Over the Tip

Back in the day, okay, I'm old, tipping for service was a convention limited to certain areas of work and tasks. If you provided good or excellent service, the larger the tip given by the customer you served. Note, the word 'served'.

So, what has changed? Almost everything. The era of tip me for nothing has erupted in this country. In the before times, a server or waiter/waitress gave great service, they received a bigger tip. Poor service, little to no tip. Service provided was effort and a great attitude at the job. Service was something the customer couldn't do for themselves at the business. I can't go back and put the food on my plate and walk it back to the table. I couldn't drive your taxi to the airport to drop myself off at the gate.

In the past, with other rare exceptions, these were the primary jobs people were tipped for. Now, everyone wants a tip just for doing their job. If I order a sandwich standing at a counter and you do nothing but the bare minimum of your job to get it to me, you don't deserve a tip. The other day, I went through a drive-through to pick up a drink and the screen to tap wanted me to give a tip. At a drive-through? Really?

Now, I understand the outcry, "pay your people more", but as someone who worked a life in service, most of these outcries are ridiculous. Many of these jobs aren't mean't to be 'buy a house and raise a family' jobs. Some are entry-level learn how to show up on time jobs, or, I'm retired and need something to do jobs. Standing at a drive-through speaking into microphone asking if you want fries with that is not a $15 per hour job. If your life goal is to be a barista, you have set the bar for you life truly low. These folks strike for more money while you job entails holding a paper cup while a machine squirts fluid into that cup that you wrote someone's name on with a marker. They you move that cup to another machine to squirt another liquid in that same cup, put on a lid and hand it to the customer. Wow, that really labor intensive. I'll bet you go home and fall into your bed from sheer exhaustion.

If you want to make more money, improve yourself, get some marketable skills and go do it. Don't gripe and moan that your customer didn't give you a tip as you handed them their sub over the counter.

I tip well because I can, but you better earn it. I don't tip for nothing.