06 JAN 2017: The origins of the word “tip” (as in gratuity) are much disputed. One popular myth touts it as an acronym for, “To Insure Promptness” (Politeness in some versions). Others would have us believe it’s a truncated form of “stipend”. Whatever the truth, I for one think that nowadays a more accurate reading might be, “Totally Inappropriate Payment”.

I am not against tipping, however it does bother me that a significant percentage of “tipees” fail to recognize that there is any relationship whatsoever between the level of service rendered and the level of gratuity tendered. Just recently, having left only a 10% tip on a $200 bill, an irate waiter pursued us out of a New York City restaurant. My response to his loud, “Excuse me sir, but was there something wrong with the service?” was, “Yes, there wasn’t very much of it.”

Tipping practices made their way into the news last week when the Hotel Elysian, in Chicago, announced that there would be no tipping at this recently opened five star property. In a prepared statement CEO David Pisor said, “I just don’t think it’s luxurious to always have to think about having to tip people for doing the jobs they do every day. We try to eliminate your need to have to have extra cash on you to get someone to do something.”

Bravo! My wife would say it’s my Scottish “canniness” but I must say I wholeheartedly agree with him.

Of course the industry reaction has been one of shock and horror.

A spokesperson for the American Hotel and Lodging Association said, “If you go to no-tipping, certain positions that have always lived off tips, like doormen, well, what will they do?”

Well, maybe they will just have to ask that their employers pay them an appropriate wage for the job they do, rather than relying on their guests to subsidize their payroll!

It is an unfortunate fact of life in North America that tipping has become such a reflex reaction, even though the service provided bears no relationship to the gratuity. Certain situations will automatically receive certain amounts – but why?

Take situation A – You step out of your hotel, the waiting cabbie sees you and edges forward ten feet. The uniformed hotel employee opens the door for you and you are programmed to slip him a dollar bill. One second – one buck!

Situation B is at your local watering-hole. – You buy a beer for four dollars and put a five-dollar bill on the bar. I will wager that 90% of us won’t think twice about leaving the change – a 25% tip for a thirty second encounter. All the bar tender has done is open a bottle and perhaps, if it’s a swanky place, given you a glass.

Then there’s situation C – You take the two kids to Swiss Chalet where they proceed to make a real nuisance of themselves and spread the leftovers all over the table. The “service provider” nee “waitperson”, nee “waitress”, spends an hour shuttling food while keeping a stiff upper lip and saying things like, “Oh, no need to apologize, it happens all the time”, as she wipes gravy off the lampshade. For an hour’s valiant endeavour, she gets a 10% tip on a fifty-dollar bill.

Where’s the equity? But wait a minute – doesn’t every story have three sides; yours, mine and the truth?

To be fully exposed to the other sides of the tipping debate, I will yield to Barbara Ehrenreich and her landmark book “Nickled and Dimed” – subtitled, “On (not) getting by in America”.

This amazing insight into America’s “working poor” is guaranteed to modify your views on tipping forever. For example, since reading this startling book, whenever I feel I have been well served in a restaurant, I now always leave the tip in cash as opposed to putting it on to the credit card. This way I know it has a better chance of staying with the intended recipient, as opposed to simply inflating the management’s bottom line.

So, while I don’t expect a one-off Chicago hotel initiative to tip the world on its ear, I am concerned that the news coverage might stimulate some regrettable copy-cat responses in other travel segments.

On the, “many a true word.” front, I can just imagine Michael O’Leary of Ryanair rubbing his hands with glee and saying, “Tipping eh? Now that could really drive our cabin crew costs down!”