We ordered pizza last night, “the usual,” 2 large, original crust, one with pepperoni and pineapple and one with Italian sausage and bacon. Yummy. Only one problem: it took almost two hours for them to arrive.
Thanks to a series of problems – our ticket was misplaced, the wrong toppings were applied, new pies were made and delivery times were snafu’d – the “it’ll be there in 30 minutes” became 120 minutes, two hungry customers and a very apologetic pizza store manager. Because of the multiple woes, we were given the pizza pies gratis.
But we still tipped the driver. It wasn’t her fault. This brings up a concern I have about tipping.
When I have great, or even good, service at a restaurant, I tip well. When a pizza delivery driver brings me dinner, I tip well. When my barber makes me look half-civilized, I tip well. All of these are traditional service jobs. But all jobs have a service aspect to them, so why does the tipping stop?
When a furniture salesperson gets you a good deal on a couch and arranges quick delivery, where’s their tip? When the dental hygienist removes the gook from your teeth, where’s the tip? When the trash collectors come by first thing in the morning every Thursday, where is their tip? When the teen behind the counter at a fast-food restaurant takes your order and actually dishes up the correct items in a hot and timely fashion, where’s their tip? When the grocery cashier actually pays attention to what they’re doing and you don’t have to bag your own groceries, where’s their tip?
I think you see where I’m going with this. I don’t mind tipping for a job well done, but I don’t understand why it’s confined to the jobs it is.
Why not tip your blogger. Better yet, why not tip your underpaid public radio media relations worker? There’s a cause I think we can all get behind.
6 Comments
January 25, 2009 at 6:46 am
I think, that I think, you’re right. I’m going to suggest that I get a tip for each trick I do for my human. Maybe a pinched off 20 percenter. visit me at SandySays1.wordpress.com You might enjoy some of my posts.
January 25, 2009 at 9:56 am
Add that option to your next fund drive.
The pitchers describe a member of the staff and callers send in tips along with their pledges for that media relations guy, or a music announcer or the guy who climbs radio towers.
January 28, 2009 at 8:19 pm
You only get the automatic 15% blog gratuity on parties of eight or more.
February 5, 2009 at 9:21 am
People should tip only if they want to do so. Unfortunately we live in a society that the only way we expect to see appreciation, 0r seem to know how to show it is with money. There are other ways of showing that you are satisfied with a restaurant’s service. E.g. informing the manager that the service was excellent or recommending the restaurant to family and friends. When I go to a restaurant I expect good service because I am paying and good service should not depend on the possibility of me leaving a tip. Moreover there are people who work for much less than restaurant workers and they should not have to pay a tip when going to a restaurant.
February 5, 2009 at 12:21 pm
You mentioned the trash collectors… At Christmastime, one of my friends used to leave a six-pack of beer on the trash can for the guys.
February 13, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Good point! Lunch is on me the next time we get together. (As my mother always advised: when it doesn’t cost you anything, be generous!)