So has tipping at restaurants gone crazy? Everywhere you turn now people are asking for tips no matter where you are. When and where should we be tipping people? Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t tipping someone the act of donating or to give? Now we are being asked to tip everywhere we go. Hell, some people even take their own tips themselves and I’ve seen it done several times.

Lets look up the definition of tipping from Wikipedia:

A tip (also called a gratuity) is a voluntary extra payment made to certain service sector workers in addition to the advertised price of the transaction. Such payments and their size are a matter of social custom. Tipping varies among cultures and by service industry. Though by definition a tip is never legally required, and its amount is at the discretion of the patron being served, in some circumstances failing to give an adequate tip when one is expected may be considered very miserly, a violation of etiquette, or unethical. In some other cultures or situations, giving a tip is not expected and offering one would be considered condescending or demeaning. In some circumstances (such as tipping government workers), tipping is illegal.

Now that we have that all cleared up, tipping someone is voluntary and not required. When should we tip someone really? In my opinion tipping someone should be when we are sitting inside a restaurant and they are serving us or catering to our needs, then yes a tip would be ethical. But in today’s world you have Tim Hortons asking for tips, Pizza shops when you go for take out, Dairy Queen and have seen a few Subways. What’s next? Some even have it programmed right into their Interac Machines asking if we want to give a tip. I’ve even been asked where’s my tip on 2 separate occasions, one picking up Chinese Food at a restaurant to go and one time at a bar. I find that very rude when people actually say , “where’s my tip?” Pretty soon we’ll be asked for a tip when going to buy our groceries just for a cashier to ring them through. Some of you may know what I am talking about. I tip when I want to tip at some of these above locations as mentioned, I always tip 20-25% of the bill or slightly more whenever our family goes inside to eat at a real restaurant when the recommended tip people leave is 15%. Next we’ll be asked for tipping at McDonalds too.

Where should we be tipping? Should we actually be tipping people at Tim Hortons for simply doing their job? You can if you want but if you don’t I’ve seen many circumstances where the employees attitude changes as the EXPECT a tip now. They are basically programmed to receive one and if you don’t you see it in their face. Here’s a tip from me to you, go to a couple of Tim Hortons and buy the exact same thing, you may notice that your cost will be different. I have went to the Tim Hortons in Shediac two days in a row, buy the exact same thing and the cost was different. Yes, maybe she rang it in wrong but I got what I had ordered. Some people, and nothing against the establishment take their own tips by telling the customer a different cost. We as consumers don’t even think most of the time and just pay what they ask if it sounds reasonable. If she came back and said that would be $20 for your coffee then sure we would say that’s wrong but if the employee adds 10 cents, will you really know the difference? You may if you only buy a coffee but if you buy several things you won’t think twice. Just something for you to think about.

One other last comment I have about tipping people at restaurants. Tipping should be done on a voluntary basis and never asked, or suggested. I believe that all restaurants should take down the TIP JARS, saying “Leave a Tip” that is soliciting and no different then asking. I also don’t think they should really have it on their Interac machines either ” Leave A Tip?” They are literally asking for one! That is something I don’t agree with.

So bottom line, do you get annoyed seeing tip jars everywhere? Do you actually think that at Tim Hortons you should leave tips? Where do we draw the line on tipping people. In my opinion we should only tip people if we are sitting inside a restaurant where they are catering to our needs, then a tip is ethical but not required. What do you think and where should we draw the line at tipping people? Whose going to want tips next? Should we really be tipping people at drive-throughs? Money, money, money! It’s all about the money! Let’s hear your thoughts on when and where we should be leaving tips?