For Those Who Came in Late: A few weeks back, I wrote about tipping costumed characters in New York City.
I had a close encounter with five such folks − Elmo, Mickey, two Minnies and a Grinch − on Thanksgiving morning. One of them used my phone to snap a photo of me with the other four. I tipped five bucks. They insisted, loudly, that the interaction was worth $20. Nevertheless, I held firm with my original tip.
I asked readers whether five dollars was an acceptable gratuity and why (or why not).
Thirty-seven readers responded to the survey, a big reality check since I had been expecting tens of thousands of people to weigh in on a topic so vital to the future of civilized society. My wife, who excels at keeping me grounded, said without guile that 36 was twice as many as she had expected.
Despite the miniscule numbers, I was gratified that the statement “Chris’s five-dollar tip was JUST RIGHT” attracted a razor-thin majority, 51.4%. If I had been a candidate in Georgia, I wouldn’t have needed a run-off.
I’m compelled to note that in last week’s run-off in the Peach State, Raphael Warnock, as honest and upright a candidate as one could find anywhere, corralled the same percentage, which means that 48.6% still voted for Herschel Walker, werewolf hunter, who lives just a few doors down from Beelzebub.
My own 48.6% broke down differently between the two remaining choices.
Surprisingly, 37.8% of respondents agreed with “Hey, they asked Chris for a picture! He should have tipped LESS than five dollars.”
Only 10.8% of readers clicked, “Chris was a scrooge! He should have tipped twenty dollars or MORE.”
Because I’m more of a qualitative than quantitative guy, I was especially interested in the comments. Readers didn’t disappoint.
“Elmo should have at least combed his face. He deserves none of the $5,” wrote one.
“They prey on tourists,” said another. “You weren’t even a memory when they left you. They were on their way to another victim.”
“These costumers didn't drive in from Ohio,” wrote a cartoon-character sympathizer. “They most probably live in the Big Apple, and life expenses for them are a lot more comparatively than a dinky little town such as Alliance.” Later, the same commenter opined that “if you couldn't afford to give that much, you should have not agreed to have had any pictures taken.”
Another offered a similar observation: “In NYC $20 is like $5 here in flyover land. When in Rome …”
A couple respondents further noted that Starbucks, which I had just exited, bag in hand, when my tale of mouse tails (and Grinch feet and ticklish Elmos) began, was more expensive than Starbucks here in northeast Ohio. So my tip should have been larger, too.
Point taken.
But I would also argue that, if costumed mice made me say cheese in the greater Alliance area, I would have tipped a dollar or two. So I did inflate my tip because of geography.
Finally, one respondent shared a similar encounter in the Philippines, in the company of a group of fellow Marines. A street hustler painted a young Marine’s tennis shoes with white dye, effectively ruining the shoes.
“With age comes wisdom,” the reader said, “and I can say with relative confidence that you have a greater sense of tact and social grace than that young Marine had at the time. But an ass kicking seems an appropriate response in both cases.”
In closing, let me reiterate I tip generously in most situations, and I urge readers to do the same.
Especially at the holidays, when tempers are short and patience wears thin, support the people who are doing their best to make your interactions merry and bright.
Even if one of them is dressed like Elmo with an unkempt face. Maybe especially then.
Reach Chris at chris.schillig@yahoo.com. On Twitter: @cschillig.
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