Ryan Bacon

Granted, I’ve lived in America half my life.  I love this country and its people.  I also openly embrace all things that are uniquely American; buffets, Wal-Mart, Drew Carey, Cadillacs, and free refills on drinks.  However, one tradition I can’t wrap my mind around is tipping.  It is one tradition in this country that I could really do without.  But it seems as though many over here will blindly defend it to the death.

Maybe if someone has never been outside of the United States in their entire lifetime it comes as second nature to leave the expected 10-15% on the table or on the credit card receipt.  Why question what you’ve been raised to do your whole life?  My conclusion is that many people here must feel this way, because they are more than happy to leave a few extra bucks for the waiter or waitress.

Now before I get a flurry of hate mail for writing this, I’ll iterate that I really see a purpose in tipping and do believe in it; but only on one condition.  A person deserves a tip only if they go above and beyond the call of duty.  Otherwise they are just doing their jobs and making a paycheck.

Let me interpret; a server’s job is to serve customers.  That’s what they get paid for by their employer.  Simple concept, huh?  Their job is to greet me, bring drinks, and take my meal order and then bring the food.  I paid their employer for the meal based on the prices in the menu.  So why should I pay an additional amount to what’s listed on the menu?  Most people will argue with me that people in the service industry don’t get paid enough and that the tips support them.  I won’t disagree with that, but not to sound cruel or cold-hearted, it’s not my problem.  An employer is to pay their staff a wage, and it shouldn’t be up to customers to make up for the deficit.  If that’s the case, then why not just raise the price on meals?  Most people would scoff at a price increase, but you’re paying it anyway, right?  Heck, people will still pay a tip to someone who gave lousy service out of fear of appearing rude.  That defies the whole purpose of complementing the good workers out there!  A server knows what wages they’ll be getting upon accepting the job, and it was their choice to survive on a skimpy income.

The tradition is so inconsistent that I can’t take it seriously.  I have to pay a waiter at a restaurant for bringing me food, but not a McDonald’s clerk who also takes my order and brings it to the counter.  What’s the difference aside from the waiter walking 10 extra feet to my table?  I must tip a taxi driver, but not a bus driver.  Don’t they effectively do the same job, which is to drive me to a destination?  A pizza delivery guy deserves a tip, while the UPS guy delivering valuable Ebay merchandise gets the cold shoulder.  I sure don’t get tipped for my job every time I make a hotel reservation for one of my clients and I would never expect it, even though I offered personalized service.  There’s just some strange invisible line that divides who gets tips and who doesn’t.  Who made up these rules?

The last aspect that sucks all the purpose out of tipping is that tips are taxed by the government.  Isn’t a tip a gift for good service?  How can the government tax a gift?  It’s not a wage, because the now-decidedly lazy employer won’t pay proper salaries.  It’s not any different than giving my Uncle Howie $20 as a Christmas present because I enjoy his company.  So if a tip isn’t a gift, because it’s taxable, and it’s not a wage because it’s not part of a pay packet, then what is it?

It’s a nasty little habit that has passed through generations of Americans without question.  I’m all for people making proper wages and to pay higher prices for it, but before you instinctively lay down that “optional” extra 10-15%  to the next person who brings food to you, think about why you are doing it.