House of Eratosthenes

“15 Percent is a blog documenting people, and companies who have never seemed to work in the service industry, or don’t think to tip at least 15% on deliveries, and instead opt for 2 dollars on everything,” the site says. “This is for all the people who have been handed $80 on a $78 order and told “keep the change”. Thanks a**-h***.”

The “<=15%" blog is here.

I guess he’s talking about me. I’ve never worked in a “service industry”…except I did work once in retail which I’m guessing is not what he’s talking about. Retail people don’t get tips, do they? I didn’t.

I do think it’s a good point to be made about delivery people. I tend to agonize much more about take-out. I drive over, she swipes my card, out comes a paper tape for me to sign and it’s got “gratuity” on it — I’m not even looking at my food yet and here I am filling the damn thing out. What’s the food gonna be like? Are they going to bollux it up? Lose track of the order and make me wait an extra twenty minutes? If I don’t know any of this, then why am I tipping?

You know what this guy’s problem is — at least, in my household. The check is made out before the guy ever shows up. See, tipping is supposed to be all about, “I appreciate that, you did everything I wanted or needed.” It makes sense. You value the service more than the money in the first place, right? Otherwise you would not have placed the order. So when the service commands special leverage in determining that the order was a good call, the message needs to be sent “make sure it goes that way from now on.” And y’know, just telling the guy that isn’t going to get the job done. Put your money where your mouth is, and it happens. Win-win.

In this way, a blog dedicated to bitching about tips below fifteen percent, misses the point. What kind of service did you render in order to net two dollars on a $78 order? Maybe the customer is trying to send you a message.

I’m old enough that I can’t give you an age when I started working, because I started in childhood, and people my age don’t consider that to be real “work.” Although if I tried to force my kid to do it today, California would squawk, the county would squawk, something about “child labor laws”…wouldn’t want to go back to the days of Oliver Twist, would we. But little kids don’t command a concept of time very well. They need to be given an incentive. That’s how tipping got started isn’t it? Boys selling newspapers, shining shoes, delivering hay bales, carrying luggage. I had the opportunity to earn tips, but I didn’t earn that many and I probably wouldn’t have tipped me if I was the customer. I wasn’t a very good paper boy. Had a rather thick skull when it came time to get the message through “move on my timeline and not yours, and this partnership will work for both of us.” Somehow I didn’t quite catch on.

But if I did, and some jackass failed to appreciate it monetarily, I wouldn’t have acted all abused about it. That’s not quite right. In fact, I’m doubting it is my natural biases that incline me to believe the following: A feeling of entitlement to the other man’s coinage, is a far bigger problem for our society today than some newspapers showing up late. Therefore, there is a line we should be trying not to cross; a line of entitlement.

Starting a blog about shitty tips, crosses the line. Why is this customer rounding up to $31.00 when the bill is $30.21? Maybe that’s a lack of education, in which case I’m all for the education. But ya know, I’m thinking there might be more to it than that. Did you talk to the customer and find out what’s going on?

This guy is about to become the best-known bike-delivery guy in New York…and that’s not necessarily a good thing for him.
- Rich Fader | 05/01/2011 @ 10:09
Morgan, first…THANK YOU. Thank you for saying what I’ve been thinking for the last ten years when it comes to service providers. We’re now at the point where gratuity is expected, a voluntary surcharge to be added on to the price of….almost everything.

One thing you didn’t touch on that I wish you’d mentioned in passing – those annoying tip jars that you now see at practically every store counter. Am I really expected to drop a dollar in there just because the Starbucks barista took my order without botching it? Isn’t that why she is paid an hourly wage?

The only time I every put money in one of those is at the Mongolian BBQ type places, and that’s because I’m somewhat awed by the skill of the chef as he whips the food around on that round grill.

To their credit, nobody has tried to shame me for not contributing to tip jars.
- cylarz | 05/02/2011 @ 02:03

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A Blog About Bad TippingSaturday, April 30th, 2011

A Blog About Bad Tipping
Saturday, April 30th, 2011