BTW, what is this about the red algae? Is this thrown in as a red herring, to try to cool down the thread????
Anyway, I do make a practice of tipping, at least when I know a tip is expected, and is merited. Yet every time I tip I get this uncomfotable feeling. It's as if I am placing myself on a higher plane, doling out money to my inferiors as a token of my largesse and superiority.
I see a lot of people holding up a tip as an incentive. As in, "do a good job and I'll make it worth your while." Such sentiments always evoke a mental picture in my mind of a dog owner holding a side of bacon just out of the reach of his slavering pooch--"be a good doggie and look what I'll do for you!"
In short, I find tipping patronizing and demeaning. I want to look at my divemaster, my hairdresser, etc. as human beings and peers, not as servants trying to ingratiate themselves with me so that I will be impelled to dispense more money.
I try to minimize this problem, when appropriate, by placing the tip in an envelope, maybe with a thank-you card; but still it stings.
Recently I was in the Philippines, and a man there taught me a lesson. He had been our driver for a month; taking us wherever we wanted to go, keeping the vehicle clean, doing our shopping, and doing a lot of little extras. Yes, he got paid--about $100 US per month, which isn't that much, even in the Philippines, especially when you have seven kids at home.
Toward the end of our time there, I realized I had not given the driver a tip. I rolled up some banknotes as small as I could, went to him and thanked him for all he had done, and handed him the rolled-up money. He couldn't see how much it was, and he didn't even try. He simply refused to take the tip. His explanation made me understand that he did what he did as a fellow human being, not as someone trying to profit from those he helped.
I later bought his wife a nice gift, which she graciously accepted. But a gift, of course, is quite different from a tip. It implies equality and friendship with a fellow human being. For me, a tip is an unfortunate remnant of the colonial system.
Yes, I've read all the arguments on this thread--at least the ones that weren't deleted. I see some valid points. But I'd have to agree with those who wish service industries would charge what the service is worth, and let their people keep their dignity.
