There was a story the other day
about an Oriental Restaurant Owner who added a 15%
tip to the check of black patrons because, in his
opinion Blacks do not tip. Well, my brothers, we've
cover this ground before, haven't we? I don't care
for his tactics, because I have to be free to protest
by only tipping 3 cents when a server gives me
poor service, BUT. The old boy is correct in his
assessment of tipping habits from the hood.
I truly don't understand the
phenomenon, because everybody in the hood knows
somebody who's income is derived largely from tips.
Yet a brother (or sister) will be 3000 miles from
home, in a shuttle with 3 white people, talking about
his great job, and then hop out at the airport, and
tell the driver that he forgot to get change. So.
He knew about tipping he just refused to do it.
Now we all know that nobody will travel 3000 miles
away from home with ZERO dollars in his pocket. Jesse
Jackson may be at the root of this problem.
He has focused so much emphasis on the community's
need for social programs, that even a successful,
world traveling, well educated, job having, SUV
driving BUPPIE is convinced that tipping does not
apply to him, because he's been downtrodden for so
long.
I moonlight as a shuttle
driver on the week-ends, and have driven tour
buses and taxies over the years. So I know about
this, first hand. I have seen my fellow drivers go
home early rather than take one more trip to
Inglewood, or Carson, or Harlem, because there's
about a 70% chance that they will not get a tip.
That's right. I've gathered stats on it. If I pick up
10 brothers, in a week, only 3 will give me a tip. Of
the 7 that don't tip, only 2 will make eye contact
with me during the stiffing process. These two may be
the truly stupid. The other 5 know they are
dis'n me, but pretend that they were unaware of
tipping customs.
In defense of the brothers and
sisters, I must say that there are some other groups
that are known not to tip. Japanese, New Zealanders,
anybody from the Mid-West of America, especially
Michigan. I am only dogging the brothers, because I
want us to have class and be above reproach when it
comes to all issues of social etiquette.
Also in defense of the brothers,
I have to mention my experience working for a large
corporation. Witness two employees. One black one
white. The black one having just returned from a
business trip, to New Orleans, turned in his $300.
Expense account receipts, while his white
counterpart, just in from Europe turned in receipts
for a couple of grand. Guess who had to sit
down with the accountant and do a line by line
itemization of expenses before he could get a
reimbursement, on next payday, while his
counterpart was cashed out by the
end of the day. Fortunately I believe in tipping, out
of my own pocket, so my receipts did not reflect any
gratuity, and I did not have to be scrutinized about
it. I suppose that we brothers (known to be
shiftless…) might even try and cheat our
employer by over tipping and then demanding a
kickback from the tippee after the receipt
is filled out.
But I digress. I'll let it go.
I have included a quick list for
tipping in the hood and some links to more detailed
information. So don't play dumb.
| |
skycaps |
$1 or more
per bag |
| |
haircutter/stylist |
15% of the
cost, generally a minimum of $1.
|
| |
Craps Dealer |
Craps
Dealers like to be part of the action with
you! |
| |
Pizza Man
|
$1-$2 if
short distance
|
| |
Furniture Delivery |
$5-$10 per
person minimum.
|
| |
Flowers Delivered |
$2-$5 for
flowers
|
| |
DJ @ Dance Club |
The general
rule of thumb is a dollar to hear a song.
|
| |
driver |
15% of the
bill |
| |
parking attendant |
$1. for
bringing you your car. |
|
