I am a relatively generous tipper even though I absolutely hate tipping. Not because of the cost but as a concept. We have a whole class of people who’s income is largely dictated by the whim of the customer instead of being paid for by their employer for their actual job. Below are some of the issues I have with tipping:
- Quite often tipping is not rewarding the right people. Let’s face it, the primary place we tip in is in a restaurant environment. But if the meal is late, if the food is cold, if the food is lousy your tip will reflect that even though the waitperson has nothing to do with it. At the same time, it the meal is fabulous, you might still tip generously even it the service is less that stellar. Rarely do the kitchen staff share in the tips.
- People tip even when service is bad. Because we know that the service person depends on their tips, we tend to tip even though we do not get decent service. We may tend to tip less, but we do tip.
- Tips are under-reported. There is a whole level of tax fraud based on tip income that just does not seem right, even if it is at the lower income levels. Let’s face it, that is the stereotype, and not always true.
But at the end of the day, tipping just seems wrong to me, primarily because it understates the cost of goods or services and allows the employer to underpay their employees.
i know that I will never change a darned thing. I will continue to tip and continue to secretly object to it.
