Another Point & Counterpoint on Tipping

POINT

Add 10% or 15% to the bill? I think not
Posted By DENNIS THOMPSETT of TheSunTimes

My mother was a waitress at the Trio for years, but even so, I must admit, I don’t understand the idea of giving tips to people in restaurants. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

I don’t get it. Why am I expected to pay extra to have someone do their job in a pleasant and efficient manner?

And apparently I’m not the only Canadian with this feeling. In Florida and Los Angeles and Hawaii and Las Vegas and most of the other big tourist towns of the world, the natives hate Canadians because we’re just not big tippers.

Apparently we expect value for money.

To get a really memorable tip from me or from any other sensible Canadian, a waitress has to set herself on fire, cartwheel across the floor and deliver hot, heavy plates to the table with her feet. While whistling Dixie.

Otherwise, forget it.

I remember going on a cruise with my family years ago and, at the end, everybody expected a tip. And not just a little tip either. They all wanted $300 or $400 each. We got a circular about it before we disembarked. There were sure a lot of disappointed faces as we waved a fond farewell to that ship of fools.

The common argument is that these people depend on tips to make a living. Well here’s a tip: get a job that pays better. No one should have to depend on the kindness of strangers to support their families.

The only people who really benefit from tipping are restaurant owners who can continue to offer low pay and no benefits. Some places, like pizza joints, often pay nothing and the delivery guy only makes tips. In other parts of the world, or even here in Canada when you have a big crowd, they automatically add a tip on the bill. You have no say in it. You are, in fact, forced to pay the wages of the help in addition to paying for your food.

So here’s something to think about — every time you give a tip in a restaurant or bar, you are supporting an insidious kind of slavery. Low-wage slavery. Sweat-shop slavery. You are perpetuating a system where good people are chronically underpaid, in the hopes that the customer will subsidize that pay. Maybe.

It’s not all the restaurant owners’ fault. It’s your fault, too, for wanting to be well thought of by your waiter or waitress.

And here’s something else to think about for those sad sheep who give tips: There are all sorts of people who work just as hard for your custom, yet you never think of tipping them. Have you ever agonized about whether to give 10% or 15%% to the checkout person at the supermarket? To your bank teller? To the person in the convenience store? To the guy who reads your hydro meter? No? Well let me tell you something; they make the same kind of low wages that restaurant workers make. They often work harder. They’re often nice people. And they have families to support, too. Why don’t you subsidize them, if you buy into the flimsy arguments for tipping restaurant people?

And if you work in a restaurant and take tips, be aware that you’re essentially taking charity. You deserve better.

So what’s the answer? Only tip people who really need it.

I know it’s difficult to accept a new idea. Often you have to digest it a little at a time. So let me take you by the hand and lead you to a new life. First pick a bunch of people who are bitter, overweight, underpaid and shunned in social circles. Then send them a tip.

Address it to your poor Owen Sound Sun Times columnists. We’ll all share it and maybe get a crust of soggy bread to munch on.

Through our grateful tears.

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COUNTER POINT

Letter to the Editor at TheSunTimes by Jesse Wilkinson

Contrarian off base about tipping

Editor:

Add 10% or 15% to the bill? I think so.

In reading Dennis Thompsett’s article on the exercise of tipping, two things became glaringly obvious: one that the Contrarian has never worked as a waiter himself (his attempt at insight using his mother didn’t cut it for me) and that two, he is writing after a bad experience, in which he feels the need to spout his flawed logic and spiteful naiveties.

It’s funny how a person who has no experience in an occupation can speak with such confident condemnation regarding said job. Waiters, waitresses and bartenders work very hard in a fast paced industry that demands you be personable, hard-working and able to “cartwheel across the floor and deliver hot, heavy plates” while singing birthday songs (not Dixie tunes).

Sorry they can’t light themselves on fire for your tip, Sir. I’m sure they’re all dying to impress you.

I agree that many other low paying jobs require hard work and admirable attributes but there is an expectation for good service when spending the night out for dinner.

If that expectation is not met, then you certainly shouldn’t feel compelled to tip. If you have a good experience and your server has been a part of that then they deserve a tip.

Servers make less than minimum wage, which Thompsett blames on the “slave-driving” restaurant owners, and therefore rely on tips to make the job affordable.

The notion that patrons are subsidizing the restaurant industry is flawed. If servers were paid a higher wage, then restaurants would need to charge more for their meals to cover the overhead, which would take the place of the tip anyways. As it stands right now Mr. Thompsett, you should keep quiet. You are riding on the backs of all the other tippers out there to ensure that you get cheaper menu prices and you don’t follow all the “sad sheep” and leave a tip yourself. If your ridiculous, demeaning argument influenced the industry, you would be shelling out a lot more of the precious bills and coins you seem to covet so closely.

I guess by your logic, no one should accept a year-end bonus because that is tantamount to charity as well. Servers are merely given tiny bonuses everyday is they have earned it for a job well done. They sure don’t receive anything of monetary value at the end of the year, merely the hope that they may possibly not have work Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day so that everyone else can go out and have a good time.

As for getting another job; well there aren’t many jobs one can work between five and midnight while trying to put themselves through university or college. I guess they should just absorb the increasing student fees and try not to keep on top of their debt.

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In your world Mr. Thompsett, many students would be graduating with an even heavier burden than they already have.

I know you really don’t believe all of what you said, because you are self-admittedly “The Contrarian” but for those people who may think your flawed logic makes sense, shame on you and shame on the Sun Times for printing your column.

Owen Sound has many restaurant owners who are struggling during these tougher times and many young, bright, energetic waiters and waitresses who work hard to ensure that when people want to have a good night out, they can.

If one does not enjoy their service, then they shouldn’t tip their server: it will help the waiters that truly strive to work hard and provide a valuable service.

I have lived and worked in other countries that do not subscribe to the culture of tipping and the level of service is far lower than here in Canada and I would hate to see that happen in our country.

I guess it depends on how much we value our ability to enjoy a night out and be taken care of after a long day. Maybe you need to get out a little more often, Mr. Thompsett, and while you’re at it, get to know your servers.

I’m sure you’ll find that they are working harder than you think. And it’s better you keep your tip if you think it’s charity. You’ve insulted enough people already. I can’t wait to see what industry you try to offer your brilliant insight into in your next column.