So I just read an article on tipping in a recession. Apparently more tip jars are showing up then before, and the author was complaining and saying that people should ignore the jars. The author did say that tipping was mandatory in restaurants and salons, and that we should feel ashamed for not tipping here, because their wages were lower due to expectant tipping. I haven't noticed the jars, and don't really care about them, I say hey if you want to tip, tip if you don't, then don't. I am not really offended by people asking. Tacky? a little, but I don't really care. What really gets me steamed is the idea that I have to pay for bad or even just normal waiting service at a restaurant. This has always made me mad, and put me at odds with friends who have waited tables. Here is my two cents: Gratuity is just that, a sign that I am grateful. If I think that you did an above average job bringing me my food (a better job then I could have done) then I will pay you a tip. Usually a 20-30% for a good job cause I am grateful. If you do an adequate job then I say, you did your job and I am not going to pay you any more for that. Now comes the counter argument about how wait staff are not held to the same minimum wage laws as everyone else. To this I say, "Oh Well, That was your choice!" You don't hear them complaining when they bring home two, three, or more times the minimum wage on a good night. To me people who wait are playing the lottery. They are betting that they will be rewarded for good service. I have spent many years in retail service, I have dealt with crappy customers and preformed exceptional service. But I never got more or less then my basic wage. I am not a risk taker so I never got tips for good service or shafted for bad service. Will I, one person, change an industry? No, but I just can't tip a person for an okay job. It's just a personal thing. (But don't worry too much, Jeff unusually pays the bill and caves to social expectation.) Feel free to argue with me in the comments or just tell me how evil I am, but there is my two cents.
I am also throwing in a recent picture of Max to make the post a bit happier.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Tipping is not a city in China
Posted by Emily Larkin at 8:19 AM
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2 comments:
You make a good point about it being a gamble. The only time I think the patron should assume tipping is mandatory is in a bar. Usually, by the time people left, they had outworn their welcome. Where I worked, customers were pretty aware of it-so they left us a good tip for accommodating their rude, loud, obnoxious behavior. I think they assume their judgment of good service is impaired at that point (along with their judgment of character as they continue to talk to the creepy person hitting on them at the counter), so they just leave a standard percentage and call it covered.
Watching people get drunk is really funny and entertaining only if you are not the person waiting on them.
When I worked at a deli counter, I appreciated the tips, but it was almost ridiculous that they should be expected. I don't usually feel guilt for putting a zero on the tip line at Quiznos after the guy makes me a sandwich. It's a deli. I stood in line at a counter to get my food. No one brought it to me, and I didn't even get to sit down. Why should there be an extra charge for that? Maybe if I plan to dine in I will leave something, but if I am getting food to go, no way. Same goes for the taco truck, my change might go in the tip jar, but I'd better not find a roach in my burrito.
I liked this post. You should write commentary on articles you read more often.
I so agree with you. Tipping it totally optional. At the end of a meal, Dave and I talk about our service. It the person seemed to go out of their way to help us, we have no problem leaving a tip. (The better the service, the bigger the tip) But, if the service was average, or bad, we have no problem not leaving a tip. People in the service industry, chose to be there and I expect good service.
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