The Tip Jar is a funny thing.
This oddity of nature is most often located in places where one wouldn't normally consider tipping as being an option.
Allow me to explain what I mean: You never see a tip jar at the end of your restaurant table. Why's that? Everybody tips the waitstaff (unless they didn't deserve it. Even then, we still leave a little something). Taxi drivers in New York City don't have a tip jar in the passenger seat. Why not? "Keep the change." That's why not. Bell Hop's don't carry your suitcase to your room with a tip jar dangling from their belt. "Thank you, my good man." The pizza delivery person, your dry cleaner, bar tender, the shoe-shine boy, a Maitre D'. Tip jar? No where to be seen.
So what is the purpose of this silent "suggestion?" I suppose it started out as a way to propose that a tip might be appropriate for certain people who are often overlooked. At your local deli, where someone takes the time and effort to create a sandwich to your exact specifications. I can understand that.
What has it become? An obligation to prevent some college student from spitting in my coffee. Why does Dunkin Donuts have a tip jar? "You had to reach really high to get my chocolate cruller, here's a little something for you." "You put two whole scoops of sugar in my coffee. Don't mention it." How come my local pizzeria has a tip jar inside their store? "Thanks for letting me drive out to pick up my own pizza. Keep the change." What about the ice cream shoppe? "Thanks for putting the regulated amount of peanut butter cup crumbles on my cone. This is for you."
And yet, companies find even more outlandish places for the dreaded Tip Jar. Friends of mine recounted to me a tale of the most recent, most audacious offender. They spotted a Tip Jar at the drive up window of a Starbucks. The drive up window! Now they have another excuse to expectorate in my Latte.
What's next? Am I going to see a Tip Jar at my doctor's office? Will there be one as I leave church? Let's just get rid of them altogether. If I want to tip you, I'll tip you. If I don't, I won't.
4 comments:
Do you feel an obligation to tip when you see the tip jar? I don't. I don't believe I've ever put anything in a tip jar. Of course, I'm the first to admit I'm a tightwad.
No, I don't feel an obligation. But I do feel like the employees look at me with distain because I didn't stuff their tip jar. Perhaps they are thinking, "Darn it, I knew I should have spit on his doughnut!"
I hate the tip jar too! I think it is ridiculous.
Please do tip your doctors. Dwight Shrute from "The Office" explained that he doesn't tip people for doing something he is perfectly capable of doing himself (such as pouring a cup of coffee), but he regularly tips people for performing tasks he is not capable of handling himself. He does, for example, tip his urologist. So consider that logic...and consider tipping your doctors...unless you are capable of performing your own prostate exam.
Post a Comment