Tipping

Tips are supposed to give service providers an extra incentive to provide good or excellent service. Tipping and expectations vary however, from culture to culture. In many western nations, tipping is expected by many (but certainly not all) service providers. In China however, tipping is generally no expected and may be considered inappropriate.

We actually need guides on who to tip, when and how much. In the U.S., we don't tip service providers such as doctors, dentists, auto mechanics or other "professionals". But we are supposed to know, for example, to tip hair dressers and waiters 15%-20% for good/excellent service. We are expected to know that taxi drivers and food delivery people should customarily get 10%-15%. Massage therapists and aestheticians might receive between 10%-20%. And then there are the hotel housekeepers, bellman or valet parking attendants who get a few bucks per whatever (night, bag or car) depending on this or that.

I'm 46 years old and have travelled a little in my life, and only now, do I think I've got it mostly figured out. But I think the world should move away from tipping. Why can't the cost of each service be right out in the open? Why can't people just pay whatever the price is without burdening it with some mysterious ghost cost? In the computer world, there used to be a term called WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) to describe the new fangled graphical user interfaces. We need WYSIWYG for services!

Restaurants and hotels should just pay their wait and housekeeping staff a living wage. And bellman and valet drivers, for example, should just hang signs on their chest that say "I'll help you with your bags/car for $2 each please". One should always expect service to be good. If the service you receive is not good, then take your business elsewhere, but I say let's not continue the current confusing "it all depends on who and where you are" system of tipping. For the current system to work, people need to study, know and memorize different rules with various exceptions for each country or culture. Isn't that crazy?