Tipping over
In one part of the suburb without a city a man who speaks little English is stuffing guacamole and chimichangas into a plastic sack. Across town a woman with short hair is stuffing a chicken salad sandwich and a baked chicken salad into a similar bag. When they are finished, they both get paid for their food with a debit card. But Mexican Eatery Man gets a two dollar tip when he is done. Short-Haired Woman gets nothing extra. And it is all because of an extra line on the Mexican credit card receipt. That line says…TIP.
It’s a long-running fight at Mt. Willis: Who deserves a tip? I’m a bit of a miser in that regard. I believe people should receive adequate tips for service above and beyond the all of duty. My wife is a bit different. She tips as a defense against spit in her future meals.
I spent a summer waiting tables and have the greatest amount of respect for servers. Servers deal with several tables at once. They are keeping track of a dozen different orders, filling drinks, yelling at the cooks to hurry up, and still serving food in a timely manner. If they do their job well, they deserve between 15 and 20 percent extra at the end of the meal.
I think the same thing applies to some delivery people. The heavy-lifters deserve a tip. The flower delivery guy deserves a thank you.
It is a pretty simple system and it doesn’t include tipping for take out food. I don’t tip the girl at Wendy’s. I don’t tip the girl at the deli. And I don’t tip the guy at the Mexican restaurant when I’m getting takeout…even if the credit card receipt offers me the opportunity.
I am a good tipper when it is warranted..and expected. In a few months, I’m going to Las Vegas. People there tip for EVERYTHING and I will too.
Perhaps I should applaud my wife’s generosity. She recently defended herself by saying they gave her something to drink while she waited for takeout. But I wonder…if there hadn’t been a line for a TIP on the debit card receipt, would she have said…”Oh, here’s two bucks for all your hard work.”
Am I getting cheap?
