I am tapped out. Or should I say … tipped out. Is it me or does everyone want a tip these days. I’ve got one for you … when your IQ hits 80 … sell! Sorry, industry joke. I’m ok with tipping waiters, barbers, valets or even the pizza guy. The problem is that it seems that more people than ever expect tips and the amount they expect is going up and up. Just look at how many people expect tips at this point, incredible! In addition, some have gone so far as to put a tip guide on the receipt itself …
I appreciate the help, but no thanks. My kids don’t give me ideas on their allowance and I don’t expect you to do that with your tips. Let’s be honest here. If you get a job that involves tips, that’s ok. Just don’t complain when we don’t leave you one that is below what you expect. It’s purely business, it ain’t personal. Otherwise, I will whip out my personal tip guide that shows you how many times I expect my tea refilled and the time expected to clean the table which would equal the percentage of tip you will get. First of all, I’m tired of those that put on the obsequious act of pretending they are my long lost best friend. The worst of these are stylists at Supercuts or the Haircuttery. All I ask is that you cut my hair the way I ask and get the sideburns straight. I don’t want to know about your HDD kids or your alcholic husband. The faster you cut my hair, the faster I can get out of there and the faster you can have someone else you can talk into giving you a few more dollars per hour.
Another one I can’t stand are restaurants where they have take-out. At a place that will remain nameless, my wife had someone actually say to her “geez another debit card.” When my wife asked what was wrong he replied “we don’t get tips with debit cards.” This is true at Starbucks also. While I will give them credit, they tend to keep a smile on their face whether you tip or not, the fact that there is a tip jar there, bugs the crap out of me and makes me feel guilty when I use my Starbucks card.
As I said before, I don’t mind tipping waiters. What I do mind is when did it go from 15 to 20%? I didn’t get that memo. And who wrote the rule that I am supposed to tip at least 10% even when the service is bad. I have resorted to leaving nothing or one time, leaving a penny with my phone number on it for the manager to call to find out why I only gave a penny. I figured the manager that reconciles the receipts would surely be interested to know why I left a message on the receipt. Did I get a call? absolutely not. Sorry state of customer service, but that’s another post. On the other hand, I left a $100 tip for a waitress that was a Katrina evacuee. Did we get a thank you call? … it’s a no there too. We didn’t really want one, but in the back of my mind it would have been nice. I guess chivalry is going the way of customer service, but that’s another post too.
The fact is that there are way too many folks that feel they are entitled to tips. All I ask is that you do your job. If you don’t like the amount of our tips, go work somewhere where you don’t have to rely on tips. Let me restate, there are those that I am ok with tipping. The rest of you … go panhandle somewhere else.
