Saturday 24 October 2015

Not Tipping

My colleague told us a story about how he and his wife recently stayed at a hotel and his bags were hardly on the floor for 30 seconds as they stood at the reception when someone picked them up and carried them towards the lift.
Apparently he explained that they were quite able to carry their own bags, a small suitcase each, but the guy insisted and just kept moving towards the lift with their bags.
My colleague stated firmly that his service was not required all the way up to the rooms where he dropped the bags in the room and then stood in the doorway obviously waiting for his tip.
All he got was a thank you and a door in his face which is exactly what i would have done because i am not a tipper and i don't know many Brits who are.
To my thinking, if i go somewhere and the service is good then i go again, if not then i go somewhere else so the idea that you tip to make sure that you get a good service is not even an argument.
It seems very much an American thing because the service staff there are so low paid that they rely on tips to make up their wages rather than the employers who should pay their employees regular wages.
My view, and it seems the vast majority of people here who i have spoken to about it, is that it is up to the employer to make sure that those people earn living wages and this burden should not be transferred to the customers and the receipt of a decent service dependent upon it.
I show my appreciation for that service which i have paid the advertised price for by thanking them and returning to pay for it again at some point.

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