Thursday, September 24, 2009

To Tip, or Not to Tip

When I go to the grocery store to shop and allow the bag boy to bring the cart out to the car and load my purchases into the trunk I usually tip - that is when I allow them to 'cause most times I just take the cart out myself. It's pretty much an unwritten rule with me that those guys get whatever coinage change I received from the cashier.

When I tip for other services though, like getting air put in my car tires or getting the front windshield washed (without actually getting gas) I usually pay 5dhs in coins - never a bill. (Bills always feel too much for a tip.) It feels wrong to tip less than that though. The way I see it, to tip less than 5 is like an insult both ways. Makes the tipper look cheap and the tippee (probably not a word but who's really keeping track? Anywayz just think employer and employee.) a creature - not even human- unworthy of a decent tip.

So the night before I had gone to this full service gas station - it had everything, Mc D's, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts and the normal gas station convenience store. It was mother's car and the windshield was insanely filthy. I'm not even sure how I made it to the station in one piece but yeah I had decided surely filling the gas tank would merit the gas guy going ahead and washing the windshield. Somehow he didn't bother doing it and I forgot to ask (I was busy trying to wake up little Annie, who was asleep in the backseat, for Mc D's ice cream - which was the reason we had gone out in the first place.) So I was done paid for the gas and everything then pulled into the Mc D's drive thru before realizing that I hadn't gotten the windshield done. The drive thru line was pissy long and it was a while before we finally got our order. In which time I had deeply contemplated the windshield and tipping issue. See, if the guy had done it when he filled the tank then I wouldn't think to tip. But now I'd have to go back and get the windshield done and if it were the same guy who filled the tank then that wouldnt be a prob. No tip. But if it were a different guy - which it was, he wouldnt know that I just filled my tank there and I'd have to tip. I had already spent 72dhs in gas and only had 2 dhs in coins - I had bills but seriously I wasnt in a very tipping mood since the window should have been done when the gas tank was filled. So now I was wondering should I even bother tipping. Long story short, he got 2dhs and I drove off. It still bothers me though, evidence in fact that I'm blogging about it...

2 comments:

Bookworm said...

hehe, I don't let the bag boy take my things to the car either (or put them in bags most of the time). Unless I'm in a real hurry and there's a line behind me. Plus, I get my own 'eco' bags, and he usually fills them up - they get to be too heavy (I have a system for groccery bag filling, haha). But yeah, if he helps, definitely tip.

Don't know much about car service since I don't drive (yet). But I'll ask my bro, and don't worry too much bout it.

Usually for other services, we have to tip 10%, like you know, in restaurants, salons, hotels..

El Hazard said...

Lol, I always forget those eco bags at home and end up buying more every time I go to the store.

I know we tip at restaurants, I think all of the ones I've gone to usually just add it to the tab and you pay for it in the total. I didn't know that we're supposed to tip in salons though =S I've gone to a few and they've never mentioned nor charged it on the tabs..