It's always nice when the media reminds you of anxieties you didn't know you were supposed to have. This article on holiday tipping from the New York Times is one example. The whole article is fascinating (and somewhat terrifying if you happen to live in a Manhattan apartment), but here's my favorite bit:

Convinced that their holiday tip can be the ticket to 12 months of preferred service, [New Yorkers] engage in a kind of pre-emptive gambit. One financier, who lives on the Upper East Side, said he calculates holiday tips based on "who can be helpful or hurtful."

Under this scheme, the newspaper delivery man has little leverage because his options for retaliation are few--too bad for him. A doorman, garage attendant or the person who takes squash court reservations at his club--all of whom have the opportunity to favor him over someone else--come in for heaping largess.

"Let's say the super can come to me or come to you," he said. "If the expected tip is $300 and I gave him $500 and blow him away, he's coming to me first."

The financier, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to give away his competitive strategies to other building residents, said that he has used elevator conversations to throw off rivals. "You say, `Oh, I give $100,' so everyone underbids," he said. "Then you give $500."

See, the bourgeosie aren't so bad!