Re: Why do blacks not tip?

TooRadical wrote:
> I must admit, I have given small tips in some situations. Consider
> this, does it make sense to tip someone who earns more than you do? Do
> professionals, regardless of income, ever receive tips? I don't think
> so. Yet, low status occupations, like a waiter, are always tipped,
> without regard to their actual level of income.

Now, that's not fair at all.  Many professional are tipped.  I worked as 
a waiter for years and I was a professional.  I had to have a large 
amount of knowledge about wines, liquors, foods, cooking techniques, 
nutrition, even food allergies and other matters.  I spoke (still speak) 
several languages to communicate with my foreign guests.  I had to have 
a large amount of knowledge on various serving and dining customs in 
order to serve a diverse clientelle.  I made good money, too.
Of course, I wasn't serving at Denny's.  I served dinners that averaged 
$70-100/plate.
Now, in some countries (not America) waiters are respected for the 
knowedgable professionals that they are, highly respected, even, in many 
European nations.
Further, now that I photograph weddings (on the side) I receive tips for 
a job well done, too, and I am decidedly a professional
Hairdressers are tipped.  Many professional delivery personnel, livery 
and service staff are tipped.  They are indeed professional who take 
pride in their profession and know a lot about various aspects of what 
they do.  They are worthy of respect, and tipping is the respectful 
thing to do if it is customary to a profession.

> I'm no sociologist, but I would guess that people who are a members of
> a group with lower perceived social status would tend to interact
> differently with someone who is a member of a racial or ethnic group
> which has higher perceived status. 

Status, schmatus.  If you can come into a restaurant and pay $120 for a 
meal for two, then you should have the "status" to pay the waiter for 
serving you.

Could this be why your Black
> customers don't tip you? It's not that they can't afford to give you a
> tip, its just that they want to keep their interaction with you at
> arms length.

The service that I provided guests was always consistent regardless of 
their apparent ethnicity.  One never knows much about anyone from 
appearances.  Although my experience was similar to the author of the 
original post on this thread, I routinely received substandard tips from 
 black Americans (roughly 90% of guests in this ethnic category tipped 
10% or less).  Black folks from other nations (England, Canada, Africa, 
etc) tipped by customary expectations, 15-20% or better.

> BTW, in some cultures, tipping is considered an insult. It's taken as
> an assertion of the superiority of served over the server. I can
> understand that point of view. Would you tip a member of your family
> for bringing you food? In all cases, wouldn't sincere appreciation be
> more highly valued than a couple of dollars?

Truth told, it is considered customary to NOT tip someone who makes more 
money than you do.

> Now, I must admit I've never worked at a job where tips were expected.
> I can image though, that a tip might make me feel that the tipper is
> implying that they are at the same level as my employer. You know,
> "the wage giver". 

As a waiter for years my contention was that the guest in the restaurant 
WAS my boss, if you ask me (and I always referred to them as guests, not 
customers).  I was only subcontracted by the restaurant to serve them. 
After all, the restaurant paid me $4.25/hour out of which taxes were 
taken so that would take home a $90 paycheck at the end of the week, all 
the while the guests routinely tipped me about $20-30/hour (I wokred in 
nice restaurants) out of which I routinely took home $700-900/week 
(almost twice what I now make as a highly educated, professional public 
school teacher, wherein I work twice as many hours and bring tons of 
work home.  Darn, I wish the students would start tipping!).  Who do YOU 
think I was working for?  (Not the same as pizza delivery, of course).


Or, that they are more successful financially than
> me, and this is their little act of charity. Either way, it wouldn't
> make me feel particularly good, regardless of the amount of the tip.
>
> Attitude is everything, I guess..