Griping about Tipping

“The customer is always right, as long as he pays and leaves a tip.” Gerard Bessette

OK, no argument about this, but lately, I have noticed that practically everywhere you go, you will be prodded about adding a tip to the bill. The question is, who really deserves a tip? Or should everybody get one?

A tip or “pourboire” is traditionally a sum of money given to someone as a reward for providing good service. It is awarded for certain types of employment such as waiters but also to workers such as hairdressers, taxi drivers, delivery people, hotel staff, etc.

This is understood but does a “barista” for instance or anybody standing behind a counter deserve a tip? They all provide a service, but they don’t do anything special. Why would they deserve a tip unless they do something above and beyond what they are paid for?

Should all the people who provide a service be tipped? Should I tip my plumber, the mail carrier, the doctor, the butcher, or the garbage collector? They all provide a service, don’t they? Personally, I think that in many cases, it should be the customer who should get a tip. For offering the service provider a cup of coffee, a clean bathroom facility, and paying promptly. That’s good service, isn’t it?

“Tipping first made its first appearance in the 18th century in a restaurant in Britain. The owner of this restaurant has installed a pot on his counter with the inscription To Insure Promptness (TIP) which means to ensure speed. Customers wanting to be served quickly had to put a few coins in this pot so the server would serve it before the others.”

 In France, the tip is automatically added to the bill, but most customers now add a tip to the tip. Unless the customer gets extra service, does it make sense? I don’t think so.

“In Japan, it was frowned upon to leave a tip, even insulting, since the server thought his income was sufficient and he saw the tip as an unnecessary favor. This habit is still maintained to this day.”

Since many employees take the tip for granted, they have no incentive anymore to provide “extra good service.” I am not against tipping, and I will gladly leave a good tip, but there has got to be a good reason for it.

In my opinion, (despite a glaring container appealing for it) handing a cup of coffee or a sandwich to a customer does not deserve a tip.

What do you think?

Alain

Playing in the rain

“I’m playing in the rain, pointing in the rain,
What a glorious feeling, I’m happy again
I’m laughing at clouds, so dark up above,
The sun’s in my heart, and I’m ready for soup.”

 Tamara initially signed up to play in this Soup & Singles tournament, but the day turned out to be cold and wet, and after much rumination, she finally nixed the idea.

As for myself, I reached for some old skiing underwear, added five layers of clothing, and hit the road toward Sonoma. I didn’t intend to play, just to document the event, and this is what I (briefly) did.

I was curious to see how many people would be crazy enough to splash around in water puddles to satisfy their passion. While on the road to Sonoma by the way, I noticed large patches of snow covering the surrounding hills. It was beautiful and very unusual for California. Unfortunately, I could not stop to take pictures.

I arrived at the field around 9:45 am, just in time to see the beginning of the tournament. Twenty-four (24) lunatics, bundled up in thick layers of clothing, hats, and gloves were present. For the incredulous, you need to remember that a true pétanque player is like a postal carrier. “Neither snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night can stop them.”

I had assumed that the women would be more reasonable and stay put, but no, no, no! What men do, women can do better… backward and in high heels. Holly, Loël, Wendy, Elise, and Christine were there, slugging it out with the boys. Incidentally, I was greatly surprised to discover that quintessential Ann K. was absent.

The men were less of a surprise. Even if we had a tornado warning, Jean-Michel would be there. And by Jove, he was. Bernard, his partner in crime was naturally there. Hans, Kevin, Patrick, Marco, and Colin would not miss a game and were also present. For a complete list of all the players, check one of my pictures.

I didn’t stick around very long, and after a little while I jumped into my horseless carriage and headed home. It turned out to be a very long trip. Somebody had the weird idea of repaving a long stretch of  Highway 37 during the daytime and I got caught in a giant traffic jam.

I cannot give you the results of this tournament, but I can offer you a glimpse of it.  Check the pictures that I quickly snapped yesterday to get an idea of what happened.

Keep dry and warm, and if need be, have an Irish Coffee to take the chill off.

Ta ta for now.

Alain

PS: watch a few pictures

Poulain

Yesterday I went to Sonoma accompanied by my poulain Daniel who is 7-and-a-half years old. I am still his role model, but I realize that the rascal is competing with me. Among other things, I feel that he is aiming for my photographer job, and I will fight him for that.

Yesterday he borrowed my camera and produced some very nice shots. Look at his pictures, but I urge you to stick with me. Don’t allow whippersnappers to put old-timers prematurely to pasture!

Click on “My photos” to evaluate his pictures.

Alain