A Nation of Tip Jars
Nothing screams “WTF!” louder than the scene I witnessed last week here in Las Vegas. Sitting atop the glass counter above all kinds of expensive gold and diamond jewelry was — a tip jar.
I shit you not.
At a jewelry store!
We’ve become a nation of tip jars.
They’re everywhere.
Dry cleaners? Tip jar.
The local deli? Tip jar.
Take out pizza? Tip jar.
Pet grooming? Tip jar.
Oli change and auto lube? Tip jar.
Starbucks? Tip jar.
Ice cream shops? Tip jars.
But nothing screams “WTF!” louder than the scene I witnessed last week here in Las Vegas. Sitting atop the glass counter above all kinds of expensive gold and diamond jewelry was — a tip jar.
I shit you not.
At a jewelry store!
What are you supposed to do — buy an engagement ring, and then fork over an 18 percent gratuity?
Let’s face it, America has turned into a giant nation of beggars. In a proverbial sense, we’ve all been reduced to standing on street corners, holding up cardboard signs. Only the street corners have now rolled into legitimate businesses and become attached to certain trades which would have been unthinkable as occupations requiring tips only a few years ago.
Valet parking, restaurant workers, casino dealers, bartenders, concierge services, bellhops, taxi drivers — I totally get why we need to tip those people. Tipping has been a traditional custom for those occupations for more than a century, at least here in the United States. Yeah, I prefer Europe’s way of doing things. But you know how typical Americans are. We can’t ever accept that some cultures do things better than us.
A few years ago, something very strange happened. Tip jars started appearing out of nowhere in everyday places, and not just in popular tourist destinations like Las Vegas. Now, you’re just as likely to run across a tip jar at a Subway sandwich shop in Kansas, or a PetSmart in Indiana.
What does all this mean?
Well, it’s the byproduct of gross income inequality. It’s the pathetic consequence of the top “one-percent” iron-fisting over half of the wealth generated in this country, thus leaving the lower- and middle-classes to scurry around fighting for crumbs. Tip jars are the rocky road of compromise taken by business owners (some of whom are admittedly struggling themselves) who pay their workers what amounts to slave wages. Since the typical “mom and pop” shopkeeper is determined to keep labor costs as low as possible, they hope customers might be “guilt-tripped” into tipping a dollar or two on each transaction. Even pocket change — anything extra. So, the minimum wage worker actually ends up earning a few dollars more per hour, thanks to the generosity of others.
Tipping beyond venues where we would expect it might be acceptable on some special occasions (i.e., a tip jar to raise money for a longtime employee who is sick), except that tip jars have now become so utterly pervasive in society. A dollar here, a dollar there — it all adds up. This is especially true for those who also make minimum wage and for whom the roles of expectation have been reversed. Is the dog groomer who works at PetSmart supposed to tip the sandwich maker at Subway? And vice-versa? If so, isn’t that a “push?”
It’s one thing to tip a worker who actually does something extra. I have no problem whatsoever with tipping, especially when service is exceptional. But what’s the deal where the simple act of picking up your dry cleaning requires a tip? Or making a ham and cheese sandwich? Or ordering two scoops of ice cream? Okay, make that three scoops — I’m addicted to Cold Stone Creamery.
Making the rounds of weekly errands almost requires shelling out a stack of singles. It’s hard to tell anymore if someone is really getting his business done, or heading off to a strip club. Toss in the (supposedly) homeless people hustling at every busy intersection in town, and I’m going to be completely out of dollar bills by the time its happy hour. Then, the bartender gets really pissed — not a good thing.
The disease is spreading, and it’s not just tip jars. Now, many businesses are starting to ask for donations. Grocery stores at the check-out ask us if we want to donate a dollar to “help feed the homeless.” Hey, I’m all for that. Who wouldn’t be for a worthy charity? But is it really necessary to get pinched for a toke every time you buy a gallon of milk and a bag of Doritos? Even restaurants are now piling on the “extras” with charity questions once billing time comes.
It’s all gotten to be way too much for me. Between the dollar for the pizza guy here, and a dollar for the dog groomer there (actually, it’s $5) — a buck to the homeless guy out on the street corner, followed by a dollar donation to feed the poor at the grocery store — pretty soon, I’m going to need to work a part-time job myself to pay for all my extra tipping.
Hmmm. Here’s an idea. Maybe I can get hired at Cold Stone Creamery. Especially if they have a tip jar.
Hi Nolan- We missed you at Atlarge this year. Nice article. As someone who is also one of few academics who studies this issue, I was interviewed for this article. http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=229115
NOLAN REPLIES: Good read. Thank you for posting.
— ND
At least when you tip at Coldstone they all sing for you. The rest you can just skip on. I myself would rather have higher wages for employee’s and charge more for services but have no tips excepted. The problem with that some well most people only have work ethic because they expect a bonus for doing only average already.
Bet you won’t find a tip jar at the circumcision doctor as they’re already getting their .. with every snip.
I tip with $2 bills. It always gets noticed and guaranteed they remember me and give me special treatment the next time I visit. I don’t mind tipping, my own little trickle-down act.
Thanks for saying what I have been thinking. I’m a good tipper when in traditional tipping situations. But other places I just pass.
We are all strippers on the inside …
Nolan:
Your own blog already has a Dos Equis : “I rarely pay for the drinks, but when I do, I buy one for Nolan Dalla.” tip jar.
Tip jars in cyberspace! Just curious, does it work well?
NOLAN REPLIES: Not the same thing. No one here buys anything. You go to Starbucks, you BUY something. You go to Subway, you BUY something. And so on. The money you pay for the product includes a service, which is delivery of the product. Here, YOU PAY ME NOTHING. I OWE YOU NOTHING. I DO AS I PLEASE. Got it? Moreoever, I have operating costs. This site isn’t low cost. I have to pay a web designer to keep this site active and virus free. The money donated in a “tip jar” as you call it, largely goes for these services. Not to me. Not for my luxury car. But to maintain the site you read for free.
— ND
Nolan: I feel that you took what I said about your tip jar way too seriously. It’s difficult to tell the nuances of jovial ribbing on the internet. I am well aware of the costs of running the site & I was kidding you! Anyway, sorry if you took offense..
I carry a lot of pennies. When I see a nonsense tip jar, I look the worker in the eye and throw a handful of pennies all over the floor…..At least they will have to do something for the tip.
Two places where I see this and it pisses me off no end. One is Walgreens, where they invariably ask if I want to buy a candy bar for the troops. What, they package up all the snickers and mail them to the desert? I bet they don’t make any profit at all on those candy bars. The second is the barber shop, where the barber has an iPhone app and one of those credit card strip scanners; he hands it to you to “sign” with your finger, and prominently displayed are the tip options: 30%, 40% and “other.”
Let me give you a tip! Magnificent Don in the 5th at Santa Anita !!! heh!!
“Well, it’s the byproduct of gross income inequality. It’s the pathetic consequence of the top “one-percent” iron-fisting over half of the wealth generated in this country, thus leaving the lower- and middle-classes to scurry around fighting for crumbs.”
This is the time honored liberal response to a our economic ills. Blame it on the rich. The economy is not a zero sum game. Because you may be rich does not take away from another. The economy can grow and as a rising tide lifts all boats, a growing economy can improve and does improve everyone’s standard of living.
These tip jars aggravate me to no end, but I believe they are symptomatic of an attitude that permeates our economy and stem from policies and attitudes that have been implemented from the top down.
Yet another subject that has as many sides as…no, not a coin…two sides, but in the ridging that often edges it. Much of my life was based on tips. That said, ALL I earned was tips and there was no salary involved. Another factor, I expected no one to tip unless they chose to…based on my services. Added to this drama, I paid the establishment a commission on each and every customer, regardless of their TIPS. (To Insure Proper Service) Many months (in the 80s) I paid $8,000 – $10,000. People today “expect” praise, atta boys and awards in any form they can get them. It’s a societal flaw that will only grow, and its tentacles take forms of greed, I-ism fever, selfishness and undeserved expectations which can produce a lot of disappointed people. So, mix that with wealth/poverty chasm, low pay, and we have a conundrum. Do all things with love, and one can only hope that love (simple human love) does not always take the form of a dollar sign. Good luck with that one!:).
Was your stage name Trixie at the Boom Boom Room? It’s me The Cowboy. Bottoms up!
I thought this blog was kind of ironic given what I found elsewhere on this site. 🙂
II. DONATIONS
I hate asking for money. But I’m going to take this six-month anniversary since I started this blog to ask for a donation — anything you can send.
The money is to be used for my website design and upgrade, which will begin soon. Unfortunately, my trusted and talented web designer Ernst-Dieter Martin from Feliz Applications must eat something other than crackers, so he needs money. I told Mr. Martin that he could stand to lose a few pounds and that he should just do the work on my site for free. But, he’s proving to be quite difficult and demands payment.
Seriously, I do need to raise some money so I can hopefully take this site to the next level. Many of you have already sent donations, which helped when I first set up the site. But now, I need more funding.
No donation is too small to large — especially too large.
And, if there’s someone out there who wants “emeritus” rights here at the site, and wants to bankroll me entirely for a year where I can travel the world and blog about the experiences, that donation would be warmly accepted (hey, you never know who might be reading).
Once again, if you can click the BUY ME A DRINK icon on the right side of the page, that’s the place to donate. If you don’t use PayPal, checks are also accepted:
Nolan Dalla
It is a nice article; most likely, we have at one point felt like this.
A good writer is someone that comes with a flash light and a broom inside my head and puts it in a page what was there and makes it obvious.
I like to read cranky Nolan.
Bob, you were wrong but I like very much the way you apologise in your second post, kudos.
Ps
When I am at Vons and the cashier ask me if I want to give money to a fund for battered woman.
I respond that they should get a raise since the position of cahier now involves fund raising.
I like the comments on this site, even the as.. Here seem intelligent.
We should post more comments on other articles and not wait for something so familiar.
I always feel bad for the guy when he writes a entire article and it gets only two posts, knowingly it gets read by a lot of people, easy to check if you are web savvy.
Anyhow, too much Champagne , good article.
Thank you
I refuse to put even one penny in a tip jar. I refuse to round up any amount on a receipt for tips (substituting for the tip jar). I only give a tip at a sit down table served restaurant. And I refuse to tip at a buffet. But I don’t eat at buffets anyhow. I tip a hairdresser when I get a haircut but I’m growing it a bit. No need for a professional cut. If the dry cleaner delivered to the door he’d get a tip as we had growing up in the 70s in our East Coast neighborhood. But no I gets one penny from me otherwise. The photo people at Walgreens preparing photos don’t get a tip for their service. Food is no different if at a counter. You are getting a wage. And if you don’t like your wage then get an education or learn a skilled trade to earn a better or prevailing wage. I’m sick of lazy and young workers today who expect more and more for little output.
Here we are, seven years later in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic, and the tip jars/donation requests are still going strong.
I go to one store, and they ask to donate a “gallon of milk” for whatever. I go to another store, and they ask for a dollar for the homeless. If you say “yes”, it’s more money out of your pocket that you can use for something else. If you say “no”, then you’re supposed to feel guilty.
Here’s my question: Why are broke people always expected to bail out rich people and foot the bill for every other type of charity?
It just irritates me to no end.