MICHAEL R. FRENCH
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Read Two Chapters
  • Blog
  • Praise
  • Contact
  • the writer’s quandary


MICHAEL R. FRENCH - AUTHOR BLOG

THE IMPORTANCE OF TIPPING

6/29/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Millennials have been described as stingy tippers, perhaps a cliché by now, yet I’ve seen first-hand young professional, pen in hand, look at the tipping line on the credit card receipt as an affront.  I’ve seen a tab for $86 graced with a $2 gratuity,  and one for over $100 with the words “no way” scribbled across the tipping line.  “It’s like an extra tax,” I’ve heard diners say.  My daughter once worked at a Washington DC taco and burger joint where almost a third of the customers left no tip.  Whether parsimonious diners are reacting to bad food, bad service, are just cheap, think tipping is charity, or  feel they have dropped enough coin for a meal and  it’s the restaurants that should pay their servers a living wage….I have no idea.  Maybe it’s all of the above, and more.  I would love to see a consumer survey.
​

Tipping allegedly  started in 17thCentury English taverns, when patrons gave servers extra money ‘to insure promptitude” (TIP). The practice was later adopted in the States and other countries, but a fair number of cultures discourage the practice.  Others add a gratuity automatically to the bill.  Optional tipping is where  a variety of emotions are aroused,  not just from diners but servers and counter people.  If using a digital device to indicate the amount of gratuity, I’ve watched the wait person turn away for a moment, giving  the diner privacy in making his or her decision. To some, it feels rushed and  awkward, but I’m not sure what can be done about it.  Some waiters don’t even  glance at tip amounts because it’s beyond their control, while others work diligently and hope to be rewarded.  For many, the extra ten to twenty percent or more you add to your bill  makes a difference in their standard of living, from affording an extra gallon of milk to paying the rent.  
​
When I was younger and eating out was a luxury, I left a ten percent tip (parroting my parents), which was the standard at the time.  As my wife and I grew financially secure, I raised the ante to fifteen or twenty.  Now, witnessing the vast disparity in American incomes, and its consequences on the social fabric, I tip 25%.  I can afford it and I know my server appreciates it.  I find tipping not to be a tax but a bond between strangers.  It’s a feel good moment, which there never seem to be enough of in the daily grind.        
​
The other day I was introduced to a new word, Precariat.   It blends “proletariat” and “precarious,’ and refers to a social class with little job security, resources, or means of escape to a better job.  Sounds typical of today’s America, I thought ruefully.  Anyone without bankable job skills, living paycheck to paycheck, whether it’s a waiter, bellhop, taxi driver or delivery person, knows the importance of a gratuity. I have a friend, whenever he eats out, who forgoes ordering an ice tea, or a dessert, and adds the difference to his tip.  Small acts of grace and common sense ultimately change our thinking and maybe the world
0 Comments

    Michael R. French

    Michael French is a graduate of Stanford University and Northwestern University. He is a businessman and author who divides his time between Santa Barbara, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.



    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    October 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    August 2017
    July 2017
    January 2017
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    2020 Election
    Alex Baten
    America
    Artist
    Artistic Life
    Author
    Author Blog
    Author French
    Author On TV
    Author On Writing
    Author's Note
    Author Social Media
    Beaches
    Be Respectful
    Best Seller
    Book Excerpt
    Book Reading
    Book Review
    Capital Attack
    Character Gender
    Characters
    Characters Come Alive
    Characters With Facebook
    Children
    Civility
    Ckiff Hanger
    Clean Up
    Cliffhanger
    Cliff Hanger : Jump Before You Get Pushed"
    Climate Change
    Coming Together
    Contemporary Novel
    Covid -19
    Curious Citizen
    Dan Mayfield
    David Attenborough
    Death
    Democracy
    Depression
    Disability
    Donald Trump
    Election
    Excape
    Fiction
    Fiction Novel
    Future
    George Floyd
    George R. R. Martin
    Gloria Soto
    High School
    Honking
    Honking Horn
    Human Impact
    Jaleel Robeson
    Komodo Island National Marine Park
    Lasting Love
    Life Of An Artist
    Love
    Magic
    Men
    Men And Women
    Michael French
    Michael French Author
    Michael French Blog
    Michael French Santa Barbara
    Michael French Santa Fe
    Michael R French
    Midterms
    Midwest Book Review
    Millenials
    Murder Mystery
    Mystery
    Mystery Novel
    Nature
    New Mwxican
    New Storytelling
    Novel
    Oakley Ealbott
    Once Upon A Lie
    Once Upon A Lie By Michael R French
    Once Upon A Lie Excerpt
    Originality
    Parenting
    Parkland
    Plastics
    Politics
    Precariat
    President-Elect
    Proletariat
    Questions
    Read
    Reading
    Relevance And Relatability
    Santa Fe
    Santa Fe Author
    Santa Fe New Mexico
    Self Esteem
    Share A Meal
    Share A Neal
    Student Activism
    Study
    Suicide
    Take A Break
    Taking Nothing For Grated
    Teenagers
    Teen Voting
    The Morning Brew
    The Reconstruction Of Wilson Ryder
    Tipping
    Trash
    Troubling Times
    Trust
    TV Appearance
    United States
    Voting
    Why Men Fall Out Of Love
    WilsonRyder
    Writer
    Writing
    Writing Charaters

    RSS Feed

Home
About
Contact


​Copyright 2020Michael R. French
All Rights Reserved


​Website Design by Artotems Co.
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Read Two Chapters
  • Blog
  • Praise
  • Contact
  • the writer’s quandary