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Let's Talk About Tipping.... [1]

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Date: 2024-06-23  

Hey Kossacks, let’s talk about tipping. No, not cow tipping, (which isn’t really a thing) or tipping points or cutting the ends off….carrots. I’m talking about gratuities. It’s a practice that is SOP in some places and unheard of in others. It’s ostensibly a system in which a lower paid service worker is recognized monetarily by grateful customers for their quality of service. Its real purpose, however is to enable corporations to pay their employees less money and force them to survive on the inconsistent and capricious generosity of the people who are being served. It’s a stupid system and it allows the owners of those businesses to squeeze a little more profit from their most vulnerable workers.

Until recently, I have never had a job in which I was tipped. Throughout my almost 50 year long work history I’ve mainly done construction, maintenance and manufacturing. The first could be inconsistent depending on factors such as available work, weather, etc. The second two were much more consistent, though almost as hard on the body as the construction/remodeling gigs. That all changed in April. We won’t discuss my military service, (which was just a maintenance discipline with marching)

Many of you are aware that I got fired for being trans in January, (5 times in my life now… Turns out that averages once every 10 years or so) but what you may not know is that in April I took a job with a regional high end bakery company, delivering their products. It’s important to note here that I deliver small orders to individuals, not to other businesses in bulk. This was primarily to supplement my social security, which I also applied for in April, (it was finally approved in June). Though this company pays better than most purely delivery oriented businesses, it isn’t enough to make a living on without tips. Now that doesn’t hugely affect me because as I said, this is just a supplement for me to put some money away for the next few years until I fully retire. (I can’t believe I’m saying that! How did I get so damn old?) Many of my younger co-workers do make a living solely on delivering our products and like any other delivery kind of gig, they have to hustle and pretty much live at work to make it pay enough to live on.

Here’s the thing though, too many people whine about tipping service staff or just refuse to. I get right wingers doing it. For them the cruelty is the point and no other reason or explanation is necessary. They don’t tip because a pretty Waitress didn’t flirt with them or because the kid bussing tables is a little too brown for their comfort. Hell they don’t tip just because they sneer at you and your position in life. Kicking down is huge part of their philosophy. Though there’s a large overlap with the previous group, church people are also horrible tippers. I’ve had to walk literally blocks to deliver to some of the mega churches in the area, (and there are a lot of those in San Antonio) and never once have been tipped, though some tried to force me to pray with them. They are incorrigible too. If Jesus tells them not to tip, (and he always tells them that), then they aren’t going to tip you. Period. That brings us to the left.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read or heard long rants against the system of tipping from people on the left side of things that always seem to end with “I refuse to participate in that system so I don’t tip”. They couch it in a justifiable outrage for the workers not being paid enough to make a living without tipping. I stand up and applaud the sentiment! Absolutely speak that truth. But while you’re shouting about how unjust the system is that has their boot on the necks of service workers, don’t forget to tip said workers because they are the people who need the tips. Refusing to tip a service worker because you find the system unjust is such an asshole move. It’s just you being cheap, not altruistic and noble.

Consider that the employer doesn’t care if the staff isn’t tipped. They’re still getting paid. Their establishment is still being supported by you, the very person who claims to be angered by the way they treat their employees. It’s the employees that you claim to care for who suffer and only those employees. They are the ones who carry six hot meals to your table and somehow manage to put the plates down in front of the specific person that ordered that specific meal without spilling or scalding. It’s the person who just spent several minutes walking through an unfamiliar building, navigating security and finding your room. It’s the person who just climbed three flights of apartment stairs in triple digit heat so you didn’t have to leave the comfort of your air conditioned cave. Those are the only people affected by your “act of protest”. The owners don’t give a shit, as long as you keep coming back.

So next time that you are feeling that social activist spirit stir within you, take a moment to consider who is affected. You don’t “ have ” to tip in most cases, nobody is forcing you to do so. It’s an expense that many resent but I don’t make the rules. It’s the reality in most of the United States that service workers have to exist under. If you think a company is reprehensible for paying their employees peanuts while they enjoy pralines and you want to do something about it, consider who you’re affecting and if that something will advance your cause. Because if somebody is working their ass off to make sure that you have a safe, enjoyable experience and your “tip” is to lecture them about the evils of gratuity giving, you’re just being a cheap asshole, not a fighter for justice.

Peace.

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