The question these days is not, “Can we afford to eat out?” but, “Can we afford to tip?”
If you pay on a screen at a restaurant, the tip choices are 15 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent, and “take my wallet.” The awkward part is thinking it through and doing the math while the server stands there watching you.
We always tip, but sometimes one of us has to wrestle the other one for the payment screen to ensure a generous option.
I have worked a good part of my life in food service: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, Labor Day, birthdays, anniversaries. It may not be the same as working at a sit-down restaurant, but the feeling in my feet at the end of the day sure is.
Why I didn’t put a tip jar in the middle of the kitchen table years ago is beyond me.
Still, the matter of tipping poses more questions than answers.
We tip pizza delivery and DoorDash, so why don’t we tip the Amazon guy?
If I were to tip Amazon for leaving a package, would I also tip the clerk at the UPS store for returning the package?
I question the need for tipping at self-service kiosks. If I punch in the order, pick up the order and carry out the order, the one I should be tipping is me. That will be 30 percent, thank you.
I recently bought two donuts at a donut shop. The young woman took three steps to the left, leaned into the counter, pulled out two donuts, dropped them in a bag, handed it to me and twirled the payment pad around with options for a tip.
Will they be asking for tips at drive-throughs soon? You can
shout the amount of your tip into the speaker along with a request for extra ketchup.
Some recommendations for tipping percentages look exorbitant, but the fact is many full-service restaurant workers are paid little more than $2 per hour. They bank on tips to bring them up to the standard minimum wage and, hopefully, beyond.
They put bread on your table, why not put some on theirs?