To tip or not to tip, thats the question

Extrapolating on an op-ed piece by a certain Steven A. Shaw in the nytimes (for those who want to/can read the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/opinion/10shaw.html), tipping to me seems European, elitist - it is something you give when you feel nice about your service (generally, when you feel nice - period!). Seems to a customer that it provides a waiter/waitress an incentive to work harder, impress you. Now, I have at some point in my life worked as a waiter also - I have tried to impress the customer to make a few bucks over my pathetic hourly. The system works; but, its not capitalistic!

When you order food from the menu, with the prices next to the items, it gives you at best, a ballpark figure of what your bill could be - there is the money for the food, then the tax, then a possible service charge (aka gratuity..?), or a suggested tip, or a tip-from-the-heart - I don't know - its hard! What if you had a figure next to a bottle of wine, which you know is all you were gonna pay for the last drop in there - tax, tip, all added. Wouldn't it make both the customer's life AND the waiter's life easier and more straightforward? The downside to that (the customer thinks), what happens to the waiter's incentive to perform well now, to impress you - can he/she spit in your food (in front of you!), safe in the knowledge that a portion of what you pay is gonna land up in his/her pocket anyway? Hmm..

My take having seen both sides of the tipping divide (pun'ny) (finally!) - the tip being added to the menu prices is better for the waiter - permit me to explain - in almost all restaurants, all your tip money goes into a pool, which is split up between the waiters, chefs, cleaners, etc. at the end of the day. Further, (from personal experience), the higher in the hierarchy you are in the "food chain" (ooh..in form here), the bigger your slice of the pie (irrespective of your contribution to the pool). Not surprising really! So that waiter who impressed you with his/her finest behavior, touching you as she spoke, giggling, filling up your glass promptly, she/he ain't getting what you thought they deserved. Also, I believe there are more bad tippers out there than good ones - so by standardizing the tip amount and adding it to the price, the waiters stand to gain - their pool will *definitely* become bigger.

On the contrary, having a tipping practice is good for the customer - makes going to a restaurant and dining a more interesting, talk-able experience (my favorite talking point as I sign the cheque and draw the chair out for the lady), makes you feel like the waiters are out to impress you. Adding it to the menu would deprive the customer of a chance to impress his co-diners of his/her generosity/largesse.

In conclusion, there are always going to be places that make you tip, some that force it on you - just laying out both sides for you..