Written by Mike McMullin
“To tip, or not to tip…that is the question.” It is accepted that tipping for good service, or even less-than-stellar service, is to be expected in restaurants, hair salons and other establishments. This is not just a customary tradition in the United States, as tipping is a prevalent practice in every country I’ve ever visited. In places like Cuba, it was explained to us by our tour guides, and by those who worked in restaurants, that Americans were know to be the best at expressing appreciation through tips. Other nationalities, that will not be named, were known to be much less generous. Standard tipping practices understood by most people have, however, recently taken a much more complicated and confusing place in the world of our personal finances.
For those who like to see the world in “black and white,” there is unfortunately no universal formula or playbook for when to tip or how much to tip. It really comes down to what type of service is customary to tip for, and, most importantly, to your own personal generosity level. I would imagine that most people plan to leave a tip of 15% to 20% after a nice meal. That is, however, unless you’re like my very cheap high school acquaintance who pocketed the large cash tip after a meal for 10 people in an upscale restaurant after we’d all left the table. He, of course, didn’t tell us this until the next day. What a jerk!
Other places, like a spa or a hair salon, would normally anticipate a tip of 20% to 25% after an appointment. The people who work in these places generally rely on tips to help them make ends meet. Tips are critical in keeping good employees happy and in retaining them. After all, it is the employees and the quality of service they provide that make any establishment memorable.
The fact is that tipping is part of the DNA of life in the USA, and in most parts of the world. When you go out for a nice dinner somewhere you can expect to tip: the parking attendant, the coat check person, the bartender if you need to wait for your table, any live entertainment, and the waiter/waitress.
But what about some of the new tipping “requests” we’re all experiencing? How are we supposed to handle these? I’m talking about places like: carryout restaurants, coffee shops and cafes. So much of this was started after the pandemic settled in and put a stranglehold on the income earned by people in these service-related jobs. Especially in restaurants, they needed additional tip income since people were only able to order carryout and curbside pickup. Dining inside was forbidden and most everyone understood this and had no problem tipping for their “meals-to-go”.
Now that COVID is in our rearview mirror, though, the requests to tip in situations we would never have tipped before are still there. Paying with a credit card will often bring up a prompt that gives you a tip level to select. So, what do we do? If we don’t include a tip, are we going to be seen as cheap? Should that even be a concern? It’s a predicament we all encounter and have to resolve. As I stated earlier, I do not believe there is one universal answer to this except to say that it comes down to your own personal generosity quotient.
I’m of the mind that giving a little extra to people who are working long hours to serve their customers is not a big financial burden or sacrifice on our wallets. If I’m spending $20.00 on carryout food/coffee, an additional $3.00 or $4.00 to the frontline employee to show my appreciation is not going to hurt me, and it may just help them. My philosophy here also applies to spas, hair salons, live entertainment, and probably lots of other places I’m not remembering!
You really need to go where your heart leads you with this matter. I’ve learned that when we give to others it always seems to come back to us in some other way. Being generous with your money and your time is a good way to live your life.
