Well, I couldn’t type that last post without continuing the
thought. Here’s a question, where do the tip jars stop? I went to Diet Dairy
Queen the other day and they had a tip jar out. They had tip jars at every food
truck I’ve seen recently. When was the assumption made that all foodservice
workers now needed to be tipped? It’s got to be ruining the averages for front
of the house (wait staff).
There’s a reason you tip a server. And it’s not because they
don’t make much money. It’s because they provide a service for you, and they
have to put up with you. Trust me, you’re rude. They bring your food to you,
listen to you complain, and clean up after you. They bring you free lemons, and
free bread. And they smile when your children and your adults make huge messes.
That’s why we tip them; they’re providing a service that you cannot provide
yourself.
It’s different at a coffee bar, or a food truck. I don’t
understand why we have to tip everybody now. Why should I pay you extra for
doing your job? Last week I went to Hazelfest, and all eight food trucks had
tip jars. Now, I tip everybody in foodservice because I’ve been on the front lines.
But, why should the average person give somebody extra money? Did they go out
of their way to make your life easier? Or did they simply wrap your hot dog in
wax paper and a napkin, and hand it to you to bring over to the condiment cart
to put your own toppings on? Probably the second one. If that’s the case, I
think there should be a jar that I can take a dollar out of. If they aren’t
getting paid enough, they should speak with management, not leave it up to the
poor sap that just paid $8 for a fucking hot dog.
The point I’m going to make, is that tip jars are ruining
customer service in America. There, I said it. I said that I tip everywhere I
see a tip jar, so don’t listen to any of this, but I believe the tip jar has
lowered the average tip to wait staff- the only people deserving of a tip- and
thus lowered quality of service. I have not been to a restaurant with great or
better service one time in the past eleven months. Every place I go it’s that
same song. It seems like they just expect to get tipped now and they don’t
actually want to work for it. The server last time I went to Green Mill didn’t
even smile. Not once. And I tipped him 22%. So it’s my fault that the next
table gets the same treatment.
What’s the point? I guess it’s just me going on a tirade.
But I think I need to put a stop to this nonsense. I’m poor. I can’t afford to
tip everybody anymore, so I have to draw a line and I ask you to do the same.
Save your money for a good server, and tip them big. ALWAYS leave something for
every server, because they have to clean up your mess. But if they have a shit
attitude, tip them what they deserve. And if a barista want’s a tip for pouring
you a cup of coffee, make them do a trick or tell a joke. Otherwise pocket that
change, and save it for somebody who really does something for you.
Remember this, waitresses and waiters make less than minimum
wage. Most other workers that have their tip jars out do not. It’s their way of
getting more money out of their job, often without the consent of their
employers.
If everybody started tipping the right people for the
correct reason, customer service in the restaurant industry could make a
comeback. Now, give me a dollar for writing this post.
