It was a snowy day in Manhattan, and the standard 25 minute trip to JFK took over an hour.

When we finally arrived, I quickly scanned my credit card and rushed for the bags.

“$4.00 tip? You serious? On a $55 dollar cab ride in the snow!”

Tipping is not about the money, but what the money represents and what the consumer expects from the service.

After our quarrel I felt guilty. $4.00 was a little lower than what one would expect to tip given the circumstances.

… and that’s the point. Tips are expected.

The fact I felt guilty stems from my belief that I underpaid what I owed, when in fact, I owed nothing at all.

Tip (to insure prompt service), is meant to do just that. This cab driver was by no means out of the ordinary (in fact, when you stop and think about it, is there really a way a cab driver can be extra ordinary?) He talked loudly on the phone, which, in a normal circumstance would be forgivable had it not been for the absurd fact that he was wearing a microphone which augmented his voice over ours.

But measuring his actual service has become almost irrelevant. What happens to a system whose purpose is to ensure prompt service when the people who work in it have grown to expect a tip?

It de incentivizes the person providing the service to care about the quality which they are providing.

… which is the whole point of a tip in the first place!

Tips have become annoying expected.
Hair stylists, taxis, night club hosts and bellmen are among the few who work on tips.

It’s become so socially accepted that employers now get to freeroll off the consumer. Waiters are paid lower salaries because much of their income is derived from tips.

Is it really the responsibility of the consumer to employ the person serving us food?

My personal favorite is when restaurants add an automatic 18% gratuity to parties of 6 or more. Should we really be taxed for bringing our friends to dinner… and have no recourse to vote with our dollars as to the quality of service?

Just to be clear I’m not against tips. But when we tip everyone for everything the act loses credibility and stops serving its purpose.

The most ridiculous part of this whole thing?
… that it takes something like this to happen for us to question the system that we blindly allowing to continue.

– Me

Three times I asked the same waiter for a glass of water. Three times I got the same response: “un momento.” It wasn’t only the fact that he completely neglected my order, but it was how he did it that was so perturbing. His face said it all: eyes rolling with a sigh loud enough that I could hear.

Had this been an isolated event I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But such lento behavior was typical in Spain. The waiter had no reason to care. Establishing good service would neither help nor hurt him. His compensation, job and life would be exactly the same.

In ordering a glass of water one sees the problem with the entirety of such a system when one has no incentive to work. It breeds laziness. There are, of course exceptions to the rule, and I’ve had plenty good service in many parts of Europe. Please don’t write to me with your trivial counter example.

I’m aware that there are examples of exemplary service in places where no incentive (in this case, tips) are required. Southeast Asia is a perfect example. Something about the way the hierarchical system (they effectively still have a class system culture) affects the mindset of the working class produces the best, most authentic service in the world. Such is simply not true in a socialistic culture like Europe.
Drawbacks include people being generally slow, not highly trained and difficulty in thinking outside the box. One can get frustrated trying to place a complicated order. They may have the best intentions, but they often get it wrong… after you wait 20 minutes.

Then there’s the U.S. Undoubtedly the service is much better there, arguably the best, but the incentive based system has its drawbacks. Common complaints are people learning to expect tips, which renders them complacent. Another is that the people are largely fake, only providing efficient service to extract tips from customers, which of course, isn’t a pleasurable experience.
Comparing the three systems, my favorite is the U.S. or Asia.

I’m liable to annoyed ordering water in the U.S. – the fact I have to tip for such a trivial service is absurd to me. But at least they’ll get my order correct, and fast.

Asia is nice when you’re on vacation, but after a while it gets old. I’ll get my water, I’ll just have to wait 20 minutes for it. And it may come with an unexpected side of some feces, which will lead to diarrhea and food poisoning for a week.

But both options still beats Europe. At least the former two countries bring me the fucking glass. In Europe, I’ll just be thirsty.