I Tipped Five Cents In Error, and The Reaction Was Astonishing!
Has the tipping culture gone haywire?
If you have been out lately, you may have noticed that you are expected to tip almost everywhere. At large or small restaurants, customers are given the pay screen and invited to choose a tipping percentage that may start at 8% or go as high as 20 percent or higher.
It’s getting too expensive to eat out. There is one boo-boo that I won’t likely forget soon.
I ordered several meals at one busy organic restaurant selling organic milk products. I elected to enter a tip based on the percentage, but for some odd reason, the number was just five cents! I corrected it by adding a few dollar bills to the tip jar. I thought that fixed the error, but as we left, the manager appeared to give me a stony silence. Hadn’t he realized that I threw some money in the tip jar?
The fact is, it’s hard to avoid tipping. Tipping has become a nightmare because one feels obligated to provide a generous service fee to help pay for the server’s wages.
I was genuinely amazed when I travelled to China years ago and discovered that tipping is out of the question.
Where I live, we are asked to tip everywhere, including fast-food burger joints and coffee franchises like Starbucks. I even had to tip at my regular car maintenance shop until one day the manager said he removed that option after getting a few customer complaints.
So, when I made that mistake of tipping five cents instead of 5 dollars, it was an honest error.
I think I need to slither away from the establishment until the heat dies down. I don’t want to be known as the five-cent tipper! Or get side-eye glares from servers who point out that I am the lady who has been the biggest El Cheapo tipper since man landed on the moon.
I wonder if the servers and managers of the restaurant and service industry have banded together and put together my profile, and others like me show me as “The Five Cents Tipping Bandit.” It won’t be long before I am on the “Most Unwanted Customer of the World” list.
It was, indeed, deeply an honest mistake. I blame it on my poor eyesight.
Next time I tip at another establishment, I must be extra careful to avoid entering the wrong amount. Even if it means that I bring a magnifying glass if the numbers are hard to read. Or, in case the screen is too small before I leave, I need to double-check that the correct amount is entered. Better yet, I can get my partner to check, but since he’s sometimes even cheaper than me, he will say I put in the correct amount!
Once, due to my eyesight problem, I tipped a restaurant $20 in error, but I got the server to reverse the amount. Whew!
As I got older, I noticed that my eyesight was weaker than it used to be. Does that mean I won’t make a similar mistake in the future? Probably. Maybe I should consider cooking more often at home. It’s less stressful, and I won't be getting any side-eyed stares from anyone. Okay, maybe my cat if he figures the litter box needs cleaning.
That’s all today.
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