When a grandmother comes up to me and hands me $20, asking me to make something really crazy for her grandchild's birthday, she is giving me a tip. I have not yet done anything to earn her patronage. In fact, I could be the WORST balloon guy in the world, and she's already put money in my hand, in the hopes that it will motivate me to do something spectacular. Tips are a motivational monetary gift.
When I do a balloon for a family and the grinning, giggling girl it hugging and happy with her balloon, the $5 that the parents give me is a gratuity. They are grateful for how I have made their daughter so happy and wish to give me something in thanks for the effort. In both of these cases, it is not a payment.
Personally, I am not a fan of tips. It is a blind assumption of skill and performance that I find rarely fits with reality. If you give me $100 to make balloons for your table, and then only 3 people want balloons, and what they want is teddy bears and flowers, there is little I can do to expand that offering. It is equally challenging when a parent pulls out $1 to give me before knowing what it is I am going to make and hands it to the child before turning away and ignoring the performance. Often that child wants a pirate ship, a mermaid, or perhaps a pod racer.
When calculating a proper gratuity for a server, I look to the effort
and energy put into the work done during the meal. When giving a gratuity following a haircut, I look to see if my expectations are in line with the results, how much art was put into the efforts. When I tip my barista, it is a motivation to make a beautiful chocolate chai with maybe a little extra sweetness.
When giving a tip or a gratuity what do you consider?
and energy put into the work done during the meal. When giving a gratuity following a haircut, I look to see if my expectations are in line with the results, how much art was put into the efforts. When I tip my barista, it is a motivation to make a beautiful chocolate chai with maybe a little extra sweetness. When giving a tip or a gratuity what do you consider?
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