TIPS – The price of attitude

The word TIPS is used as an acronym for “To Insure Proper Service”. The P in the acronym, can also be used to replace with other P words, like Prompt, Polite or Personalized, because that is what its ultimate purpose is. Keep the people who you come across happy and you can be rest assured they will keep you happy too.

There is always a debate, whether we should give TIPS or not. There are two segments of people, who have their arguments for and against the idea of giving tips and I feel both are justified in their own way. 

One segment of people believe that tipping is wrong, as it is over and above the salary that the person is receiving, and this is some sort of bribing for some sort of favoritism in treatment. So, this can cause an imbalanced attitude of the worker towards the customers, by giving better service to those who he knows will offer tips and neglect those who do not.

Whereas, on the other hand there are people, who think tipping is a generous act of rewarding people working at the lower level. Their salaries are not big enough to make a good living and these sorts of tips enable them to live a better life or to cater to many of their other daily needs.

I belong to the second category. I am generous in tipping people, right from the security, the waiter, the bell boy, the sweeper and anyone who does some sort of work, which many people consider to be a mean job. To me people who do mean jobs are slowly vanishing, and it is these sorts of tips that helps to sustain such workforce. I find tipping as a way of acknowledging people, who consider that dignity of labour, is a higher value than to beg in the streets or resort to petty crimes, to fulfill their economic needs.

But this tipping can get a bit complicated at times. How much should we tip? There are some accepted percentages of tips based on the place we are dining. I have an experience, when a waiter returned the tip money I had left, because he felt it was too low. But he told it in a different way. “Sir seems you have left some change.”. It felt insulting to me at that moment, but it was also a sort of realization that there is a minimum expectation, when it comes to tips. So, if we decide to tip, might as well, tip them in a way that it appeases them.

My perception on the amount of tipping, was altered after my visit to Egypt. Tipping is very important gesture there and sometimes demanded too. It is a tourist destination which thrives on tipping. So, we would find ourselves paying tips over and above every service we receive, right from the cab driver to the tour guide. So, tipping is a cultural thing too, which can vary from place to place, which we need to be aware of.

As a frequent traveller, I find the necessity of tipping, as a measure to be a welcome guest everywhere. A simple attitude of a person who serves us, can make, or break our day. So, very well ensure that our day goes well, through these little acts of tipping.

Some days back one of my friends told me, about tipping forward. It is a different concept of “Give before you get”. He said while most people give tips only after the service is rendered, there are few people who give the tips in advance. He said, once we have decided to tip someone, why wait? Let’s at least save his anxiety whether they will get something or not, from offering the service. And we on our part can be rest assured that we will get a better service, as a token of paying forward with trust.

Like it or not, it is a money starved world and unless we are willing to be a little generous with tipping, we cannot ensure that we will get best service.  And while tipping, let us make sure that it is done with an attitude of kindness, rather than an attitude of arrogance. A simple polite, smile that passes on along with the tip, could well serve as a differentiating factor.

 D. Senthil Kannan,

  Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

  Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

  Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com