Is tipping big business?

I think there are yes and no answers to this. I’ve never experienced a place like here where everywhere you go you are expected to give someone a tip.

Am I tight when it comes to tipping, well some would say yes and some would say no. I like to think that I’m just careful with the way I handle my money. Think about it, on top of  the valued added tax (VAT) and the tip, you’re actually paying more than what you thought you were paying for something.

In England people of course tip or give a gratuity (whatever you want to call it) but we are not obliged to, I’d say it’s like a token, an act of appreciation.

But in America people are obliged to give at least between a 15 and 20 percent tip from their meal bill. You’re expected to tip bars at least $1 per drink, hairdressers 15 percent and taxis 10 to 15 percent.

Even in some supermarkets, generally in England we don’t have bag packers, we’re used to packing our own bags. But C-Town, quite a popular supermarket in NY have bag packers (the young and the elderly) and usually you’re expected to tip them.

I know that in some restaurants waiters here are paid well below the minimum wage bracket so I can see why tipping would be important to them. Having been a waitress in London I did see the benefits of receiving big tips at the end of the day, especially when serving large group tables and luckily I was paid over the minimum wage.

Ah, the good ol’ taxis drivers of NY, who drive terribly but who pay more for renting their cars than from making up the money from passengers to actually earn a living, it’s a vicious circle. Perhaps that’s why they behave so crazy on the roads – it makes sense – the more passengers they get throughout the day, the more money they make to pay for the rental of their car and that extra profit. So basically those $4 or $6 tips are actually giving those drivers their wage.

So is tipping big business? Well it’s big in the sense that most working class people need it to make a living. I will be more thoughtful of that. But I’m still getting to grips with having to tip all the time…