That’s right: my little part-time job I went to between school and play rehearsal seemed like a typical after-school gig, but I got paid less than six dollars an hour all because of a magical jar placed in front of the cash register labeled “TIPS.” Sure, my coworkers and I had had a little fun with the label-maker, so around it were little white strips with quips such as “money for socks with no holes,” “support for my ninja lessons” and “college.”
Despite the humor, working that little ice cream scooper to squeeze an extra dollar or two out of a customer seemed frustrating and unnecessary. I would spend eight minutes constructing the perfect malt only to see the man sucking it down sticking his 37 cents change in his pocket instead of dropping it in the jar.
Did my job really deserve tips? Absolutely not. I was doing what I was paid to do; sure, I smiled and was nice and helpful, but customer service is part of the food service industry. Tip jars and tipping opportunities on receipts are seemingly more and more prevalent.
Oftentimes, I tip because I feel bad, assuming the employers are getting away with paying under minimum wage just by letting their employees receive tips. Tips will supplement an employee’s pay to make it more than minimum wage. But it seems like now everyone expects a tip for doing his or her job. Is it the consumer’s responsibility to give workers a little fiscal pat on the back, or should employers pay out the dough?
There is a line that hasn’t been drawn yet, with all the relatively new types of eateries popping up, particularly self-serve frozen yogurt places. Listen, you guys and girls at Local Culture are really sweet, but – uh – I got my own frozen yogurt, so why should I feel compelled to tip you? I feel like a bad customer if I don’t drop my 37 cents change into the jar in front of you. You do a great job ringing me up, but isn’t that what you’re paid to do?
Where do we draw the line between doing your job and going above and beyond to assist the customer?
When I went home last week, I saw a woman at Hobby Lobby give an employee five dollars just for carrying stuff out to her car. Regardless of what he is doing at work, he is getting paid to be there and to be an asset to the store. Should I tip the pharmacist at CVS for showing me what medicine to take? (By the way, Mr. Pharmacist, thank you so much, because those pills really cleared up my congestion.) Moreover, which employees expect to get tips and why do they feel entitled to them?
I would really like to hear from those who work in places such as restaurants (where the wait staff should fully feel entitled to tips), fast-food chains such as Sonic (thank you for carrying my unsweet tea to my car, 10 feet away, but do I really have to give you an extra 50 cents?), and frozen yogurt chains to understand tipping etiquette and if that etiquette needs a revolution (aka more guaranteed pay in your paycheck instead of begging for tips).
Even when I was working at the ice cream shop, I got angry when a family of five didn’t tip me a dollar, but I didn’t think it was right. As a customer, I would think it is the employer’s responsibility to pay the employees for a job well done.
While waiters and waitresses definitely deserve the extra something-something on the check, it is odd to me that this amount is based off of the amount of the check. It takes just as much effort to carry and ensure quality of a pasta dish as opposed to, say, a grilled cheese.  It takes just as much attention to keep my water filled as it does to keep my dining companion’s sweet tea filled. 
Whoever developed percentage-based tipping deserves to be shoved into an interrogation room and surrounded by incredulous looks from the steak-eating, soda-drinking members of the community.
I hope this article sparks discussion in the community about who you should tip, how much you should tip and why should you tip. This is an opportunity for discussion to present both sides of the story. But, for now, I remain convinced that financially rewarding most employees should be the job of the employers.