Recently (as it happens every once in a while) I decided to re-evaluate my views on tipping and see if I needed to add or remove anything from the “will tip” pool. Sure enough, after some [not so] deep thought I decided that tipping a cab driver for a ride is one of those things I can safely remove from the required tip pool.
Before you start to get all defensive and claim that the cab drivers depend on the tips for their wages and that they provide a service and you tip for a service..etc etc let me clarify my position and also state that me not tipping doesn’t mean you have to not tip; it’s your choice!
Sure, if the cab driver provided you with an abnormal taxi experience, or somehow otherwise stepped outside the “driver” role, then feel free to tip away. On the other hand, if they just picked you up, and drove you to your destination, then I would not tip and here is why. The product you paid for was the ride and the driver is a part of the product. Without the driver there is no product. I view this differently from a true service industry (like food) where you consume a product separate from the service provided by the staff. When I tip in a restaurant, I don’t just tip my waiter directly, I take into account the support staff that make up the entire experience (even though I know my food costs have taken that into account to some extent).
Another thing about cabs that differs from a normal service experience is how the costs can be figured in. In a NYC cab, the price is listed as per some fraction of a mile OR time elapsed. This means that the cab driver’s “time” can be figured in just as much as the operation costs of the taxi itself. The longer you sit in a cab, the longer the cabbie “serves” and the higher your fare goes. it grows with the time of service (or distance of service). The fact that there is an additional tip often given is just encouragement to not price the fare correctly. But I am sure the cab companies know the costs and have figured them into account.
I take the same stance on other services which cannot be separated in a meaningful way from the service giver, like a haircut for example. The haircut (product) and person doing the haircut cannot be separated, otherwise you won’t be getting a haircut anymore. Various haircuts have their own levels of complexity and can be priced accordingly (and often are). The stylist (or barber) will know the time taken for the haircut and effort involved in the requested style. But you have to be careful about future service investment.
Future service investment is the idea that by tipping today and being a repeat customer, you will get good service next time. While some may sneer at this concept, it is something valid to take into account when determining your tip amount. A taxi ride has a lack of future service investment with respect to tipping. By not tipping you do not run the risk of ruining the service for your next taxi ride simple because the chance that you will encounter the same taxi driver for your next ride are… well, small (discounting custom limo services or the like with a limited driver base). This means that (unlike a resaurant you frequent) tipping a taxi does not “invest” into your future with the taxi company. You may begin to think that you ruin the experience for the next person and so on, but you don’t. The driver will most likely shrug you not tipping off as a nothing, or better yet make an effort to be a better cabbie for the next person who will most likely provide a tip. But lets say that many people stop tipping cab drivers, then either the cost will rise to reflect the “true” cost (which I am confident is already in the price) or the cost won’t rise and cab drivers will no longer expect tips and drive as usual. Think of yourself as a foreigner who (probly well and good knows about US tipping customs) but still doesn’t tip because… well who cares, they won’t be back).
While my overall views on all tipping are negative, mostly because I don’t think it should be a socially common thing to do, I acknowledge that some jobs and wages are constructed with the idea of tipping in mind. Mostly, I don’t like to promote the idea that the price listed is not the real price. If there are costs involved, then those costs should be figured into the price of the good being consumed. But if the time and effort spect cannot be well predicted in advance, then you do have a genine opportunity for some tipping (not the expreme society has come to accept as the norm). Don’t always tip just because there is an are on the receipt for “tip” or because the option is there. Tipping should be something that is above and beyond, not boring and ordinary, otherwise, the whole notion is diluted.
One Comment
While I disagree with you about tipping cabbies and hairstylists, I do agree that there is an increasing overuse of the tip jar at restaurants, coffee shops, and the like. My policy for food-service tipping is that if my order is taken and my food delivered to a location remote to where it is prepared, I will tip. That is, I will tip at sit-down restaurants and for deliveries. On the other hand, I will not tip at counter service restaurants or for carryout orders. I think these are unnecessary locations to tip, since only a minimum level of service is required to move my order from the kitchen to the counter (otherwise, I couldn’t purchase it). In addition, I don’t tip for food preparation under the principles you described about separation. That is, the cost of the food must include the cost to prepare it, since I’m not simply paying for raw materials. One example of this practice that I’ve found particularly annoying is the “Gas Money for the Crew” tip jar that I believe I’ve seen at Moe’s before. After all, I cannot receive tips at my place of work, but I’m still expected to drive there using my own gas. It’s all part of the job.
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