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Thursday, 28 July 2005 |
By Gary Michael Smith
Tipping the employees in a coffeehouse is looked at by some as akin to
tipping the executioner. Why tip a counter person, who is already
drawing a wage, for the task of passing your order along to a barista
for preparation, while ringing up a $3 to $5 check for a cup of coffee?
Some argue that movie theater concession vendors don't display tip
jars, nor do similarly low-paid fast-food restaurant workers. One
wouldn't even think of tipping the person who flips her burger.
What's more, many coffeehouses make dirty dish tubs accessible to their
patrons, encouraging them to bus their own dishes. One would, however,
think that tipping is more appropriate in environments where servers
deliver drinks to patrons' tables—like Cafe Nervosa on the sitcom
Frasier—and clean up after them.
On the other hand, many arguments can be made for tipping at
coffeehouses. For instance, some patrons view tipping as part of the
cost of dining. In other words, they feel it's inappropriate to expect
service without paying a gratuity. Others feel they spend so much time
in coffeehouses studying, reading, or just hanging out, that they owe
some sort of rent. Some view coffeehouse employees as highly skilled
service people who prepare exceptional drinks in a professional and
courteous manner and deserved to be tipped for their efforts.
A common and convincing reason to tip in a coffeehouse is that the
barista remembers as well as constructs an often complicated drink and
presents it beautifully using equipment the average consumer does not
have access to. As expensive as household machines may be, they simply
are not built as well as commercial equipment, which can hold the
high-pressure steam that is necessary to prepare high quality espresso
drinks.
A humanistic reason for tipping your coffee counter worker is that you
aren't necessarily tipping the person who's working the cash register
(although he or she may be sharing in the booty), but rather the person
who is making your drink. Plus, because baristas are usually paid
minimum wage, many of them depend on the additional income tips provide.
On the other side of the counter, some baristas say they can spot a
tipper the minute he or she walks through the door. One of the best
giveaways, some assert, is what a customer is wearing. When it comes to
coffeehouses, many counter servers observe that those who appear best
able to afford to tip are the ones who don't. These individuals
probably have never worked in the service industry, have little
appreciation of specialty coffee preparation as a culinary art and
don't understand how difficult the work can be and how little money the
job pays.
Then, there are the intermittent tippers who can't justify paying a
little extra for each new cup of coffee but will tip for every other,
or maybe every third cup. Finally, there are habitual tippers who tip
out of custom, and will tip whether the drink is prepared correctly or
not, and whether the service is good or bad.
But how much should you tip? The standard for diners in restaurants is
20 percent, although many still leave only 15 percent—even for good
service. Average service usually guarantees the server 10 to 12
percent. Coffeehouse patrons should consider following these same
rules, instead of tossing their spare change into countertop tip jars.
One way to put tipping at coffeehouses into perspective is to look at
how complicated your drink order is and how long you intend to linger
taking up valuable space. Not having to worry about being rushed off,
which is often the case in a busy restaurant, is worth a couple of
extra dollars.
Don't fall into the trap of believing that the change in counter jars
will make up for the baristas low wage. Based on the fact that the 10
to 20 percent left by restaurant diners actually translates to only 2
or 3 percent left in the coffeehouse tip jar, they probably won't.
Remember that tipping is a serious business to those on the receiving
end. Tipping is an old and practiced tradition in the service industry,
having begun in the late 1600s at coffeehouses in London where boxes
were marked "To Insure Promptness." Today, these boxes may well help
"to insure a living wage."
Gary Michael Smith is author of seven non-fiction books and
numerous articles for trade/technical publications. He can be reached
at his site www.ChatgrisPress.com. |
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