Tipping leads to good service?
As I have stated on countless occasions, I hate the whole circus that is tipping. I’ve many arguments against it, but one often thrown back at me is that tipping leads to good service culture. Fair enough; this is a valid argument.
Tipping in the States
I’ve just come back from three weeks in the United States, the undisputed heavyweight champion of absurd tipping culture. It is regularly proclaimed that the trade-off for having to shell out the moment you so much as look at someone is that service is far more likely to be good. Having experienced it, I’m not sure I agree.
You see, it all depends on what you consider to be ‘good service’. As far as I’m concerned, it is about making the customer’s experience as enjoyable as possible. There’s a lot you can do to ensure this, but – to me – the important factor is what you don’t do.
Being seen
I’d argue that workers in the US hospitality don’t give a fig about good service. What’s important is being *seen* to give good service. It’s about turndown services, arranging towels into pretty shapes, rushing to take bags off new arrivals and having someone leap towards the door every time you enter or leave a building. And, yes, that seems to apply even when it’s a revolving door and having someone push it for you is clearly of no benefit.
Restaurant service
This ethos manifests itself most obviously in restaurants. Just you try and finish a glass of water in an American restaurant – it’s virtually impossible. You can get a maximum of two-thirds of the way down before your heroic waiter leaps in to refill it. Good service also seems to equate to continuously asking how your meal is and giving a lengthy description of what’s on each plate before putting it down (even when pretty much identical descriptions are on the menu).
Introducing middlemen
This isn’t my idea of good service. It’s in-your-face, look-at-me, irritating service. And it’s all about making sure that the customer notices you, not the customer having an enjoyable time. In the worst scenarios, it can be about putting someone between you and what you want so that they can get a cut. Take storing a bag in the morning so you can explore for a while, before collecting it and leaving in the afternoon. I don’t need someone to take it from me and put it inside a cupboard that I can see a few metres away, and I certainly don’t need them to fetch it for me from there. All I need is to be able to open the cupboard.
Online check-in
Another example came in Boston. I wanted to check in online for my flight and print my boarding pass. The concierge’s desk stood next to the ‘business centre’, and the hotel offered free printing of boarding passes. But to print it, I had to give the flight details and reference number to the concierge so he could go to the airline website and print the pass off. Would it not have been a lot easier to just make access to the computers and printer in the business centre free? In fact, I ended up with a middle seat on that flight because the concierge didn’t think to ask me if I wanted to change the one I’d been allocated. If I’d have been printing the boarding pass myself, I’d have switched every time (and taken less time going through the whole palaver).
The referee analogy
Good service should be like a good football referee – barely noticeable. Staff should be intuitive to the needs and desires of the guest, yes, and should do what they can to meet those needs and desires. But they don’t need to constantly show that they are doing so. The less I notice ‘service’ the happier I am. Just do your job, chaps, then bugger off and leave me in peace.
Checking the mirrors
You know how, when taking your driving test, you ostentatiously turn your head to show the examiner that you’re looking in the mirrors? Well doing so isn’t what makes you a good driver. America’s hospitality industry would do well to take heed.
Tags: hotels, restaurants, service, tipping
Nice article and I do agree to some extent – the in-your-face service you are confronted with in the US can be a little over-bearing. That said, I still prefer it to the lack-lustre service you often recieve in the UK. From my experience, service staff tend to get it about right in South East Asia – polite, attentive but unobtrusive.
Gosh. You mean South-East Asia, where there is generally no culture of tipping? But how can people possibly provide good service if they’re not tipped for it?
Ha ha – touche!
Good article as per. A few things.
I think I’m right in thinking in the States waiters/waitresses get taxed on their presumed tips? This is on top of low wages that rely on tips to turn their overall earnings into a living wage. In fact presumed tips can easily make up 50% of their tips.
That’s why they get narky when you don’t tip, and why the overall level of tipping has moved from 15% to 20% in the last few years.
Yeah people do tip in SE Asia. 10% is not unusual on a bill? Easpecially in the bigger restaurants. Service usually is excellent though – have always assumed this is beacause I have eaten in a lot of chef/family owned gaffs. A real disincentive to have bad service…
What would be useful to know is what the locals tip for good service. In Spain it can be a Euro or two after a few tapas or raciones at the bar.
One thing I always admired in New York is “The Knock”. You tip the barman a dollar a beer (in cash). He buys you one after 5 (and “Knocks” the bar with his knuckles). Gets round the tax issue and you can get your money back after 5 or 10. Course by that point you can barely stand up. I think the US State government also made it illegal….still goes on though.
Cheers for feedback Stu. As far I understand, yeah, US service service staff do get taxed on presumed tips but the whole world is rather murky. I totally understand why they’ll get narky – doesn’t mean I have to like the system or the style of service it produces though.
As for SE Asia, please correct me if I’m wrong… As I understand it, some people do tip (and probably more so in Westernised places that have exposure to our American chums) but tipping isn’t an inherent part of the culture.
I spent some months waiting tables in a private tennis club in US and their service standards quite intense. I found the American’s seemed to equate good service with over service and insisted on Disneyfying the way we handled guest interactions.
Because it was a member club, customers were fawned over to a silly extent. E.g. you’re right about the water – we were ordered to linger around guest table and top them up as soon as they have a sip! But there were also social hierarchies that determined which guests we stood closest to and which we would publicly preference for fuss (I was out there studying this for uni).
I found the service process amusing – but embarrassing to perform. When serving British guests, I could tell that they hated the over service – but the American’s did lap it up. But perhaps that comes down to the customers being served.
Brits (traditionally) aren’t big complainers and will just expect everything to be done correctly – whereas in America, the customers are more forgiving but if something is wrong you’ll know about it.
All the processes designed to deliver service that is ‘seen’ are there to eliminate any chance of the customer to complain. If service panders to the guest’s every need, even if there isn’t one (‘Anticipate the need’ was drilled into me) then guests can’t leave saying they had a bad experience.
In Westernised places definately and locals do tip, but I’m thinking mainly in the cities, and not as a matter of course. Also different country to country too. Will ping an Asia sepcialist and see if they’ll comment.
My big problem with the “encourages good service” argument is that would only work if you were completely free to not leave a tip. But in practice it’s “socially compulsory” to leave a tip unless you’ve had such bad service you’d be talking to the manager, ie it’s a huge faux pas not to tip (and I’ve had this confirmed by Americans).
Therefore unless you’ve got an incredibly thick skin, you’re obliged to tip regardless of service quality – thus voiding the whole “encouragement” argument.
I suspect also I’m not the only one to despise the argument that bad service will inevitably follow from not having a tipping system; seems a dim view of human nature.
@Tim. Spot on in just about everything you say there. A culture where you leave ‘only’ 10% extra to show your displeasure with the service is mind-bogglingly wrong-headed.
@Stuart. I’m no Asia expert, so I’m wary of any sweepind generalisations I might make. My overriding impression, however, is that service is seen as something you take pride in.
@Lewis. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Really interesting stuff – so, essentially, a lot of it’s about arse-covering then?
Tipping may not be part of Asian culture per se, it has however been very much expected (and appreciated no doubt) in certain establishments across many Asian countries (e.g Thailand, Singapore) for many years. Whilst the average man on the street wouldn’t dream of tipping for his bowl of noodle soup in the morning, a waiter in Bangkok’s latest ‘sky-restaurant’ would be more than a little put out if there wasn’t a little love shown for his good service at the end of your meal.
Due to the booming economy in countries such as Vietnam, this culture is becoming more widespread and, whilst unlike the US where there are ‘cultural guidelines’ on tipping amounts, in Asia it is very much left to an individuals discretion. I travel in the region regularly and I base it very much by the cost of the meal, the standard of establishment and most importantly the level of service I have received. Where I may simply leave the street food vendor or taxi driver the small change left over, I’d budget between 5 and 10% in a cafe or low-grade restaurant and 10% upwards in the more top end eateries.
The problem with any of this is that service staff will soon become to rely on tips due to a diminishing wage packet (no owner is going to want to pay their staff more than they have to and a ‘generous’ tipping policy is a great way of saving on salary) and the high expectations of the waiting staff can often lead to an unpleasant return visits to a restaurant or hotel where you weren’t deemed to have tipped enough on a previous visit.
The Asia thing is fascinating. I never tip anyone but taxi drivers in Asia, and no-one seems to take offence. Am I just missing the negative reaction, and those who come from tipping cultures are more sensitive to it?
Whe we’re at it, another thing I dislike about the US tipping culture is its complexity. A 15% tip for waiters and taxi drivers is easy to understand, but apparently there’s this whole other layer of tips for maids, bellboys etc etc. Too bloody hard to figure out for a foreign visitor. I decided to only tip waiters and cabbies in North America unless clearly instructed otherwise, and it removed a whole lot of stress from the trip.
It’s all about perception. As an American, I am quite accustom to having the water glass filled and don’t think twice about it. Having lived overseas for many years, I find the service in Europe and much of the UK appalling. It’s as if they train waiters to NOT make eye contact. I do not want to have to raise my hand and call someone over to fill my empty water glass and remove dirty dishes that have been in front of me for 20+ minutes. If I was accustom to this level of service (which Europeans seem to be), I can see how the U.S. level of service would feel intrusive – but I’ll take it any day and be happy to tip for it.
I agree 100%. I hate ‘compulsory’ tipping. It’s just licensed theft. Businesses should pay their staff a liveable wage, not expect punters to make up the shortfall. But like Catholicism in the Vatican City, tipping in the US will never go away. As much as I dislike tipping, I also can’t stand over-attentive service (as you’ve pointed out). It’s sickening that many in the ‘service’ industry are nice/helpful for one reason – to get a tip. If they don’t get one, it’s like you’ve murdered their entire family. While it’s not pleasant to get bad/grumpy service, I find it equally hard to stomach the fake ‘nice’ behaviour from some waiters/waitresses/bellboys. Why can’t people just do their job? I’ve spent lots of time in Asia and, apart from in the very swanky establishments, tipping just isn’t expected and by and large, service is fine, and usually delivered with a smile.
I hate it when tipping is expected regardless of service.
I had a very unpleasant experience in the US where the food was brought out at different times, (some people had finished before others had even started)and after complaining about the service, the owner came out and basically called us ‘mean Brits’ because we had decided that we shouldn’t leave a tip. The owner argued that it was not the fault of the waitress and to be fair it wasn’t but it most certainly wasn’t ours either. It completely ruined the evening.
I don’t mind tipping when the service is good but it should definitely be at your discretion and not just because it’s customary. Tipping can also be embarrassing and where does it stop? You’re never quite sure who to tip especially at hotels where there are staff doing everything for you. If service was included things would be much easier.
Good service should be unobtrusive and definitely not in your face. I never understand turndown service where you actually see it or have to ask staff to come back and are met with ‘Sorry we’re busy and on a schedule’. I only like it when I haven’t seen it otherwise you end up answering the door in a towe while trying to get ready to go out. What’s the point?
What a great article and discussion! Ahhh, tipping….It’s much more convoluted here in the US than many visitors realize.
In addition to earning abysmally low wages (our laws exempt certain employers from paying the minimum wage to those who also earn tips), frequently waitstaff are expected to pay the bill for those who leave without doing so (yes, it happens regularly, sometimes deliberately, sometimes the patrons are simply idiots who don’t realize they haven’t paid their bill before they’ve left).
And yes, people in the service industry, who do earn tips, are taxed on an expected percentage (based on total sales figures in a restaurant, not just the patrons they’ve served). So between patrons who “chew and screw” and those who tip less than 15%, it’s no wonder waitstaff can sometimes get snarky. It’s hard work that only rarely pays well enough to stick with it after graduating with a degree and moving on to a better paying career.
And if someone ever attempted to overhaul the whole system, forcing establishments to pay higher wages and eliminate tips, the result could very easily be higher prices anyway, and less incentive for anything approaching “good” service.
It’s a horrible conundrum. I firmly believe, as many others here in the US do, that the only way to handle it is to tip between 10% to 15% for adequate service, less for poor service, and more for great service. If the service is very poor, I will complain, but I do make exceptions when the situation is beyond the control of the waitstaff (e.g. shorthanded at a time when several large parties arrive unexpectedly).
As for housekeeping staff at a hotel, there are times when I need my room serviced and times when I don’t, and I let them know it. If they’ve serviced the room a $5 tip is average (per day that they’ve provided service).
I would like to think that the person who created the concept of tipping is slowly roasting somewhere decidedly unpleasant.
No one tips in Japan. I tried to give 100yen (a dollar) to the pizza delivery boy once and he got flustered about it. Same with taxis. They’ll accept it but if your bill is 2950yen they’ll quite happily root around for that 50yen change.
In China I found that in the tourists areas people would demand tips to a certain extent – like when I put my bag in at the security desk at Mao’s Tomb and the guy came back and said “now you gimme money”. China’s a wonderful country except for the tourist areas where all scum seem to have congregated.
Don’t know how I’d cope in America – I actually dread having to go through the tipping BS. I don’t think it should ever be expected and shame on the bars and restaurants who pay their staff so little that they have to expect it. Who says exploitation only happens in the third world?
Looks like you’ve “inspired” someone at the Mail:
http://travelblog.dailymail.co.....-grat.html
I’d like to think that it’s possible that someone would have come to the same conclusion without seeing my blog first.
Actually, scratch that. I just don’t want to be linked to the Daily Mail in any way…