tip..tip..tip
September 25, 2007 by parijaatha
There is a saying in Kannada which roughly translates to “Some people when they have nothing better to do, amuse themselves by sitting on an ant-hill!”
I feel that it’s a perfect description of my attitude. Every time, I think I’ll never write things which might upset people. But then when I sit to blog, I am tempted to get on people’s nerves by writing controversial views!
So here goes:
SCENE 1:
We are in a fancy restaurant. The ambience of the place is mind blowing. We laughingly discuss that a heavy meal here would cost us a month’s rent. The waiter looks down on us as we carefully pick the cheapest items on the menu. The food is mediocre and so is the service. By the time we finish our meal, the waiter has made us feel ashamed of ourselves…
The waiter gets the bill. My friend picks it up and automatically tips him 10%.I argue; I lose. I’m told it’s the norm.
As we leave, I have a very strong impulse to kick the waiter in the shin .I don’t; like my friend I’m timid …and well, it isn’t the norm.
SCENE 2:
Vijay, Kishan (my younger brother) and I are lazing around in Coffee day (M.G.Road). Kishan is enjoying his chocolate cake. Vijay and I decide to take a look inside Bombay store. We ask Kishan to pay the bill and join us inside. We give him the cash…and head inside Bombay store. Later we found out that my dear naïve brother had tipped just Rs 2/-!!!(Well, he was just out of school…was his first time at fancy coffee shops)
We have avoided that Coffee day ever since. A part of me argues that I shouldn’t be feeling guilty. Two coffees and a cake…that’s not much to serve!
But I still don’t dare! We made Kishan feel so guilty…that he has joined the “better tip more than be a jerk” group.
SCENE 3 to 100:
Saif and I argue every time we go out for dinner. Great waiter gets 10%.Lousy waiter gets 10%.
SCENE 101:
We are in a fancy sea side restaurant. We are the only non-whites and we are made to wait really, really long for our order. After our dinner Saif tips her generously. We argue till we reach home.
I have seen the scene in Reservoir dogs (while nodding my head like crazy) and I have had this argument with so many people…and I am yet to find anyone who can give me a convincing argument.
I have a confession to make. For all my venom spewing arguments, I always tip. Not because I want to…but I don’t want to be called bad names. I want to break free…but I’m too darn scared!
My stand on this topic:
Tipping is a personal thing. If I think the service was excellent…then I can be generous with the tip. If I think it was crappy, then I should have an option of tipping less or not tipping at all without being made to feel like the scum of the world.
Now tipping is more like “hafta vasooli”. You are giving them money so that they don’t spit in your soup…or that your friends and family don’t burn you at the stakes!
Arguments I have had:
Argument 1:
They earn very less. So you tip them.
Counter-Argument:
Your house maid earns a lot less. She cleans your dishes, mops the floor and probably washes your clothes as well. How come you never feel guilty while refusing to give her a raise?
By the same argument, if you know a tailor who has no clientele at all-will you tip him for stitching your trousers?
What about the vegetable vendors? How can you argue about his high prices? Come on, he can hardly make ends meet!
Argument 2:
They do the dirty job of cleaning up after you…how would you feel cleaning somebody’s coffee cup which has two cigarette butts in it?!? SO you tip them…
Counter-Argument:
OK! So do you tip your proctologist? (Very, very cheap joke…I know that!)
Argument 3:
You tip them so that they don’t sneeze in your soup the next time you visit the restaurant.
So do you tip your doctor for not sneezing when he is examining you? And that’s pure blackmail! If you won’t complain about this…you shouldn’t complain when the mafia don calls you up the next time!
Argument 4:
This is the only job people without a graduation can take…
Counter-Argument:
Well, the guy who became a doctor worked very hard for it. So did the music teacher. So did the guy who drives the trucks!
And they are still working hard at their jobs…who will tip them?!
Argument 5:
It’s a very difficult job. They are on their feet all day…
Counter-Argument:
Cardiac surgeons have such work pressures, that they tend to have high risk of blood pressure-do you tip them?
What about the guys who work in the mines? Who will tip them?
And the dancers? They are always on their feet…you have to tip them!
——————————————-
Bottom line is that I’m not against tipping. I believe that I shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for not tipping an average/lousy waiter/waitress!!
Tipping is like charity. It’s should be your decision.
I have been there done that. If a guy took me to dinner…and didn’t tip, I would consider him cheapskate. My parents told me it was the right thing to do, I had never questioned it. Now, I have second thoughts about it.
I invite your thoughts. In fact I want to be convinced that I am wrong and tipping is actually the right thing. Because, if I’m right…I have tipped enough to buy myself a pair of Gucci boots!!
Arguments 1 thru 5 are not the issue.
In the US at least, the tips are factored into a waiter’s salary. They get paid minimum wage because the expectation is that they will be making a certain amount of money through tips.
So the best way to look at it is to say that that pasta dish you paid $15 for at Olive Garden (picking a random name), actually costs $17.25. I.e. $15 plus a 15% tip.
My rule in the US is to tip 15% as a matter of course. 10% if the service was bad, and 20%+ if it was very good.
BPSK
P.S. Poor Saif
How do they assume that people will tip? That’s like the school board saying that it will pay the teachers less as they will make money from giving tuition!!! What if the teacher cant find any students who are willing to take the tuition?(bad example…but)
Is this theory not included in places like subway?
I still find it so weird!
I’m still just off the boat…not used to the American ways!
And i don’t think that the explanation you gave works in India!!
When we were kids, there was no concept of tipping. Slowly, it started - was the American influence I guess. For once, we have nothing to argue about. I completely agree with your post. I wanted to write on this once, you just beat me to this post.
Let me tell one more scenario. You go to a restaurant, the service is simply divine, the ambiance is great, the service is normal, you had a great time there - you tip generously. Know what the problem is? The waiter is getting more for things he was not responsible for (tasty food, ambiance etc.) What about the cook, who spends a great amount of time in front of hot ovens? I guess they are also as great in number as the waiters!
- V
P.S: Your post misled me. The title suggested that this was a post about rain songs
yup…I sometimes feel that it’s too unfair.
It was deliberate.If guys have the image of Raveena in a wet yellow saree,they’ll read my post in a happier frame of mind.That’s why the heading
I recommend these books to you. This might give you an insight into tipping in USA.
http://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Dimed-Not-Getting-America/dp/0805063897
http://www.amazon.com/How-Burn-Down-House-Bartenders/dp/0974867705
- Shubha.
There are 2 kinds of jobs in the food service industry: fast food jobs (like Subway, Quiznos etc)for which tipping is not expected and by law they are paid a higher minimum wage (around 7-9$ per hours).
The waitresses who work in a restaurant are paid a much lower legal minimum wage (around 2-5$ per hour) which is lower than the mandated minimums for hourly jobs in that state.
Also, the government assumes that a waitress will be tipped around 8% (might have changed a bit in the last couple of years) of the total bill and they need to pay taxes on that tip. So, if you dont pay tips, the wait person loses money from their pocket to make up for the tax short fall.
- Shubha
In many restaurants, the tips are split (in some predetermined ratio) between all the people who work in the restaurant. This includes the usher, the bus boys, the cook, the cleaner, the waitress, the phone desk for “to go” orders etc. So, if you don’t tip because the food was bad, the others are affected too.
- Shubha
ok..very informative.Thanks.
Do these concepts work in India as well?
I want to know how the govt assumes something like that.I will try to find out in wiki.
Thanks for all the suggestions
No, does not work in India since tips are not declared (most waiters are under the tax net)
From: http://www.wikihow.com/Tip-Your-Server-at-a-Restaurant
“The U.S. Government taxes servers and bartenders based upon an assumption that they made a certain percentage of their sales in tips. If you do not tip a server or a bartender in America at least 4%, you are actually costing your server money.”
- Shubha
We are mostly grouchy at the Indian servers.And yet..I am surprised at the Government working on assumptions!
I can see how strongly you feel about it. I just wanted to be convinced.I am not against tipping per say!
Well, Indian restaurants are a different ball-game. Here, in the Seattle area, even if you leave a tip for the waiters, the restaurant owners take every cent of it! The waiters/cooks etc get nothing (we stopped tipping at those places). So, when you go to a restaurant, ask the waiter what the “tip-out” is like in their restaurant. It varies in each place. If the waiter gets nothing, then don;t leave a tip. (some details at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070920205258AAsYBPk)
Some restaurants don’t pay tips properly if you pay using a credit card. In that case, pay your bill using a card and leave cash for the tip so the waiter gets it.
- Shubha
I too used to think a long ago - ‘Why tip?’ This research has changed me a little.
- Shubha
hopefully after reading all the links and the comments I will be a convert too
Seriously, I agree with every word in your post…100%.
Tipping is more widespread in restaurants, but it attacks you in so many other places day in and day out. So different from Europe. This has become part of American culture (As you now know even govt. assumes stuff).
I do tend to tip 15% for normal to great service. When I first came here one of my white colleagues taught me that tipping 10% was absolutely not right (what a coincidence, I had lunch at that same restaurant today!, and the same colelague was there).
I have tipped 10% when I feel the service was not good. So, I do swing between 10 and 15.
And, yes I have tipped ZERO when the service was horrible….that waiter certainly deserved nothing.
So yes, I do tip based on the quality of service, and I think that’s pretty much what it should be like.
I do have to admit that when I went to India one time I started tipping 20% even there (my argument was why not here if in USA). My father blasted me and explained the pain the rest of them would have to go through if people like me raise the bar and expectations from the waiters. That totally made sense, it’s really not 1:1.
Why oh why this bigotry against one of the good aspects of American Culture.What is so wrong in tipping. Pple! Stop being so calculative, especially, after a full stomach. Don’t let it burden you. It’s just a zilch.
And whats wrong if we tip in India.Whats wrong in raising the expectations of the Indian waiters. Come on whoever goes to a restaurant, can afford to tip.
For once,It’s great to have you agreeing with me.
In India,if you go to fancy restaurant,some waiters snub you if you don’t look like a NRI/phirangi.They know you don’t tip as well as they do..and it is true.
we didn’t have the conversion factor working for us.For an Indian Rs 100/- is still something..but its just $2.50 for a guy earning in dollars!!!
And it’s not easy as people are more than willing to brand you a cheapskate..even if you question about tipping!
I feel that it is silly that the government works under such assumptions(ass+u+me)!!!
Till very recently I thought you tipped a waiter if you liked the service.I didn’t know that his salary is factored into it.And somehow I think its all messed up.
But I will ignore all these questions and bask in the glory of you agreeing with me!
hahaha! fair enough reason.
You don’t want to tip then you shouldn’t have to…
If you take 5 of your friends to a decent enough restaurant and make a very modest bill of Rs 500/- do you know that we are to tip minimum 50/-?
A doctor who does private practice-if the patient comes in for cold..has to do a check up,give some tablets,give prescription..should listen to the patient’s sob story(in a place like mysore) and…they get to charge 40/- and will be called pricey!!!
For most people shelling out 50/- or 100/- as tip above and beyond what is the bill..sounds pretty unreasonable.
And unlike you dear reader,some of us just don’t see whats so good about this aspect of the American culture!
I don’t want to be made morally responsible for judging someone’s service and tipping them.
K, I apologize but the doctor analogy = bouncer. BPSK crouching-wide ball declared-next ball please. Seriously, I am not sure of the point you were trying to make.
I think we have already established that you do not have an issue against tipping in the US, and the rest of this thread is about tipping in India, correct?
“I don’t want to be made morally responsible for judging someone’s service and tipping them”
- So now I am confused. I thought your original issue was that you didn’t want an expectation on the waiter’s part to expect a 10% tip, whether or not he did a good job. What is this about moral judgements?
BPSk
BPSK,
(I am too lazy to elaborate on the doctor example…will explain if you insist)
Some times even a good batsman fails to read a ball correctly.Happens ;)Wise thing is not to blame the bowler
In India on an average..the service is pathetic!But you end up tipping anyways.For me it’s not the money..its a matter of principle.
In US,you all have explained it to me that its far more complicated.
Ideally,I would like it very much if this whole concept of tipping is abolished.Let the restaurateur charge me extra and take care of the complete salary.
I think its unfair on the waiter/waitress as well.Tipping is such a subjective thing.What you might call a great service…your neighbor might consider it just ordinary.Or may be when you went in ,you were in a foul mood(and may tip less). Why should the waiter suffer for that?
Pay him his complete salary…and have an yearly review on customer feedback.Good service gets you a better hike.I feel that its a better system.
Once my tummy is full…I find it tedious to sit and judge how I liked the service! I’ll be too busy counting the calories which are gonna find permanent residence inside me.Over that you want me to calculate how much 10% of $32.87 is?!?
I vote for less mathematics in dinner.
Have you read Waiter rant? http://waiterrant.net. It’s a good blog… he’s written a lot about tipping as well.
As for tipping being unfair, afaik, most restaurant owners (esp small ones) do not pay their waiters well. (Dignity of labour takes a back seat when it comes to paychecks) Waiters rely on tips for survival! The same applies to bellhops and chauffeurs… and I dunno how many more folks in the service sector!
Thanks for the link..will check it out!
I have nothing against tipping per se.I feel its unfair to tip generously when its a lousy service!
I don’t think the (salary+tipping) concept works in India by the way…
It’s spelt per se and it’s pronounced purr say…
The salary + tipping concept does work in India… if not in the places I frequent, at least in the 5-star hotels and for folks who wait on big spenders, it sure does!
My mistake..I knew it…but I messed up when I wrote it.I do it all the time…sorry about that and thanks for pointing it out!
I wasn’t aware that the system works in India as well…and anyways I rarely dine at 5 star hotels!!