Tipping is always a touchy subject. I was reading this post by Waiter Rant about it today and it got me to thinking. I was actually going to leave him a comment about it but then I realized that it’s much too lengthy and delves too far off topic.
I tip around 20% each time I go out to eat, even if the waiter wasn’t as attentive or good as they perhaps ought to be. I tend to make excuses for them because you don’t really know when someone’s having a bad day. God knows I’ve had enough myself.
The thing that gets to me, though, is that I’m now expected to tip nearly everyone I come in contact with EXCEPT sales associates in retail stores. I have never seen a tip jar near the cash register and I’d never expect one. But you see them at Starbucks, where they have just about the same amount of interaction with the customer as a sales associate does. You can bet the person who orders a tall half-skinny half-1 percent extra hot split quad shot (two shots decaf, two shots regular) latte with whip also comes in to my store demanding that I drop everything and help them. We tip the hairdresser, the cab driver, the manicurist, the bartender, the mail man, the waiter, and everyone else in the world so why don’t sales associates get any love?
Tipping waiters I understand. They make less money because of a lowered minimum wage (which seems extraordinarily unfair to me but that’s a whole different story) but why am I now required to tip everyone and their mother when no one tips me? Waiters have to deal with demanding, annoying customers. So do all those other jobs. So do I. I have to help them pick out their clothes. I have to explain their coupons. I have to listen as they bitch and moan about the prices. I have to keep a smile affixed to my face as they crumple stacks of perfectly folded clothing in search of that one top that they later leave on the fitting room floor. I have to stand for hours at a time. I have to explain to people that their card was declined. I have to watch for shoplifters. I have to listen as customers berate me for things that are beyond my control. I have to see my hours dwindle as our district manager refuses to assign us more hours, even when we desperately need them. I have to deal with idiotic contests and goals that the Company thinks up because it sounds wonderful on paper. So why don’t I get tipped for my troubles?
I’m not writing this because I want people to throw extra money at me for working. That’s what my job is for. I’m writing this because I’m confused. Why do I have to tip other people for doing their job when no one tips me for mine? Doctors don’t get tips. Lawyers don’t get tips. Teachers don’t get tips. So why do we tip hairdressers, cab drivers, etc? I’m genuinely searching for an answer here. If you know why, please tell me.
Dear Ania, I have Waiterrant for years, and your comment prompted me to check out your link. I hear you! I’ve worked as a motel night auditor for years and I get to deal with the drunks, the people that think I have a staff of fifteen available at 2 in the morning, the people that scream at me because someone on the day shift didn’t put a crib in their room; and 90% of the people that come in want to play “Jew-Me Hotel.” Hey, I didn’t set the prices. I’ve had more verbal abuse from idiots than you can imagine. And, guess what? Have never been tipped either. Also, I was a department store Assistant Manager for over a year before the store closed (back in the early 80′s), and you are right on about that. People don’t tip retail personnel. Just thought I’d drop a note because, like I said–I hear you. Thanks for listening. Mike
P.S. to previous…Meant to write that I have read Waiterrant for years…