February 02, 2012
Gratuity
When I was in the metro area I took a couple of family members to
dinner. Our waiter, who was of middle-eastern origin, wasn’t quite up to par as
waiters go and it crossed my mind that he might be fairly new to America. To
pay the bill I put cash in the card holder which was picked up by the waiter. However
my cousin insisted on leaving the tip, which he placed on the table. It wasn’t
long before the waiter returned and stiffly informed me that there was no tip
in the card holder. I was a little taken back and pointed to the tip on the
table, then picked it up and handed it to him. On the way out of the restaurant
we did speak to the manager about the unprofessionalism of the waiter and
hopefully the young man will be enlightened about the difference between wages
and gratuity. “…The worker deserves his
wages.” (1 Tim 5:18b NIV)
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----I’m not even going to begin to act like I know where, when, and how the practice of tipping began. But the aspect of the matter now hangs between that of “gratuity” and “compensation”. Most waitresses and waiters are underpaid by the food establishment in expectation that tips will close the gap. “Corporate greed!” I am sure some will call it. But sidestepping the obvious dimness of such wit, the food establishment has struck upon a very effective strategy for maximizing its income by maximizing your eating pleasure through maximizing the waiter’s services. This is not a linear progression ending with Cinder-waitress enslaved to the wicked step-family. By a little cultural etiquette stimulating the rather civilized nature of humanity to express gratitude through a few bucks, pleased patrons usually do that. The more they are pleased, the more bucks they express. And the truly ecstatic ones sometimes will lay down the jack-pot. I know this. I worked at a Holiday-Inn restaurant many years ago. Now, as waiters and waitresses learn it too, they begin building a repertoire of behaviors and desires to truly please the patrons. At least they do if they are smart! And the smarter they do it, the more tips they make. Then the end of the linear progression closes back around at the food establishment. If a waiter or waitress is really, really good at what she does (or he, this PC stuff- man,) she can move up the rungs of “swank” in the restaurant world. The more wealthy patronage eating from a higher priced menu will leave even more bucks on the table. And whallaa! "Corporate greed" becomes a slander of career opportunity. The better the waitress becomes, the more the patron is pleased, the more meals the business serves, and the more tips the waitress enjoys. By the food establishment paying only part of the waitress's compensation and leaving it to the patron to make up the difference, the waitress has been given a real career opportunity if she (or he, good grief) wishes to apply themselves.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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