Tipping: To Give or Not to Give

Recently a resturant in my area made the news when a couple was arrested for refusing to leave a tip. Sounds a bit harsh.  Apparently they were with a party of eight at the table and the establishment had a manditory gratuity for groups of six or more.  They felt their service was not good and therefore should not pay.  The police were summond and two in the party were arrested.  This like most stories has three sides, the couple's, the resturant's and the truth. I think this should have just been handled onsite without calling the police.

 

Although I have never had a job where tips were the norm, I have always felt tipping is a good policy but is misunderstood by most usually at the expense of the person receiving the tip.

Tipping is the act of giving someone a sum of money, “tip”, for services rendered. It is most often associated with servers at a restaurant, however, tipping is found in many other areas. While the custom of tipping is recognized throughout the world, most seem to think it originated in the United States. This is incorrect, and it was not until the late 1800s that tipping became common in the US. Prior to then, because it had vestiges and connotations to the servant/master role, it was not highly regarded.

 

Tipping customs vary by country and region. One should familiarize themselves with the custom in a region so as not to insult or cause a misunderstanding when leaving a tip. In some countries it is not an accepted custom.

 

Tipping in the United States:

 

Visitors to the US (and many residents) are not always sure when it is appropriate to leave a tip or what amount is acceptable. Although, tipping is somehow thought of as a voluntary gratuity for services rendered, in most cases it should be considered mandatory. For most individuals that receive tips on a regular basis, e.g. restaurant servers, this is their primary source of income. If the restaurant establishment were to pay them for their service in lieu of tips, it is estimated the cost of a meal would increase by twenty-five to thirty percent. By relying on tipping this cost is kept down and customers still have some control over the quality of their service. However, please remember, when you sit down at a table you are entering in an agreement with your server, and unless the service is extremely poor you are expected to leave a tip.

 

Little know facts with regards to tips and tipping:

Tips are income and the server is required to pay taxes on their tips. Most restaurants automatically deduct taxes in the amount of 8% of the total bill. If paid by credit card the deductions are on the entire tip. If someone were to leave a very small tip or none at all, the restaurant will still deduct the taxes on 8% as though a tip was received.

• A portion of the tip a server receives must be given to the bartender, (even if no drinks are purchased) and other staff members. This practice referred to as “tipping out” is also based on a certain percentage of the bill and is automatically deducted. Again, a small tip or none at all requires the server to make up the difference from their own pocket.
• Restaurant servers are paid an hourly rate but the range is only between $2.50 and $2.75 per hour. Their income definitely comes from their tips.
• Occasionally individuals will sit and socialize well after the meal, but fail to realize that by tying up their table they are limiting the servers ability to earn wages.
• Some individuals do not think tipping is appropriate. Unfortunately for the server, this is not discovered until after their work is completed. They are often left wondering what they did wrong. The customer, on the other hand, still received good service which only validated their reasoning that tipping is not necessary. For this reason, in certain parts of the country, tips are now automatically being added to a bill.

While on a trip in Europe, I mentioned to the server at the hotel resturatnt where I was staying that there was no place on the bill for me to add the tip.  She said even if I did add to the bill the hotel would keep the money.  That was easy enough to fix by leaving cash on the table.  Although the service was ok to begin with after I left that small amout of money I became the most important customer each and every night that I stayed there.  My last night on this trip was in a different hotel and the service was poor.  I had to go looking for the server to get something to drink and to get the bill.  There is really no incentive for them to do otherwise.

I do also think the the tip should not always be a percentage of a bill.  This works for most places but is unfair on both ends of the scale.  When you get the daily breakfast special for $3.00 at the local diner a sixty cent tip is really poor.  That server worked just as hard to bring you that as they would have if you orderd the He-Man special.  Conversely, if the price of the meal is very expensive that does not always reflect the service.  In other words the server at the diner is working just as hard as the one in the five star establishment. By in large, I usually leave 20% in most cases.

Tips should not be used to send a message with regards to how good the food is. If there is a problem with your meal you should ask to speak to the manager, not punish the server for something they have no control over. Yes, if the service is poor, it should be reflected in the tip. However, if you are an individual that routinely leaves poor tips (< 15%), you should consider what has been discussed here.  If you still think that tipping is strictly voluntary then consider how you would feel if one day at the end of your work shift you employer told you that you would not be paid for the work you did that day.  If that does not convince you then please consider eating at Burger King where tipping is not expected.

 

There are many other occupations that rely on tips for part or most of their income. Bellmen, taxi drivers, porters or sky caps, golf caddies, and hair stylists; just to name a few.  I also believe in leaving a tip for the housekeeper at any hotel I stay. 

Hopefully this post will be useful.

 

Long Delay

As you may notice there has been long time between posts.  This is because I am an official Techno-Turd.  I could not figure out how to get this blog picked up.  So if no one is reading, there is no point in writing.  I think I figured this problem out.  If so I will continue to post.  If not, it is back to letters to the editor in newspapers and magazines.

Going Green

Green is one of my favorite colors, however there are many shades of green that I think are downright ugly. I think this statement also applies to the recently revived "Going Green Movement". This issue is filled with so many half truths that it is no wonder many have their heads spinning. I have spent a large part of my free time outdoors, "in the woods". I have a strong appreciation for preserving what we have. I take a very naturalist's view of the environment, however I am not in any camp that only uses the environment to further their political agenda or personal gain.

Permit me to digress to make a point. Hopefully you have heard of the plight and demise of honeybees in the US and elsewhere. This is a very important issue that has repercussions throughout our entire food supply. When Congress finally approved funding for research to identifying the cause and prevention of the honeybees disappearing, researchers came out in droves trying to capture some of those dollars. This included "researchers" that could prove, if only they could get the funding, that the bees were disappearing because of cell phones, power lines, or God's Rapture calling them home. The problem is that if some of these are funded it takes the badly needed dollars that would support legitimate research that has a chance of finding the answers.

The above is one reason why I am very skeptical about "research that proves.....", you name the subject. Global warming is a hot topic (sorry for the pun) and depending on who you believe has many different reasons for occurring. For fairness let me state my cliff note view. Is the climate warmer now than in 1970? Absolutely! Do we really know why? I doubt it, although some theories should be looked at. Is it caused by man? Maybe but I don't see any hard facts that scientifically prove it. There is plenty of research opinions but scientific proof is something else. It is also a fact that Mars has been slightly warming during the same time period. We have to be really careful when drawing conclusions. When someone gives up a reason and a solution, I tend to follow the money as the first litmus test.

I live in Pennsylvania where there are many older coal fired power plants. Some of these give of higher than desired mercury levels when burning. One answer is to buy clean air credits form a cleaner power plant in say California. While one can argue that in the global view there is less mercury being released per total kW generated, this does nothing to help the mercury levels in and around the plant in PA. It is cheaper to pay the for the credits than clean up the source. This is why I have a problem with someone like Vice President Gore when he states that all the power he uses comes from renewable sources. That is great, but the fact that his home uses more electricity in one month than the average American uses in a year does not, in my opinion, make him "green". It tells me he can afford to support the pretense he is green and actually profits from it. Again, follow the money.

I will give one more small example of claiming green. I know a company that produces an agricultural product and claims they have determined their "carbon footprint" this product. They then buy carbon credits to offset the footprint. They ship this product 6000 miles to one of there markets. The sad part is within 100 miles of this market there are a number of suppliers that produce the same product and can deliver it using much less fossil fuels. Yet the company that is shipping it a quarter of the way around the world is advertising carbon neutral and green. Doesn't it make more sense to just buy it locally??

So what do I do? I turn the lights off when not needed, use CFLs when ever possible, recycle water and other materials, reduced my average driving by a few thousand miles per year, have planted hundreds of trees in the last 20 years and consider myself a good steward of the land. On the other hand, I take hot, albeit short, showers, use air conditioning and don't drive a hybrid. I think I am a medium shade of green and could always improve, but I am not willing to live in a hollow log.

I am pretty sure I only touched on this subject but hopefully it will at least cause you to question when you here something or someone is claiming green, and they are actually doing it and not just pretending.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I have been told that I seem to know something about most things and am always willing to share my opinion. You may not always be eager to hear it. My education is in the sciences and my work is related to the chemical field. I have conservative leanings but support social justice.

I grew up in a small, Coal Region, Pennsylvania town and oddly enough had both religion and guns to cling to. My grandparents were coal miners and my roots are only two or three generations out of central Europe. I was raised with family values including respect and a hard work ethic. I have been married to the same person for over thirty years. I have three children and one grandchild, who has become the star of my life.

I have never blogged before and don't know how successful this will be. I also don't know how often I will find the time. My outlook on life has always been that the reward is in the journey, not the destination. So we will see how this journey goes.