This discussion about people doing their jobs reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend at dinner just yesterday. We had a lovely dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia - at which we tipped the server generously (she deserved it!) We left the restaurant and walked to the garage where I had parked my car. Unrelated to the point of this post, we noticed the sign that read, "oversized vehicles will be charged more." Among the oversized vehicles listed was the "Range Ruler." I am not an expert on car makes and models, but I have never heard of a Range Ruler. I'll have to look that up this morning. Anyway, as we waited for the attendant, my friend asked me if and how much I plan on tipping the attendant. Perhaps because I have become jaded by thinking that everyone now believes they should be compensated above and beyond what is normal (see praise and hero status for Sully as an example) or that as a society we believe that should be case, I immediately replied, "Nothing. Isn't he just doing his job?" My friend turned to me and said, "But wasn't the waitress just doing her job and she got a tip." Hmmmm. Where do you draw the line?
Troubled by the tipping question, then reading Mike C.'s post this morning, I decided to find out (perhaps too late) when is it appropriate to tip. Well, Miss Manners doesn't have her book online (unfortunately) but several other people have prepared guides to help determine when and in what amount you should tip. The Original Tipping page has a guide for US and international tipping. TipGuide.org provides a handy reference as well.
I even went so far as to get a definition of tip, from the US Code of Federal Regulations. It reads:
"A tip is a sum presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed for him. It is to be distinguished from payment of a charge, if any, made for the service. Whether a tip is to be given, and its amount, are matters determined solely by the customer, and generally he has the right to determine who shall be the recipient of his gratuity."
I consider what we do here in the library to be a service, but there is no guide to tipping the librarian. Are we not deserving of a tip when we provide excellent service? What makes the service we provide any different from the service the waitress, the parking attendant, or the teacher (OK, I'll give you the first two, but librarians ARE teachers) provides? Should we put up a tip jar at the circulation and reference desks? Are librarians praised by getting a book published or an interview with Matt Lauer when they provide services "above and beyond" what might be considered normal? I think not.
Don't get me wrong. I am not necessarily advocating tips for librarians - or for any profession. I just need some help in understanding when tipping is actually necessary and when is it appropriate to bestow hero status on someone for doing what we would expect them to do - their job!
So what are your thoughts about tipping? What are your thoughts about "Sully?"
The parking attendant got a tip, BTW.
Addendum: I posted an abbreviated version of this on my facebook page, and a colleague commented, "Hmmm. Look at the number of times that pilots land airliners. Then look at the number of times they make water landings. Landing on dry land is their job. Landing in water is their nightmare. Almost always accompanied by loss of life. So, perhaps he was just "doing his job" but if so he did it in an extraordinary way."
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