Cerebrations

To Tip or Not to Tip

6 Comments

Boise, Idaho

I stopped at this Fast Eddy’s (a c-store, gas station, + car wash) to get a Diet Pepsi after pickleball yesterday.

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FE-Ten-Mile-1 (1)(Nothing tastes as good as an ice cold DP after PB. 🙂 )

I haven’t been to this particular convenience store in a long time, and I was shocked to see tip jars at each of the cashiers’ stations.

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I get tipping for services, but after seeing the tip jars at a convenience store I must admit that I’m confused.

I’ve tipped at restaurants, fast food places, hair salons, etc… And I’m a frequent and decent tipper.

But I’ve never tipped someone just for holding up my Diet Pepsi to a bar code scanner, telling me what I owe, and taking my money.

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I just don’t think of that as a service.

Maybe I would if the cashier sang a song, did a little tap dancing, or perhaps wielded my Diet Pepsi with the flair of an Ichiban chef…

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But, wait, maybe clerking is a service now that there are self-checkout options at many stores.

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I’m a fan of self-checkout because it usually saves me time, but, if that’s leading to clerks asking for tips, I’ll quit self-checkout immediately.

6 thoughts on “To Tip or Not to Tip”

  1. I agree with you Kathy. However, I tend not to use self-checkout much because I stink at it. There is a scene in “Sherlock” where Watson gives up shopping because of problems checking out. My favorite part is “unexpected item in bagging area” as I always have problems at Fresh & Easy with that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4EGHOrSC4o

    1. Hilarious, Joanne. While I love self check out, I’ve decided not to use it anymore unless I get some sort of incentive. Shouldn’t I get at least a portion of the checker’s wages? 🙂

  2. Interesting and what a shocker. In Europe, tipping large is frowned upon and I think tipping at all is a bit sketchy.

    But, I think the workers get decent wages, health insurance and actual paid time off as a standard perk of all jobs. Could be wrong, but I think that’s the way over there. Not sure about England.

    I recently saw a commercial encouraging some app to help workers figure out what to actually do with their unused vacation days. Like I have to be bribed to take days off. SAR!

    1. I’ve seen that commercial, too, Carol. Many American workers are very hesitant to take time off. It’s interesting to read about some companies encouraging time off.

    1. Melissa and her teacher friends say “SAR” when they know a child has issues that haven’t been diagnosed yet. SAR = Something Ain’t Right.

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