There is currently a discussion on John Scalzi's twitter feed about tipping, which is always amusing.
A few recent WaPo articles: Poor service? You still have to tip 20 percent, no matter what. and a bit of a follow up, Tipping fatigue is real, especially for travelers.
For the record, I loathe tipping. I'm much prefer to pay more for whatever service I am using and not have to deal with adding a tip. I think it's a method of paying people that gives power to the petty tyrants of the world, to short someone, to feel better about their (scummy) selves by hurting someone who didn't meet their expectations of subservience and obsequiousness.
Also the new dictum that I have to leave money for housekeeping in hotels. I would tip at an expensive hotel, but come on, at lower end hotels, this did not used to be the expectation, and it bugs the snot out of me. I tip -usually well- when I'm interacting with people, ya know? At this point, if we have cash, we do try to tip housekeeping, but we often don't, especially if it's just one night. So that's my personal limit. I'm not proud of it.
I also don't really like tipping for take-out, but I do it. The local bagel place, where I purchase a dozen bagels a week, has a spot for tipping. I do. Not because they've done anything more than ring up my order, but because I usually am there at the busiest time of day and week, and there are times, every few weeks or so, when I need my bagels sliced. So I always tip.
I just really don't want to have to tip the cashier at Safeway or Target... Oh wait. I use the self-checkout lanes there.
But here's the deal. Tipping is barbaric. A petty minded tinpot dictator wannabe should not be in charge of making a waiter's night a bust or their having enough to afford dinner the next day. We should be paying service people more, that proverbial living wage, and enough with this tipping BS. Yes,a few bartenders at expensive places in New York City or Miami may be making a killing on tips, but small town waiters who are surviving on tips are the ones that I'm thinking about.
We need to pay people a living wage and stop with tipping. That'll piss of the people on a power trip, but eh, I think it'll be better all around.
While I'm at it... I've noticed a trend of either the check or the electronic device the waiters are using having amounts at 5/10/15/20%, so you can just add them. UGH. At first I thought it was wonderful, having a child for whom figuring a tip is a freaking nightmare (full disclosure: she often texts in a panic). BUT then I noticed that most of them have you tipping on the before tax amount. Bzzzt. I always tip post tax. Some of them do have post tax. I'm not looking forward to having to helping Linnea figure out the difference.![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
_@
Full disclosure: for bad service? I leave 20% and I don't round up.
A few recent WaPo articles: Poor service? You still have to tip 20 percent, no matter what. and a bit of a follow up, Tipping fatigue is real, especially for travelers.
For the record, I loathe tipping. I'm much prefer to pay more for whatever service I am using and not have to deal with adding a tip. I think it's a method of paying people that gives power to the petty tyrants of the world, to short someone, to feel better about their (scummy) selves by hurting someone who didn't meet their expectations of subservience and obsequiousness.
Also the new dictum that I have to leave money for housekeeping in hotels. I would tip at an expensive hotel, but come on, at lower end hotels, this did not used to be the expectation, and it bugs the snot out of me. I tip -usually well- when I'm interacting with people, ya know? At this point, if we have cash, we do try to tip housekeeping, but we often don't, especially if it's just one night. So that's my personal limit. I'm not proud of it.
I also don't really like tipping for take-out, but I do it. The local bagel place, where I purchase a dozen bagels a week, has a spot for tipping. I do. Not because they've done anything more than ring up my order, but because I usually am there at the busiest time of day and week, and there are times, every few weeks or so, when I need my bagels sliced. So I always tip.
I just really don't want to have to tip the cashier at Safeway or Target... Oh wait. I use the self-checkout lanes there.
But here's the deal. Tipping is barbaric. A petty minded tinpot dictator wannabe should not be in charge of making a waiter's night a bust or their having enough to afford dinner the next day. We should be paying service people more, that proverbial living wage, and enough with this tipping BS. Yes,a few bartenders at expensive places in New York City or Miami may be making a killing on tips, but small town waiters who are surviving on tips are the ones that I'm thinking about.
We need to pay people a living wage and stop with tipping. That'll piss of the people on a power trip, but eh, I think it'll be better all around.
While I'm at it... I've noticed a trend of either the check or the electronic device the waiters are using having amounts at 5/10/15/20%, so you can just add them. UGH. At first I thought it was wonderful, having a child for whom figuring a tip is a freaking nightmare (full disclosure: she often texts in a panic). BUT then I noticed that most of them have you tipping on the before tax amount. Bzzzt. I always tip post tax. Some of them do have post tax. I'm not looking forward to having to helping Linnea figure out the difference.
_@Full disclosure: for bad service? I leave 20% and I don't round up.
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