn't get the feeling that this was a prejudicial distinction. Having worked on both the security guard and curatorial sides of things, it's a fact that guards (by design and by necessity) are more visible to the gallery visitors, and more likely to be offered a tip. Also, I fail to see how the recognition that guards are on the >receiving< end of tip offers (there was no suggestion that the guards were/are soliciting tips, and I very much doubt that this was the case) can be taken as any kind of negative reflection on the guards themselves. I'm sure the museums that employ guards would love to be able to pay them better, but that's not much of an economic possibility right now (see the recent threads on finding museum employment). Many museums can't afford to pay the directors and curators (in the increasingly-slim percentage of museums where these two roles aren't combined in the same person) a "proper salary," much less "...dinner parties [and] business trips all over the world." The only time I've had to provide security guards (as a condition of hosting an exhibit), I've had to rely on our dedicated corps of volunteers, and draw on already-overworked staff from other departments--finding a wad of cash to pay any kind of salary to security staff just wasn't in the cards. ------------------------------------------------------------ Tim McShane, Assistant--Cultural History Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery 1302 Bomford Crescent S.W. Medicine Hat, AB T1A 5E6 (403) 502-8587 [log in to unmask] >>> [log in to unmask] 5/14/2004 11:47:25 PM >>> On 14 May 2004 at 8:20, Sue Bodemer wrote: > Hi! > > What do ya'll tell your staff (especially security guards) about tips? Have > they been offered to them by visitors? Are they allowed to accept them? > What if the visitor INSISTS? Dear Sue Bodemer, Interesting question, even though I really do not like the 'especially security guards' specification. How about curators and museum directors with their dinner parties, business trips all over the world, free catalogues and books, gifts by artists, and their pleasant annual income ... ? Start paying your guards a proper salary, put up a sign 'no tips' at the entrance, and especially at the cloak room of your museum, and this question will become obsolete. Why not develop a 'no tips' policy in your museum without sending this prejudiced suggestion about your guards on Museum-L for the global museum community to read? Ton Cremers _____________________________ http://www.museum-security.org http://www.cpprot.net http://www.adviesconsortium.net All our outgoing mails are checked for viruses. ________________________ ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). Disclaimer: The information transmitted is intended only for the addressee and may contain confidential, proprietary and/or privileged material. Any unauthorized review, distribution or other use of or the taking of any action in reliance upon this information is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete or destroy this message and any copies ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).