raviepoo
Contributor
- Messages
- 831
- Reaction score
- 8
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
They're popping up all over in the US: at the ice cream shop, at the yuppie coffee bar, at the sanwdich shop on the corner. Yes they are annoying, but those of us who know the difference between a service professional and a minumum wage slave generally have the good sense to ignore them. They are tip cups and they are everywhere.
I expect to give gratuities to waiters, cab drivers, hairdressers and my doorman. I cheerfully pony up to the dive master and crew when I go diving off of a boat. This expectation has always been written into the pay scales for people in these professions. OK, so now the baristas and the sandwich makers want a piece of the action. I'm of the opinion that these folks should be paid by their employers, but I have a fairly open mind. I can see how it might be appropriate to drop a few quarters in the cup at the local Starbucks, especially if the barrista is friendly and cute.
Last weekend, however, I noticed a a big, plastic jar with the letters T - I - P - S emblazoned in thick magic marker in a truely astonishing location - next to the cash register at a shoe store. This is, quite simply, not acceptable. Taking my money in return for consumer goods is not an activity that merits a gratuity.
What comes next? Who will be the next group of workers with their hands out? Will it be bank cashiers? Gas station attendants? The clerks at Bloomingdales? The lady who hands me my prescriptions and takes my money in return at the pharmacy on the corner? The fellow who takes down your name, address and insurance information at the emergency room?
I think I'm going to put a tip jar on my desk at work. The next time my boss asks me to take on a new project or give him a progress report on my work I will glare suggestively at the jar and give a little cough. If he doesn't pony up, I ain't putting out. It seems that, more and more these days, that's the American way.
I expect to give gratuities to waiters, cab drivers, hairdressers and my doorman. I cheerfully pony up to the dive master and crew when I go diving off of a boat. This expectation has always been written into the pay scales for people in these professions. OK, so now the baristas and the sandwich makers want a piece of the action. I'm of the opinion that these folks should be paid by their employers, but I have a fairly open mind. I can see how it might be appropriate to drop a few quarters in the cup at the local Starbucks, especially if the barrista is friendly and cute.
Last weekend, however, I noticed a a big, plastic jar with the letters T - I - P - S emblazoned in thick magic marker in a truely astonishing location - next to the cash register at a shoe store. This is, quite simply, not acceptable. Taking my money in return for consumer goods is not an activity that merits a gratuity.
What comes next? Who will be the next group of workers with their hands out? Will it be bank cashiers? Gas station attendants? The clerks at Bloomingdales? The lady who hands me my prescriptions and takes my money in return at the pharmacy on the corner? The fellow who takes down your name, address and insurance information at the emergency room?
I think I'm going to put a tip jar on my desk at work. The next time my boss asks me to take on a new project or give him a progress report on my work I will glare suggestively at the jar and give a little cough. If he doesn't pony up, I ain't putting out. It seems that, more and more these days, that's the American way.
