Tipping point

I'm out of town, staying in a hotel, eating out, and so once again I'm confronting the issue of tips. There is something about this convoluted scheme of handing out "gratuities" to some people that irks me. Now, I'm not a bad tipper. I usually give more that 15% in restaurants, and leave 2-3 per day for cleaning my hotel room. I'm kind of used to it, so it doesn't irritate me very much, although it's the whole idea I'm really against. First of all: why do we tip some people, and not others? Is it because they provide "direct service" to us, like the waiter who interrupts my meal three times asking cheerfully, "How's everything?", and refilling my Diet Coke, event though I never asked for it and still have three quarters of it left? Well, how about that kid in the store, who bags groceries and wishes everyone a good day? As far as I know, nobody's giving him tips...

Is it becuase they have such lousy wages that we have to give them tips, so that they can make ends meet? There is some thruth to it, of course. I worked as a waiter myself, and the salary I drew was about half the minimum wage. The tips more than made up for it. But heck, if we did not tip the waiters, the restaurant owners would have to pay them better wages, not? I know that many waiters would not like it, becuase some are taking home pretty good wages in those tips, most of those tax-free.

Again, what about other people who are gettig shitty wages, like security guards or supermarket cashiers? Why are the waiters, taxi drivers, and hotel maids more deserving of our generocity? Or is this becuase in our egalitarian society we now consider the act of serving us, taking our hair out of the shower drains, making our beds, wiping our tables, bringing our food, somewhat demeaning? And the tip is supposed to take the edge off our guilt somewhat? But aren't there other, even more "demeaning" jobs that are not to receive gratuities?  Say, the lady at the cleaner's, who takes our sweaty, smelly shirts to wash and iron them?

I can't see good logic behind it, and so it irritates me, like one more annoying social convention without merit. I frankly try to avoid places and situations where I might be expected to tip. For eating out, I prefer the self-serve places, where you order and pay at the counter. Some of them are actually nicer than many restaurants, like the Wildflower Bread Company I found in Sedona, AZ. However, and this pisses me off to no end, in many of thes places you can spot jars with a label "Tips" at the counter. (Some try to look lighthearted with their "Feeling tipsy?" labels, and those are especially annoying. What, you put a shot of whiskey in my coffee??) This is really no different than panhandling, except that it happens indoors. What am I supposed to tip for? I will stand in the damn line, will pay for the coffee myself, will take it to my table, will put sugar and cream in it, will put the cup in the wastebasked when finished... Hell, maybe I should get a tip for all this serving I'll do??

I don't mind paying for things, even giving money away for charitable causes, but this tipping charade I'd much rather do without.