Why Tip?

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Yesterday Brett posted a guide to tipping. To some it may have appeared that Brett and I like to throw our money around and hand out big tips to every Tom, Dick, and Harry. But it is important to note that most of the services listed in that post are services that, because we are frugal, we would never use. We don’t use a sky cap, we wait in line for the ticket counter; we don’t purchase tours, get massages, buy car washes, or use valet parking either. The point is, however, that if you did use those services, then you should tip. And really, if you are well off enough to afford those services, then you could most certainly afford to cough up a few bucks extra for the tip.

Some of the comments expressed negativity towards the whole idea of tipping in general. Several posters mentioned that they did not think it was necessary to pay above and beyond the actual cost of the service. For example CrazyPumpkin said: “My boss doesn’t ‘tip’ me when I finish a project ahead of time or do a task particularly well. He says thank you and I get to keep my job. He expects these things of me, it’s part of my job description.”

So I would like to discuss the point of tipping.

The difference between a regular job and the jobs that require tips is that they are service jobs, and they are called service jobs because they are serving you. They personally and intimately effect you. I agree that you do not need to always tip people like tow truck drivers or baristas, and you do not have to tip people for doing their job per se. But you might think about tipping people for the following reasons:

1) If the person went above and beyond regular service. It is just a way of showing gratitude for a job well done and going the extra mile. While many people work in professions that don’t receive tips per se, companies often offer bonuses after a project is completed successfully. And what is a bonus if not just a very large tip? When bonuses are offered, people do not generally say “There is no need to give me a bonus. I was just doing my job.”

2) To show your gratitude. Another word for tip is “gratuity.” Many people in service jobs are overworked, underpaid, and unthanked. At your job when you do something right, your supervisor says “thank you,” and “job well done!” Who says thank you to the trashmen? Many service jobs are jobs we don’t want to do, and we are grateful people are there day in and day out doing them for us. Our trash gets taken away, our mail gets delivered, our food is served to us. Their pay often does not match their effort. Who thinks that teachers’ pay is commensurate with the work they put in? Tipping is a way to say “thank you” to those who rarely hear it.

3) Tipping ensures great service. This is especially true of people who perform service for you regularly. If you tip a barista at a coffee shop you frequent, or a waiter at your favorite restaurant, they will give you even better service next time. For example, I used to work at a pizza place and when an order came in, if the pizza delivery guy recognized the name, and remembered they were a big tipper, they would bust their butt to get the order out. They would even take the tipper the order BEFORE orders that had come in earlier. If an order came up for a name they recognized as a bad tipper, they would deliver that order later. Similarly, when I worked at Jamba Juice, this one customer would tip us very heavily every time she came in. So during her visits we were practically falling over ourselves to get her order out. We would start making it even before she paid. And we would always throw in extra goodies. So in things you do regularly, tipping is certainly not essential, but can guarantee you better service.

In summation: Tipping is not always necessary. You certainly shouldn’t be throwing your money around. But it can be appropriate in some circumstances. If someone serves you in a way that makes a difference in your day, a few bucks is a nice way to show you are thankful.

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11 Comments

1. Vixen on 01.11.2007 at 11:54 (Reply)

   Excellent, excellent, excellent post.

   1. Law School Blog on 06.11.2007 at 15:13 (Reply)

      Definitely agreed that tipping is about good service.

      A good tip is if let’s say you’re getting your car towed and you really want for them to do a good job, tip them before they tow the car.

2. snow_drops on 01.11.2007 at 12:51 (Reply)

   Hahaha… I guess this is one topic that I have a strong opinion of. I grew up in a country where tipping is unheard of, where people should be grateful that they even have a job, and where the price tag is the net price. No wonder I find this tipping culture amusing… ^_^

   Hope I haven’t offended anyone.

3. Matt Wolfe on 01.11.2007 at 15:41 (Reply)

   This is a good post and I definitely agree. Sometimes in restaurants where I get pretty crappy service, I let them know through the tip as well. I pretty much always tip but it’s definitely a lot less if I feel unhappy with the service.

4. Katie (Mrs. FLS) on 01.11.2007 at 16:26 (Reply)

   Snow Drops, no offense was taken. Tipping is very much a cultural thing, and varies around the world. As someone commented in the last post, in many countries, especially in Europe, people are paid a decent wage for their job and thus do not require a tip. But in the US, this is not always the case. For example waiters here in OK make around $2.25 an hour. Thus, for them the tip is really their livelihood.

5. Mike on 02.11.2007 at 10:45 (Reply)

   Just to emphasize the last point made: waiters by and large make much much less than the federal minimum wage in this country. If you don’t tip anyone else, wait-staff persons are the ones to tip. It’s the only way they can hope to make ends meet.

   Additionally, there are many service industries that get by with paying their employees the minimum wage (which in some states, is the same as the current federal minimum of $5.85). Think of it like this: at $5.85 an hour for a 25 hour week (b/c service job holders don’t often work more than this b/c of school, kids, etc.), a person making minimum wage makes only about $150 per week before taxes (around $7500 per year before taxes).

   That’s hardly a wage one could live on comfortably. I’m not a proponent of tipping when it isn’t deserved. But if someone is serving you competently, you should tip. If they are going above and beyond, then you should tip very well.

6. Glen on 02.11.2007 at 13:02 (Reply)

   I thought I’d weigh in on this topic since I have some experience with it, having worked my way through college as a bartender.

   Basically, if the employer does not factor tips into the employee’s compensation, then no tips should be given, unless you receive service so exceptional yo feel compelled to directly reward the exceptional service.

   However, if the employer does factor tips into the employee’s compensation, then the employee is getting paid a pittance (I got paid $2.15/hr) directly from the employer.

   Furthermore, the employee has to pay taxes based on a percentage of their sales. Typically, those taxes equal or exceed the low hourly wage. It was not unusual for me to get “checks” that say “this is not a check” and show a negative number.

   I don’t associate with people that don’t tip. I shows a complete lack of common decency. I prefer my friends and associates to be decent people, not rude and selfish.

   One last point, if the bill is unexpectedly more than you anticipated and you do not have enough for a tip, have the courtesy to apologize to the person and say that it was mroe than you expected, or that you don’t have any cash. I have been stiffed many times, but the 2 times where people told me that they did not have enough money for a tip, I don’t consider those “stiffs.”

7. Glen on 02.11.2007 at 13:04 (Reply)

   Wow! my typing skillz suck!

8. TeenyShoes on 03.11.2007 at 18:36 (Reply)

   As the wife of a former server, I appreciate this follow up post quite a bit. My husband worked very hard during our first year or marriage–he worked at a restaurant and we both went to school full time working on our undergrad. If he got bad tips, it had a huge impact on our ability to pay our bills.

   He’s now in his senior year, and money is still tight, but we always leave a generous (read: more than 15%) tip whenever we go out and receive good service. We figure that if we feel we have the money to go out to dinner, then we must have the money to leave a tip, too.

9. Amel Hanan on 05.11.2007 at 01:33 (Reply)

   Speaking of tips, no wonder the food service in my place sucks. The people here aren’t that big on giving tips, so you can always expect inefficient young waiters/waiteresses and impatient customers appearing in the Malaysian eateries.

   However, tipping is an alien thing in my country, just as bowing to your elders as alien to the Western countries, so I guess not giving tips to an employee is not considered as a rude and indecent act here. In fact, even the employees themselves will find it queer to be given money for the service that they are supposed to provide anyway. Especially, if the employee is a female and has been given a tip from a guy for her service, she’ll think the guy is trying to hit on her, and vice versa.

10. paulette on 07.06.2008 at 21:13 (Reply)

    For me there’s nothing wrong with tipping as long as it is not abused.

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