WTF ? A simple rant.

[Martinjmpr]

I probably should add that I'm certainly not going to stop tipping and that I always tip, whether service is good or bad, in those businesses where tipping is customary (as I said above, if service is bad, I will let someone know, but really that almost never happens these days.)

As of now, tipping is the norm at many businesses and I'm certainly not going to punish the worker who's job is dependent on tips just because I think there may be a better way to achieve the same objective. I always tip when I get my hair cut, for example, and if I'm ordering at a bar or restaurant where tipping is customary, of course I'll tip there, too. Most of the rest of "tipping culture" is irrelevant to me since I really don't use services where tipping is the custom (taxi/Uber, hotel porters, food delivery services, newspaper delivery, housekeeper, lawn service, etc.)

I'm just saying that (1) Tipping may be "customary" in America but there are plenty of places where it's not and things work just fine in those places and (2) I think there are better ways of incentivizing good behavior and punishing bad behavior than by tipping or failing to tip.

Tipping is a relic of a stratified society with "uppers" and "lowers" and IMO has no place in a modern civilized commercial context where people exchange goods and services for money in an equal status.

[Aloha_Shooter]

I'm just saying that (1) Tipping may be "customary" in America but there are plenty of places where it's not and things work just fine in those places and (2) I think there are better ways of incentivizing good behavior and punishing bad behavior than by tipping or failing to tip.

Tipping is a relic of a stratified society with "uppers" and "lowers" and IMO has no place in a modern civilized commercial context where people exchange goods and services for money in an equal status.

Yes, Australia and Ireland get along just fine without tipping. Of course, food and services cost a lot more there too. They also have a far different service culture than the U.S.

I highly disagree with your last statement. Tipping is an element of a more fully capitalist culture that rewards performance over mere existence. In the U.S., the "uppers" tend to be poorer tippers than the "lowers". In my experience, the best tippers are often people who have actually worked at those jobs.