To tip or not to tip: that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the wilting gaze of the clerk or to tip everyone everywhere to allay the guilt and satisfy all. I’m going to ask my AP English teacher Carol Samson if I got the iambic pentameter right. Either way, this is the question many are asking this summer while eating out, ordering in, at the drive-through, or even at retail shops.
Like anyone who has ever worked in the service industry, I definitely tip and for exceptional service, I enjoy tipping beyond the customary amount. It feels good. Back in my waitressing and pizza delivery days, 10% was the norm. Today it’s 18-20% and some credit card machines suggest 22% or even 25%.
Sometimes a tip charge is added to the bill automatically. That’s understandable in the case of large groups which demand more time of wait staff and may under-tip as members dicker over the check. The “gratuity included,” however, makes the charge feel less like a tip for good service and more like an automatic surcharge especially when it is attached to an individual meal. Most irritating of all, tipping is no longer just for wait staff, hair stylists, tour guides, valets, and cab drivers. If I’m handed a $5 drip coffee at the drive-up, I’m asked to pony up more. This feels like tipflation.
So when iconic restaurant Casa Bonita announced it eliminated tipping in favor of paying staff $30 an hour, I was relieved. When meals are prepaid, as they are at this restaurant, it...
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