O.k., let's get this out of the way before I begin: I have no problem with tipping. What I have a problem with is idiot servers/delivery people who feel entitled to a tip.
Sometime last week I read this article in the metro news paper about some jackass delivery guy/ designer/ developer named Larry Fox who created a web site to out bad tippers. I personally hate the idea so much, I refuse to mention or link to the web site. If you're interested, I'm sure you can find it through a simple google search with little skill. Anyway, this idiot Fox is the worst manifestation of a narcissistic sub-culture of the "service industry" that feels like they should be taken care off, pampered, and cajoled, just because they've chosen to do a job that, well, sucks!
Why should a person (i.e. a banker, dump truck driver or elderly caregiver) have to work hard at their job (without receiving a tip), sometimes from 6am to 11pm, only to go to a restaurant (or go home), order food, and be EXPECTED (sometimes guilted into doing so) to pay a tip?! Why has it become an unquestioned norm that when you order food, you HAVE to pay a tip? I think that is stupid. And I'll tell you why.
When I visit the doctor's office (or any other office for that matter), I don't tip the secretary or the doctor. When I fly, I don't tip the air hostess. When I do my job, I don't get tipped. SO why the hell should I tip someone for doing theirs? I've heard all the arguments for why tipping is mandatory, and none annoys me as much as the one that goes, "Servers/ [delivery people] get low wages [or no wages], so you MUST tip them." With all due respect, who gives a crap how low your wages are? I have low wages too, maybe not as low as a server, but low nonetheless, and I don't get tipped. Who forced anyone to become a server? In fact, I will go as far as saying that in my opinion, the ONLY people who can make a sensible enough argument for being a server/waitress/waiter/delivery person are students.They are trying to make a life for themselves by getting an education, which will probably lead to a better career. And even they should not be tipped as a matter of course! It is NO ONES DUTY to garnish the wages of another just because they've accepted (for whatever reason) a job that doesn't pay well. Isn't that capitalism, and aren't we in the US?
See, people get paid in this world in one of several ways: by your boss, for working for him; by your organization, for working for it; by customers who buy something directly from you ( a good or service). Now some servers seem to believe that they fall in that last category, but they're sorely mistaken; no one comes into a restaurant because they want to get waited on. They come into a restaurant to get food, and the server just happens to be part of the service the restaurant provides. When a customer pays the fee for the food and service, that should be the end of them shelling out money UNLESS they feel inclined to leave a little extra money as if to say, "Thank you for being so nice even though you're in a crappy job that no one forced you into." to the server. Delivery: no one orders that extra $5 of food they don't really need (to reach the $15 minimum for delivery) just because they also want to pay a tip. They order that extra $5 because it's logical that the restaurant needs to pay the delivery guy something ($5) for the delivery. If that money doesn't go to the delivery guy, why is it being charged, and shouldn't the delivery guy be asking for more from his employer? The situation with a delivery guy is slightly different from the waiter, but draws essentially the same conclusion: A tip should be at the discretion of the tipper. That leads me to my next point.
In case you haven't been following my argument, let me say this in plain English. Again: I do believe that tips should be given, BUT only if the customer feels like it. Tips should not be seen as an entitlement. Rather, they should be seen at best as a charitable donation,or at least as something someone does to be polite, because that is in fact what they are. When looked at in these ways (and these really are the only reasonable ways to look at it), how can you expect tips to be compulsory? It's not compulsory for someone to say "Thank You."But it's nice. Neither is it compulsory for someone to make a donation to help victims of war. But that's nice too.
When it's all said an done however, it's never a bad idea to tip your waiter or delivery guy, especially if you visit, or order out often... else you risk have this all up in your next order of Duck Confit!
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