Everyone knows to tip a waitress. There will always be disagreements about the
amount, but not the need. We know that waitresses' salaries are deliberately depressed because they can earn so much more by
smiling and being efficient, that is, being happily servile. We provide their compensation, for better or
worse, and regardless of what we may privately think about the system.
But the rest of the tipping rules and regulations is
surprisingly hard to figure out. There
is general agreement about tipping barbers and hair dressers, masseuses and
taxi drivers, miscellaneous tour directors, the hotel housekeeping staff, and
pizza delivery guys. And don’t forget bell
hops and sky caps. Oh, and the fellows
who deliver your furniture and appliances.
We collectively agree on all these—and a host of others.
We are also used to Tip Jars near cash registers on store
counters: “Never expected, always
appreciated.” They’re in convenience
stores, pizzerias, Chinese takeout restaurants, some semi-fast-food restaurants
(our Panera’s has one, but not Culver’s), Jersey Mike’s subs, “Five Guys”
burgers, the dry cleaners—just to mention a few.
Tip Jars represent a compromise between real tipping and a
sort of last-minute, after-thought tipping.
It’s a place where we can drop our nickels and dimes, maybe even a
dollar bill or two, when we get our change.
At McDonald’s the money goes to the Ronald McDonald House, a charity for
children.
The list of those getting tips directly (or a portion of
what’s in the Tip Jar) is long, but it doesn’t include everyone, which has
always made me wonder why some workers never get tips.
Why for example don’t we tip bank tellers or butchers? How about the check-out person at your local
supermarket? What about teachers and
mail carriers, although they usually do get Christmas gifts? Or the nurses who care for you night and day
in the hospital and send you home hale and hearty? What about the diligent office staff at
doctors’ offices, the ones who collect your co-pay and set up your next
appointment? None of them and dozens of others just like them ever get a nickel. Why is that?
