> > That saying, I'm glad that tipping isn't mandatory in Australia, because I don't expect a Tip if I'm not working to my best.
>
> See, it's not that I don't think servers work *hard.* I'm sure they do. But there are also times where I work hard at my job. I do random clerical-type stuff for a small machine shop. I have to answer phones and take orders from customers (and see that they get shipped). There are days that are *extremely* busy and it's insane trying to get several orders ready for UPS, calling trucks to get them to pick-up by the time we close and answering a phone that's ringing off the hook. Should I be tipped by our customers, even though I never meet them?
>
> I essentially do the same things servers do: take orders and see that they get from one place to another. I also get to deal with complaints people have ("Where's my order? You were supposed to ship it two weeks ago!") and stuff. So why don't I get tipped?
>
> I figure it's because this is what my boss pays me to do. I have few other purposes than to deal with customers. I don't get paid more when we're busy, but then again I don't get paid less when we're not. I just think the whole tipping thing is weird.

I worked in grocery for three years, and the first half of that time was spent in a store with nine aisles and five checkstands. No, it certainly was not a big store, but a five-hour evening shift for me consisted of: periodically retrieving carts from the parking lot, restocking the milk (stored in crates higher than my head), beer (chilled and non-chilled), soda (cans and bottles, also stacked over my head), eggs (yep, more large crates), bread, and all sale items that were selling out quickly. Before I left, I also had to empty all trash cans, clean the bathrooms, and take the milk crates and pallets out to the loading dock (carrying milk crates stacked seven high was fun, especially when the wind suddenly came up from out of nowhere, as it tended to do). Oh, and in between all that, I was called for various duties including price checks and clean ups. AND I was the only one who bagged the groceries and helped people out to their car.

This was all done while maintaining a friendly, professional attitude, even when I had to do things like clean up a broken jar of pickles on aisle 2 or refill the two-liter bottles of Pepsi products three times in one night because they were on sale. I was paid minimum wage and was not allowed to accept tips. The job got even crazier when I turned 18 and could be a checker. Then I not only had to do all of the above duties, but I also filled in at the checkstands when it got busy, and sometimes I was stuck there for quite a while.

I'll get to my point now. While I do strongly believe in tipping at restaurants (I basically know what it's like, after my grocery experience), I also don't think people should *expect* the tips. I stayed in grocery for three years because I actually liked it. Working with people is something I love doing, and even when I was literally running to keep up, I only worked harder. After all, before I had that job, I wasn't bringing home any kind of a paycheck; I was grateful for any money they paid me. The problem I see is that people now expect to be tipped, no matter what. At one time, tipping was considered an acknowledgement of a job well done; now it's just considered part of the paycheck.

I'm honestly not sure how to fix this, but one place to start is to get rid of that 8 percent tax that all "waitpeople" (as Dave called them) must pay, whether or not they actually make 8 percent tips. But I have a feeling the tipping process hasn't changed because nobody really has a good suggestion for how to go about changing it, now that it's in place.

Conclusion: Sorry, Dave, but I don't see tipping going out of style in the near future.

Ell"always tips, because you never know if there were unseen factors hindering the waiter"myruh