A tip is a bribe, a tip is a token of appreciation, they deserve it, they are only doing their job, a tip should not be a norm instead be left as an individual's prerogative...these are few of the mixed impressions I heard over a radio channel during a 30 minute drive back from work. For those traveling abroad, I can talk specifically about the States, tipping is not an option but a dimension of acceptance of local norms. Just as you cannot go to an upscale dinner place, some lounges or even the theater (Broadway/off-Broadway) wearing anything less than a 'dress', you cannot get away with leaving just any tip. You will be judged or at least stereotyped.
A recent article in the Economic Times,here, says Bombay High Court has decreed that tips can be shown as a legitimate business expense. This is good in a way since business travellers will be inclined to be more benevolent towards service-providers. Those who lack appreciation for tipping may now do good at companies' expense. I am assuming that the company policies will accommodate this, and why not.
The US thumb rule is that one has to tip around 15 % of the billed amount. As the article points out, one of the contemporary reasons for this norm is the fact that most workers in restaurants are paid minimum wage. But other reasons could be the basic fact that human labor is involved in activities that make up a dining experience. Human labor does not come easy or cheap in the US, given rampant automation again owing to low population levels. You can see this in a drive-through (no tips here), which is a quickie, but is not satisfying as an experience since a human being, typically bearing a scowl, is seen only at the fag end of the process when food is exchanged for money. Additionally, most people who work at just-any-eatery or chains are mostly 'fighting it out' for a larger pursuit in their life, such as education (just one of the many possibilities). Many are also young people in their rite of passage to work life. A combination of all this leads to a greater appreciation, in the basic sense of it, for labor. Hence, the requirement or inclination for generous tipping as you may want to see it.
Much has also got to do with faith, social history and demographic. In an ex-fuedal system or a caste-based system, and to top it in a society where memories of colonial subjugation are still lingering, the 'privileged feeling' of being serviced does not go away easily. Otherwise, why do you need an army of people to clean trays and leftovers at self-service food courts in Indian malls? Patrons do not think that self-service includes leaving a table as clean as they left it (assuming they got it clean). People pay upwards of Rs.200 per head to watch a weekend show at multiplexes, but what they leave behind resembles nothing less than a rampage. Surely, some amount of common sense must come with the ability to patronise an expensive theater.
That on an average Indians are not the best tippers is common knowledge. That 10% of Indians in the US live below poverty line may be a remote consequence of this. If the expat brethren tipped better at the several 'Indian streets' spread across the American geography, the BPL number might slightly improve(several assumptions need to be in place including legal employment). I have seen that Indian restaurants in the US have worked around the Desi resistance to 'proper' tipping by mandating at least 18% gratuity for eating groups of 5 or 7 or more depending on the scale of the place. As it is, this is a norm in non-Indian places.
Tipping is a host's prerogative, but if you are in a smaller group and your host turns out to be a bad tipper, you are in a dilemma whether to disrespect the host by adding to the tip or be unfair to the keen waiter; worse still, if you like the place and plan to come back. I have heard horror stories from friends who have been embarrassed in such situations. One story has the host leaving just a dollar for a $100-odd 'cheque', for an uneventful (read as normal service) dinner at a Thai place in Los Angeles.
Then there is the question of where your tips go. I remember talking to a friendly waiter at the Pizza Corner on Brigade Road. They apparently have a socialist framework for tips. Everything that anyone earns goes into a common box, spoils of which are shared by all at the end of the week. Even if getting a generous tipper is a matter of small chance for any waiter in India, in my opinion, this is a corrupt system, where the inefficient live off the productive ones. At a restaurant, attitude of the servers is what matters and can be easily controlled. So, why should everyone get the same share if some have better attitude than others? This partly why I never tip on my credit card receipt. If the money goes to the cash box, it may not reach the gent or the lady who attended us. Instead, I leave cash behind, hoping it goes to the rightful owner.
To tip or not tip is your own prerogative, but if you will appreciate, as the cliched acronym stands, TIPS are given 'To Insure Prompt Service'.
No comments:
Post a Comment