Is tipping a bullshit custom?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-04-19 12:23pm

I think that, in any given job, no matter what the conditions are, you take the average conditions for granted and get angry at anything below that. So even the most spoiled politician can get genuinely angry if he thinks he's not getting his usual golden-apple treatment, and he will honestly believe that he's being mistreated. At the other end of the scale, a garbageman doesn't really get upset at the fact that he handles smelly garbage every day, because that's normal, but if anything happens out of the ordinary, he gets pissed off.

That's how I believe a lot of waiters are with tips.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2007-04-19 04:10pm

Darth Wong wrote:I think that, in any given job, no matter what the conditions are, you take the average conditions for granted and get angry at anything below that.

And something’s wrong with this when you depend on normal conditions to make a living?

I’ve got several friends who have worked as delivery drivers; they got paid 15 bucks for a four hour shift, which on a busy day with summer gas prices would be about enough to cover gas, never mind accumulated ware and tear on their vehicle. Without tips the job would not be even remotely viable. Tip well and you’ll get your food first too.

Post by **Edi** » 2007-04-19 04:22pm

Jon, I hope you told the arrogant asshole to fuck off. It's what I would have done. There's bad service, and then there's completely unacceptable bullshit, and this falls into the latter category and then some.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2007-04-19 04:34pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:Tip well and you’ll get your food first too.

Of course that requires that you eat there on a fairly regular basis so that the wait staff gets to know you.

Sure, if you tip poorly or not at all, you don't go back but as with most phenomena, the bad examples are easy to remember, the good ones take a while to establish themselves.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-04-19 07:07pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:I think that, in any given job, no matter what the conditions are, you take the average conditions for granted and get angry at anything below that.
And something’s wrong with this when you depend on normal conditions to make a living?

I'm trying to point out that it's all relative, and people get used to whatever the custom is, no matter how absurd. The fact is that the waiter in the $40/plate restaurant expects the same 10% tip as the delivery driver for Domino's pizza. It's a pointless tradition because even a lousy waiter expects his tip, its size depends much more on the cost of the meal than the quality of the service, and if it didn't exist, employers would simply have to pay enough to make the job viable at the low end.

I’ve got several friends who have worked as delivery drivers; they got paid 15 bucks for a four hour shift, which on a busy day with summer gas prices would be about enough to cover gas, never mind accumulated ware and tear on their vehicle. Without tips the job would not be even remotely viable. Tip well and you’ll get your food first too.

As I said, if there were no tipping then employers would simply have to pay enough to make the job viable.