Ephrem Endale Contributer
The guy was in the wrong place. Being a fellow who despite his very modest income likes to draw attention enters a certain restaurant for the first time. After ding justice to his hungry cells the bill comes and the planet Mars comes crashing down.
What! The only reason a heart attack escaped him probably was because Mother Nature felt sorry for him. But with all the well-heeled, literally ‘polished’ people around he didn’t want to create the impression he didn’t belong; he pays pulling out three, hundred birr notes.
The next real blow came from him; the tip he left was twenty-eight birr, his return from the three hundred. ! Well, he actually didn’t really leave it as tip. He left it because he didn’t want others to see him picking it up!
“I wasn’t thinking of leaving that money.”
“Then why did you?”
“I didn’t want to be embarrassed!”
I will tell you what I think about tips. You tip for the good service you get. Why in the world should I tip x a waitress who practically threw the plate on the table sending a few French fries all over my lap? Why should I tip her since, taking my orders her face appears like she was suddenly confronted by King Kong! Look, the lady might be nice looking; you know one of the kind who turn a few heads everywhere they go.
But her attitude is what matters to me and not how many heads her cute face turns! When she is taking my orders she acts as if I am responsible for her being in that place; have you ever encountered such a face? I mean outside the home, if you know what I mean.
You are there to have something to eat well aware the bill will be a Tyson uppercut on your wallet and the lady doesn’t even smile! Those guys are supposed to do that, aren’t they? I mean smile when taking orders and the like:
Believe me not many people tip when you come to those places where that mystical middle class or lower goes. You give a hundred fifty birr and you have one birr and fifty cents left. You probably wouldn’t pick that up; you leave it on whatever it came on. And you think t you’ve tipped. No, you haven’t. You just thought taking it will be embarrassing, just like our guy above.
So the lady might have these magnetic genes which make the family man, father of five lament, “Where was she when I was younger three decades back?” But her niceness wouldn’t cover for her poor handling of customers. So, why should I tip such a waitress who spoils my day!
In fact, come to think of it, she should be the one tipping me, or her bosses. Why? Well here is why, in the first place she acted like she was treating a domestic worker when she asked me for my orders and later put it on the table.
The way she put it you might think she must have been a discus thrower in another life. And I didn’t complain; I didn’t raise my voice and shout, “Treason! Treason! That’s what they did to me!” Of course, she might have an uncle in some high place who just looks for excuses to flex his muscle.
Second, the food was so bad I ate it not thinking of the vitamins and whatever but about survival. When it comes to survival anything in the belly is welcome. That’s how bad the food was. I didn’t complain. I didn’t stand on my table and predict the ultimate doomsday because the hotel guys have offended the wrong person. Yes, they should be the ones to tip me.
And, there’s her Boyfriend. He should tip me through some wire transfer, Internet banking or one of those financial jargons we have become familiar with. I’m saying this for his own good.
If I let out all the system and tell her word for word what I feel about her that very moment her boyfriend is going to lose his once-a-week whatever, which will be rescheduled for once a month. He’s going to have a hard time charming her back into her senses. No I’d not feel guilty! Not the way she treated me.
Here is reminder; if you and I bump heads at some bar or restaurant and you see me tip the waitress ten birr, you should do one of the two things. First just by looking at me who is still wondering who stole fifteen centimeters of my God-given height, and the waitress who seems to have stolen the twenty centimeters of her height from a few mortals feel free laugh! Yes, yes, yes; love doesn’t know about such things.
Who talked about love! (At one instant “What’s love got to do with it!” sounded like a political weapon or something around here. Whoever first thought of it was maybe not thinking only about politics.
The second is if you see me tipping ten birr what you should do is approach me and ask; “Are you feeling alright?” because one thing I’m not alright is ‘alright!’
Browsing the web you sometime see news of some guy tipping a waitress ten thousand dollar or so! Ten thousand dollars for a tip! That’s no tipping. That’s philanthropy!
No sir, I’m not going to tip for services I am not happy about; I’d chose resting my tipping hand!
The Ethiopian Herald February 7/2021