By most Seattleites' standards, I am a cheap tipper. I grew up learning that 15% was a perfectly reasonable tip, and that's what I stick to today, even with great service (sometimes a little bit more, maybe). However, I usually don't tip below 15% unless the service is really poor, so in my mind it evens out. But there's more to it than that...
It seems that the older I get, the more expensive it is to go out. Yeah, yeah, I know, inflation, but even that being considered, it is quite expensive to hit the town, especially in urban areas where sales tax is usually high. I always get a sinking feeling in my gut when I see the bill and an even sinkier feeling when I calculate what the prescribed 20% tip would be. Nevermind principles, it's simply not affordable for a poor graduate student like myself to tip 20% on an already expensive meal. (And side note: Even though the tip is supposed to be calculated based on the pre-tax cost, most restaurants only print the post-tax total, prompting us to tip on that instead.) It's starting to feel like we're being punished for enjoying a night out.
Now, I've had many conversations about this with friends who work in the restaurant industry, and I realize that servers usually must split their tips between all the other restaurant staff. I also realize that sometimes food service workers don't even get paid minimum wage without factoring in tips. My response to this dilemma is: That sucks, but why treat the symptom instead of the cause? As consumers, we are merely feeding into the inequitable pay configuration in the industry by absorbing the financial burden, instead of questioning why things are the way they are.
I know that servers and other food service staff work really hard, and I appreciate that. I know that hair stylists, massage therapists, and [insert occupation that gets tipped] work hard for their money, and I appreciate that too. But look, so do I, and I don't get no stinkin' tips! Granted, I get paid more than minimum wage these days, but even when I worked in retail and got paid minimum wage for years, I never got tipped for slaving my you-know-what off every shift.
My point here is that tipping has become expected only in certain industries, as if employees in those positions work harder than others. Furthermore, because tipping has become so expected--20% to be exact--it has lost its original intent, which is to reward those who go the extra mile to provide great customer service. Would you tip a cashier, a life guard, or a receptionist for doing a job well done? If not, why not? I assume because it's not expected and might even be considered tacky. And yet, how would you feel about not tipping your bartender the next time you order drinks? Like a total cheap skate, right? There's something wrong with that picture.
If certain occupations are truly deserving of better pay, than they should receive better pay, regardless of tips. Tipping should return to its inherent purpose, and no one should feel obligated to break the bank to reward people for simply doing their jobs. Eventually, employers will need to suck it up and pay their personnel fairly, instead of relying on misguided charity from customers. But the paradox is, they won't do so until we, as consumers, influence the system with our dollars and advocacy for change.
In fact, my boyfriend tells me that in Korea, tipping is not expected or even customary because workers in the food service industry are fairly compensated for their labor, making tips unnecessary. Now, this may mean that the food and drink they serve is more expensive than it is here. But perhaps not, and either way, I contend that the tipping system in the U.S. is broken.
So am I turning tipping into a political issue? You bet your bippy I am! As my feminist sisters and brothers would say, the personal is political, and this is one personal beef I need to get off my chest. I'm not trying to rail against people in the service industry who unfortunately depend on tips to make a living wage. And, I know it's much easier said than done to just stop or reduce tipping for these folks. Perhaps your mission may just be to challenge those who think tipping below 20% is skimpy. But if anything I've said in this here blog resonates with you, then you should consider what you could do to alter our current tipping system. At this point, it's pretty passe...
