On Tip Jars

The custom of gratuity is a very old and well-known custom. Its origins have been lost, but there is evidence that it was present even back in ancient Rome. Whether the word was derived from the Latin word stips, or the Middle English word for "give" doesn't matter. It may have even come from the anecdote about Samuel Johnson. He supposedly placed money in a box at a coffee shop with the label "To Insure Promptness" written on it. I hope for Samuel Johnson's sake that this story is made-up. A man of his caliber should know the difference between "insure" and "ensure."

Nevertheless, tipping has become widespread. Not long ago, the custom was limited to those in service-oriented occupations. In certain situations tipping has become expected. Waitresses, bartenders, and taxi drivers depend on this supplementary source of income. I have never had a problem with tipping these people. In fact, I believe I tip rather well.

However, a new trend has cropped up over the past few years and it is getting out of hand. I am referring to the tip jar. A few years ago, there were a large number of places where tips did not exist. Pizza shops, bagel stores, coffee shops, and laundromats were all places where you simply paid the price and left. Now each one of these places, along with many others, have a tip jar staring you in the face.

Some may argue that these people also perform a service and should therefore be tipped as well. But upon a closer look we can see the difference between jobs. A waitress walks to the table, takes an order, brings food and drink to the table, and checks back at the table on occasion for drink refills. A person at a pizza store heats up a slice of pizza and hands it over as the person stands at the counter. It is clearly not the same. Even in the case of a person getting coffee at a diner, the person sits down, has it brought to them, and gets refills. The time spent at the diner and the manner in which the coffee is served greatly differs from getting coffee at Dunkin Donuts.

Tipping a person at a counter for simply heating up a slice or pouring coffee into a disposable cup is ridiculous. This society has gotten into the habit of rewarding mediocrity. Are we all that incompetent that we must reward those that correctly spread cream cheese on a bagel? It is simply wrong on so many levels to have those tip jars.

A quick determination can be made simply by looking at the time spent at a particular location. In all tip-appropriate occupations, a significant amount of time is spent in the establishment (or car). Restaurants, bars, taxi cabs, and hair stylists are all places where the customer spends some time. This is vastly different from a place where a person runs in, grabs something that is quick (and extremely simple) and leaves.

In short, I believe that many of these tip jars should be removed. In most of these establishments they are highly inappropriate. They make customers feel an obligation that should not exist. And the service is rarely worthy of any type of tip in these places. Let's get rid of the tip jars!