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TIP OR NO TIP




Tipping is a service culture in some regions while it is unheard of in others. In South Africa,it is not a strange practice. While in Japan, it is out-rightly wrong. What puzzles me about it however is how some waiters or waitresses request for tips and put up attitude when they feel displeased about the tip you give. Excuse me! It's hard - earned money!






Are tips included in the bills charged for meals and drinks at restaurants,hotels and eateries? If yes,why do some waiters/waitresses ask for tips from customers. If tips are not included in the bills,should the waiters/waitresses ask? Shouldn't it be the customers' discretion to tip or not? I suppose some customers would also wonder why they have to be the ones to tip the waiters/waitresses when they are employees of the service companies.








I have had two similar service experiences revolving around tipping and they make me wonder if that's what service is about when it comes to eating out. On this love coloured Sunday, my husband and I decided to treat our friends who visited from Mauritius to some delicious sea food. The experience from the moment the orders were placed was short of being satisfactory. The waitress kept mixing up the orders till our friend had to repeat his order with a warning; in his exact words, 'I won't pay if my fish is grilled,I don't want grilled fish'. The waitress got a bit jittery at the sound of his warning. I told him I wouldn't do that if I were in his shoes because that warning could actually cause her to make mistakes because she had lost her confidence. We spent the rest of the waiting minutes discussing the conducts of waiters and waitresses not knowing we had a more heated conversation that would get us all angry awaiting us right after the table was cleared.







We finished the meal and had some chit chat while the table was being cleared. Next, the waitress comes with the bill, she is paid and she asks 'what about tip?' We all looked in amazement, the tip as in you're asking for a tip? She replied, Yes,we don't get paid,that's our salary. You had to have seen the expression on our faces, like, so, we customers are meant to pay your salaries? She actually said we could go ahead and ask the manager or other waiters. I was already too embarrassed to push any further, besides so much time had been lost on the mixed up order, delayed service and then this. We just offered a token and trust me, the pathetic service experience ended up being our parting discussion with our friends.








If it was just this experience at Ocean Basket, may be I should have let this matter rest, but just last Sunday, this same service experience came visiting again, I just had to get my fingers on the keyboard.










This time around, setting is at Wimpy, Bright Water Commons. Fast forward, so an order was made, meal was eaten, table was cleared and the waitress brings the bill and the POS machine. Next, she asks as she was about to imput the bill into the machine, 'how much should I add as tip?' You all should know what service errors to my ears by now; my brother, my husband, my sister and I gave such weird looks like what do you mean?' Since it was my husband's debit card, I guess he was able to recover from the bewilderment before every other person. He told her not to deduct any tip from his account 'cause he would give her what he pleases as cash.


She hardly said a thank you even after she was tipped. Our unanimous understanding of the attitude she gave was that she wasn't pleased with the amount she got. My service excellence mind won't let me rest as the why's kept running back and forth.






The bulk rests with the concerned service companies. A fundamental right every customer has,is the right to being informed. Customers need to know the service policy of these 'eat - out' businesses as regards not just tipping but all other service activities. After a visible and unambiguous display of your service policy, the decision to either patronize you or not, is solely your customers'


Would you be surprised if I said the first experience happened last year? That's how fresh the memories of bad service linger. Painfully though, good service memories linger,but not as long as bad ones. Service excellence is a continuously raised standard that could be really demanding on service providers. I could say, it's neither for the faint nor rigid heart. Service is dynamic because the served and the servants are dynamic as well. It requires frequent observation,using eyes that see beyond the present happening and ears that hear the echoes of silence. That notwithstan,service excellence is easier attained in an atmosphere of selfless professionalism.ding

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