The Tipping Point

When to tip and when not to tip, that is the question.  For it is better to suffer the, aw forget it, let's just get right into today's topic.  A recent survey has found that Canadians don't always know when to tip and that we can be quite generous with wait staff but rarely tip anyone else.  And I would have to say that as survey's go, this one appears to be pretty accurate.  Outside of wait staff and maybe cab drivers and pizza delivery guys I really don't know when to tip.  I've heard that a good haircut deserves one but I've never bought into it. Not with the prices they're already charging, take your tip out of there thank you very much.  Besides the word Tips was actually an acronym that stood for "To Insure Prompt Service".  Well I've ready every magazine at the barber shop I go to twice and some of them, I'm on a third reading.  Trust me, the service is not prompt.  I will admit to always feeling awkward when tipping.   Not so much at a restaurant because there it's just expected, in fact a lot of times they've left a place for it right on the Visa slip, which, for me, seems a bit forward.  I mean, I realize a tip for the wait staff is expected but, it's not required??!?!  It's not like the meal was extremely inexpensive because the owner already knows I'm paying the salary of the wait staff with my tip??  The idea of the tip is to reward good service.  However there are other places where I require good service but those people don't get a tip. When I'm in a big department store and a clerk comes over to help me, I don't tip them, should I?  When my dentist cleans up my teeth and manages to do it without causing me too much pain, should I slide him a tenner??  I mean, I couldn't afford to throw him 15% of his tab and frankly, considering his tab, I think his tip must be built into it.  Then there is the second level of tipping.  The Christmas card with a reward in it for good service over the year.  People used to give these out to letter carriers and others.  However now with the supermailbox that I have to walk to, I don't know who my letter carrier is and frankly, since I'm doing the walking, maybe I should give myself a gift at Christmas.  I think the problem I have is the fact that tipping someone almost seems a bit degrading.  It's like saying, "it appears to me that you don't make enough money so let me give you a hand because I'm doing so much better than you."  Of course I'm not sure sliding anyone a little cash could really offend them.  Hey, free money for me, really, I take umbridge with your gesture !!  I think the biggest problem I have with tips comes when they are expected.  When we are suppose to just naturally pay extra even for what just amounts to adequate service.  I am one of those people who tips more generously if I've been given good service in a restaurant.  In fact, I remember one night when there was a dispute over the bill and I got into an argument with the restaurant manager.  I was so furious that I paid only the exact amount on the bill and did not tip anything.  However later on when I was at home I thought about it and felt bad for our waitress that night because the dispute wasn't over anything she'd done and yet, she missed out on her tip.  Which is really where the biggest problem with tipping  comes in.  People being denied tips and then getting angry and people believing they should get a tip and not getting one and getting angry.  The whole thing is just filled with negative vibes.  Company's should pay people a salary that is fair and then charge the consumer a price that is fair and let tipping go by the way side.  Or the next time I get the same hairstylist, I'm going to come out of there with a head that looks like Pete Rose's  just because I didn't know when to tip. Until We Type Again, Take It Ease !