Touchy Subject...Tipping

 Here's the deal. I saw this meme on X a couple of days ago. When I first read the caption, I thought, "Darn straight." I agree 100%. It made me think of another post I saw on X earlier where a person called citizens of the state where I reside as the "worst tippers in the world." He posted this because I believe his spouse works in the food service industry.

Yes, many Utahns are bad tippers--not all, I'm sure, but some.

Then I thought, do the servers deserve better tips? There are many who bust their butts to offer great service and they deserve to be rewarded for working hard, and when some "cheapskate" doesn't tip well, it's frustrating. I know it is. It's frustrating for me when I bust my butt at work and do not get the pay I think I deserve. But, and this is an important consideration...

What if the people stop eating out?

That's basically us. Like many our family has had to re-evaluate eating out. My wife and I used to go to a sit-down restaurant once a week. If we didn't eat at the restaurant, we'd order take-out and eat at home. Point is, it was a weekly tradition and we budgeted for such. 

Then, things change.

We have changed our eating habits since last fall. We haven't quit it entirely, but it's not something we plan, not something we do as part of our weekly activities. When I read the post about the person ripping on poor tippers, the alternative--at least for us--is to not go altogether. This mean, instead of getting poor tips, the servers get no tips.

I hope people are still going out to eat. Those who work in restaurants work hard and many are family-owned and rely on customers to pay their rents, send their kids to school, succeed in the community. It's the downward spiral of a bad economy for those who's income hasn't increased as fast as the rise in prices that causes such dilemmas.

When we go out, we try to tip well...not too much, but not too little. The tip was calculated in the cost of the meals. Tipping's a touchy subject. I hope we can participate more in the process in the future.