The tipping point

September 9, 2008 - 7:21 PM by

tip jar2.jpgThere’s a rumor going around that Israeli wait staff often don’t receive the tips that are left for them. Instead, it’s said that restaurant and cafe owners are paying their wait staff salaries from the tips, instead of keeping them as that extra cash that’s received, over and above their salary.

What gave me pause in hearing this was that it was coming from not just one person, but several over the course of one week. And, it wasn’t coming from people who don’t like to tip, but always do, even when it’s not deserved.

So we conducted an extremely unscientific survey, asking waiters at a random sampling of cafes and restaurants in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv area. Most of them — young, somewhat inexperienced and embarassed — kind of fumbled when answering, which made it seem like they don’t receive their tips. From the Yellow Paz station store attendants, whose tip jars read “Od tip tipa (just a little more) and I’ll finish paying for my college education/get to India/pay for a car,” to a waiter at Cup ‘O Joe and a few more at some higher end establishment, none of them could definitively tell us, ‘Yes, I receive my tips.’

Now, it can certainly be said that the wait service at many Israeli food establishments is less than stellar. I’m thinking of the coffee stop I made today with my parents, where the fairly surly barista/waiter made snide comments about our requests for strong decaffeinated coffee — he felt such a concept is an oxymorom — and had to be asked several times to bring water to the table. And at times like those, you think, “Why should I tip this person, when I’m not receiving good service?” When you consider that the Hebrew term for tip is sherut, which also means service, it brings a whole new meaning to the custom. But of course, we did tip him, because that’s one what one does.

It’s not as if this kind of thinking is new, either. Back in 2005, the New Yorker’s James Surowiecki wrote that tipping is a powerful social norm, bringing people to tip, “even when they don’t have to,” even when the service doesn’t deserve that extra gift. But here in Israel, there’s yet to be a backlash against tipping. In fact, Israelis are tipping more than ever, moving out of the 10% range to 12% and 15%, particularly at cafes where their total bill isn’t all that high.

Will I stop tipping? Probably not, even though I’m not interested in helping restaurant owners pay the salaries of their staff. But I’m not sure I’m ready to take that kind of stand…

Tags: , , • Category: A New Reality, General, Israeliness 

Comments

2 Comments on The tipping point

  1. Benji on Wed, Sep 10th 2008 4:29 PM

    2. I often ask myself why I bother tipping 10% when I receive less than good service. Then I remind myself that I’m asking that as an American. What I may call not good service may be average there (like how it often takes forever to bring a glass of water if it even happens). So it’s all relative.

  2. Jessica on Wed, Sep 10th 2008 7:56 PM

    3. ’tis. just frustrating sometimes…

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