Cozzie's Corner  (Dianna Cozzie holds a Mater degree in Metaphysics, Professional Astrologer, Certified Hypnotherapist, Author and Teacher.)

Food FOR THOUGHT

Imagine with me, if you will, a new concept. Let's go shopping. Pick your favorite shopping mall, be sure you have your checkbook and lots of cash, preferably $1s and $5s. Most people like to buy new clothes for work. Let's pretend that we spend around $500 for a few new outfits. We would need shoes to go with our new outfits and lets say that we spend another $250 for shoes. Now the fun part comes in with finding accessories for our new outfits and so we spend $200 for accessories. Now, just for the finishing touches to our shopping day, we stock up on toiletry items, make-up, saving lotions, or whatever, so let's add another $100.This may even be a moderate priced shopping spree, but it will serve the purpose.

Our grand total comes to $1050.00. But we are not finished spending. Imagine that all along the way we had to tip all the employees of all the stores that we purchased from, costing us another $210.00 (20% for tips!). Why would we have to do that?! Because the owners of these stores, bringing in a LOT of money, do not want to pay their own employees, they are expecting you and I to do that, so more money in their pockets and less in ours. That is a fantastic money saver for the store owners, wouldn't you agree?How would they get us to that, you may ask? Well if they told you that their employees would not get paid unless you tipped them, everyone would feel sorry for how hard they work and tip them! Right?

First of all, I was always under the impression that a tip was a tip not a mandatory % of your bill. Tips started a

long time ago, when someone somewhere in time decided that a person did a very good, extra service and gave them a dime or even a quarter to say "thanks." How on earth that ever evolved to mandatory gratuity, and 20% to boot, is beyond me.

Let's ponder this in greater detail. If we can get a hair cut and color for $65.00 in one salon, but that same color and cut would cost us $185.00 in another salon, why, with the same amount of time, product and effort should I have to pay that much more in a tip @ 20%. My real question is why should I have to tip at all with a bill of $185.00 or even $65.00?

What about tipping in restaurants? I have seen waitresses running to keep up with orders, and the bills on average may be $15.00, so 20% of that would be $3.00. I have also seen waitresses in top notch restaurants working far less, working fewer tables, however the bills on average may be $300, so 20% of that would be $60.00!!!!!And I ask, for what? I received the same service in both restaurants, had the same amount of food delivered to the table and asked for the same amount of coffee refills.

Ponder this, just as food for thought. If a restaurant owner gets $300 for a table of two, how much could that food for two cost? I hope at least someone out there will agree with me that the owner should be able to pay for his or her own employees, instead of expecting us to pay for the meal and pay his employee's wages. We, as tippers, don't even get to write this off on taxes that we are paying for employee's wages, yet that is just what we are doing.

I overheard a teacher at a beauty school say to one of the students, "This is real easy. You just mix one part of this to one part of that, apply to only the outgrowth and you are done. And when you are out in a shop that will be $60 plus your tip! " Now here is where I can see a tip would be nice, but should never be mandatory. The young girl is learning and doing her best, not making any money, the money will go to the school, so a tip would be nice. But once she is out in a salon making top dollar for a few minutes of work, because that is all it really takes, why should we have to pay a tip on top of it? Once again, I don't know where this 20% figure came from, but that would cost another $12.00 in tip?! If we give them our business that should be tip enough.

Of course I know that all beauticians and waitresses may not like this article at all. I only ask you to be reasonable and think of what it would be like if everyone feels that they should be tipped for what they do for you. Just imagine that when you buy food, you will have to pay a tip for wringing you up and putting the food in bags for you. You go into the gas station and the man or lady takes you credit card to pay for the gas, but now you have to tip them for their service to you. How ludicrous is this starting to sound? My question, is why not tip them as well? You may answer, well they are already getting paid for doing their job. Well then, that is what I'm saying as well. Everyone should get their salary, that is paid by their employer and tipping should be a thing of the past.