My newspaper column for this week: tipping!

[flowomo]

so, whaddya think? should we tip lawyers?

Also available online at:
www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/09/16/editorial/rich_lewis/lewis01.txt


*****
Trying to establish the tipping point
By Rich Lewis, September 15, 2005


When I was a kid, I made my pocket money as a shoeshine boy.

You don't see that much anymore.

On Saturdays, I would pack rags, brushes and polishes into a wooden box, sling the strap over my shoulder, and make the rounds of the 10 or so (!) barrooms within walking distance of my house.

I'd move along the rail, stopping at each patron and asking, "Shine?"

Business was good, and I could regularly net five dollars or so in a few hours — big money in 1960. The shine was only a dime, but people usually tipped me an extra 15 cents, bringing it to a quarter — and sometimes tossed me a half a buck.

Later, I ran a little newspaper stand at a local factory, and there, too, my pay was supplemented by tips.

So, I've been aware of, and a beneficiary of, the practice of tipping since my earliest days in the job market.

Still, tipping has always puzzled me — and I got to thinking about it again after reading an article about tipping by James Surowiecki in last month's The New Yorker magazine.

It seems that Thomas Keller, a famous chef, "decided to abolish tipping at his New York restaurant Per Se... and replace it with the kind of fixed service charge that's common in Europe."

Surowiecki says some people are calling Keller "un-American for scrapping a system in which waiters are rewarded on the basis of their individual performance."

Very interesting, because it forces us to think about our crazy tipping practices.

Surowiecki says tipping didn't take hold in the United States until after the Civil War and the practice was "regularly denounced" in newspapers and magazines and gave rise to anti-tipping associations. Opponents felt that tipping "fostered a master-servant relationship that was ill suited to a nation in which people were meant to be social equals." Six states actually banned tipping.

But tipping prevailed and now it's an entrenched American custom. Restaurant workers alone now make more than $25 billion dollars a year in tips.

In fact, tipping is officially recognized in federal and state wage laws. The minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $5.15 an hour, but employers can pay as little as $2.83 an hour if their hourly employees get tips of at least $30 a month, and if the tips are large enough to average total earnings of $5.15 an hour.

But seven states, including California and Oregon have no "tip credit" — employers have to pay the full minimum wage. And in some states, the "credit" is low — like 25 cents in Hawaii.

So what is a tip supposed to be?

Tipping does appear to be somewhat of a class thing. We almost always tip waiters, waitresses, hairdressers, delivery boys and girls, bellhops, shoeshiners and so on.

But when was the last time you tipped your lawyer, doctor, teacher or banker?

Sure, it sounds silly, but why do some people get rewarded for "individual performance" and others don't? Just asking.

Though, as a teacher, I do feel a bit left out. I mean, if I give an especially great lecture, I'd think it justified if each student dropped a buck or so into my briefcase. Lecturing is just as hard as bringing the soup while it's still hot.

And what about plumbers, electricians and repairmen? Tip or no?

Or the store clerk who spends 20 minutes helping you find just the right widget or shirt? I'd say that's good performance and deserves a tip — but we never do.

Confusing and unfair.

And I was both angry and relieved by Chef Keller's announcement.

Angry because the tip, my "gift," is no longer an option at his place. Good or bad, I have to "reward" the workers. Geez, even Santa Claus has some leeway in deciding who gets a gift and who doesn't.

On the other hand, I was relieved because Keller's policy makes my life easier. We all feel inescapable social pressure to tip in a restaurant no matter what kind of service we get. We tip because it is expected.

So Keller saves me a lot of hassle doing what I have to do anyway. I don't have to remember what the appropriate tipping rate is (15, 18, 20 percent?). I don't have to do the math (let's see, nine times 14 is 126, carry the six... hey, does anybody have a calculator?). I don't have to ponder the quality of the work (that waiter never brought those extra rolls — is that a 2 percent deduction or does the extra mint make up for it?). And I don't have to feel like some silk-stocking snob who's dropping a few coins on the help.

I certainly don't begrudge anybody their tips. Keller's system just makes more sense than pretending that tips are spontaneous acts of largesse. Though if he really wanted to be honest, his menu would just say the veal cutlets are $23.60 and not $20 — instead of sticking the extra $3.60 in the tiny print at the bottom of the menu and calling it a tip.

Well, I must say I've enjoyed being your columnist today and if you feel I did a good job, feel free to leave a tip.

Rich Lewis' e-mail address is:

[e-mail]

[shoelace414]

1. I know I'd prefer

if resturants would rase their prices, pay the staff more, and kill tipping.

and what is up with tipping at starbucks anyway?

Tipping is just expected now. but I probably have a minority view.

[Another Bill C.]

2. Don't tip in Ireland.

Bartenders and taxi drivers look on tips as a sign of class distinctions that they'd rather not have.

[flowomo]

3. exactly the original objection here...

but somehow that implied "class" insult got lost in a country where people pride themselves on their "class-free" culture. Ha.

[MissMarple]

4. They don't much in Spain, either. Some waiters are mystified.

It must be the living wages they are paid and the access to health care and the excellent public transportation system. In this country, in the restaurant industry, tips are the wage, for all practical purposes. It really just masks the true costs of working in America.