Speaking of “I’m too poor” I’ve had many passengers come in and say “Please take me to point B. I only have $20″ or some other amount of money as they seem to be regular riders who know how much it costs them to get from A to B. These passengers are ALWAYS outgoing talkative passengers. However, I when you announce you only have a certain amount of money, I do NOT engage in coversation with these riders. I’m willing to take you to where you need to go - often its a $21 fare but they only have $20 (I know they always have more, but they just don’t want to pay it). I’m already not happy that you are cheating me out of a dollar or two PLUS tip. While I’m greatful that you are able to cover the fare, you have given me no incentive to provide you with great service. Just try telling a server that you only have enough to cover the meal when you are handed the menu.

I’ve noticed that a lot of servers go into restaurants and tip poorly and also treat other servers poorly. Ness just had a customer the other day who was saying she sympathized with her because she was a server, and then proceeds to treat Ness like crap and left her a $1 tip when her check was $30. Seriously, if you know what it’s like to be a server then why do you do shit like that?

I’ve never bought that “I’m too poor excuse.” It’s bullshit. If you’re so poor, take a damn bus. It’s cheaper than taking a taxi. People just have no patience. And then people wonder why they get bad service. It’s because you don’t have the decency to be a good customer.

I drive a taxi and I am greatful if you just pay the fare itself. The tip is a bonus which I truly appreciate. However, you could not believe how many people pay the fare minus tip and say to me “I’m sorry I don’t have the money tip you. I am poor.” While I don’t remember my previous non-tipping passengers very well, the ones who give me that line are the ones who I remember the best. Next time I pick them up, I will be sure to run reds and take the long way around.

My worst 2 passengers?
1. A customer who kept complaining about my cab company and how they treated him - During his rant, he told me “Don’t worry - I am a good tipper.” And during the ride, all I could say was “I’m sorry our company treated you badly.” As he left the cab, he DID NOT tip! I never did get the chance to ask him why since I was so pissed at that point that he said he would be a good tipper and never did.

2. A restaurant employee with a manager lever job gets in my cab. At the end, she gives me the “Sorry no tip. I am poor” line. I would have loved to ask the lady “Hey, if one of your waitresses got stiffed on tip, what would you think about that customer?”

If you can’t afford to tip, just don’t say so! I don’t get pissed over that. Just don’t rub salt over our wounds by telling us that you are too poor to tip!

Tipping etiquette is stupid. I figure if someone is making minimum wage, you should be able to tip them if they are doing something that you don’t want to do. Like get out of your car to pump gas or fix a burger. Because it would only take my time to make a burger myself, get out of my car to pump gas, or fix my own cup of coffee. And a lot of people treat food service workers like shit anyway. It’s ridiculous really. I mean, so what if they make less than you, you don’t know their situation. How can you judge someone by where they work and what they do? But people do anyway.

This is the the same for basically everything here, though. You don’t tip delivery men, taxi drivers, hair stylists, etc. because that’s not the custom. What I normally do, though, is just round up, so if something costs c4.700 ($9.40), I just pay c5.000 ($10). Aka “keep the change.” That tends to work very well.

The U.S. has always confused me because I never know what to tip for and what not to. You tip the people that deliver you pizza, but not the ones who deliver your kabillion $ computer equipment (FedEx or UPS, I mean). You tip the guy who cuts your hair, but not the one who fills your car up with gas. The lists go on, of course, but I could never keep it straight. I just like it better when prices are a little higher, but always include the tip.

I have a friend that is a cosmetologist. If someone’s cutting your hair, you should tip them. I have a story about her and one of the girls that works with Ness. It’s a bad story. My friend works in an upscale salon. This girl got her hair permed and colored. My friend told her to not put her hair in a pony tail or to get it wet. She comes into work the next day with her hair in a pony tail. Ness sees this. The girl goes back after work to my friend and says it didn’t work and wants her to fix it. She fixed it for free. Her original bill was like $130. She tipped her $2. And when my friend fixed her hair, she didn’t tip her at all.

Cheap…bastards. Seriously.

Also, I think really 15% is out of date. I always tip servers 20-25% unless they’re absolutely terrible, then they get the minimum. As inflation rises but wages don’t, I think tipping percentages should adjust accordingly.

Anyway, I absolutely agree that the way a person tips is a good indication of their character.