| Tipping before the service is weird. However, I don't know if you've ever worked on the other side of the counter, but it's a lot easier to get someone to tip when they already have their wallet out and cash in hand. Getting someone to take their wallet out a second time, regardless of how "above and beyond" the service or product are is tough. I'm glad I never worked at a restaurant where pay is supplemented by tips. That's an unacceptable practice. At Starbucks, tips were in excess to wages, so anything people gave were a really nice bonus. Tipping should be done out of generosity. Do you value that person, their time, the level of quality they bring you? If you look at Japan, tipping is not a thing. In some places it might even be considered an insult to tip because that level of quality is a deeply engrained part of the culture, not something to be rewarded extra for. However, I see it as a way to show my appreciation, my gratitude. Yes, I believe that people who have the means to tip who don't, yet greedily eat up high quality service and goods, are being stingy in the worst sense. Just from my experience at Starbucks, it seemed like those who tipped most frequently were the people who might not really been able to afford it. An extra dollar from 100 customers, for whom that is less than 1% of 1% of their net worth means $20 for a 5 person shift. That extra $20 usually is gas money, college supplies, or a couple bucks to spend for something fun. However, we completely and utterly lack empathy. So many people DON'T know what it's like to be on the other side of the counter and they completely forget that those people are thinking and feeling humans like they are. That those people have dreams and ambitions just like they do. That they are working because they have SOME goal. There is more depth to the person than the apron they wear, the smile they put on, the job they do. We forget that. We view them as objects and we devalue their existence. But those who do tip, those who don't necessarily have the means to but still do, they have not forgotten. Perhaps it's because their situation isn't too far removed. I think Steinbeck said it well: "If you're in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help - the only ones." |
I hate these arguments about gas money or college blabla since why would someone working in warehouses or supermarkets be in any other position. It's always bartenders and similar feeling special