Opinion How about some service?! By Scott T. Hards	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
サービスなくしてチップなし 満足のいくようなサービスを提供されていないのにチップを求められるケースがアメリカで増えている。 チップはサービスへの対価であるべきなのだが。

I'ｖe just returned from a trip to the United States, and I was reminded of something I love to forget when I come back to Japan: restaurant tipping.

Japan has almost no culture of tipping, that is, the custom of giving extra money to service people. That would include restaurant servers, taxi drivers, hotel staff and others. I sure hope it stays that way.

5 Ironically, I used to think it was the lack of tipping that caused the frequently disinterested, robotic service in Japanese restaurants. In contrast, most American restaurants had staff who seemed friendly, competent and genuinely concerned about making the meal experience as pleasant as possible.

I'm not so sure that's the case anymore. On my recent trip, bad or mediocre service was the norm. At one location, we couldn't find our waiter to request anything. I found myself searching for a Japanese-style push-button caller.

At another, the waitress was artificially friendly and cloying, coming to our table five or six times to ask the usual, "So how is everybody doing here?" ("We're still fine, thanks.")

Or worse, some places want tips for nothing! A few self-service restaurants have tip cups sitting by the cash register. The staff does nothing more than type in your order and take your money, and they think that deserves a tip. Unless people are delivering above and beyond the absolute minimum level of service required, why should we be expected to pay above the minimum price?

Tips seem to be losing their original function: to inspire good service. If the server thinks it's going to be an automatic reward, they have little incentive to go the extra mile. It should be optional, but it's now treated like a requirement, regardless of the level of service. Why don't they just eliminate tipping, raise the menu prices a bit, and pay their staff more? That would make things easier for all of us. I hate having to do the math at the end of a meal anyway.

Japanese restaurants are far from perfect, of course. There are too many under-trained arubaito who scurry into the kitchen to get more information if you ask even the simplest question about the menu. And their rote-memory, monotone delivery of information about the day's specials does little to whet one's appetite. Whether that's worse than the fake friendliness of some American staff is a matter of personal preference, I suppose.

Some sources say that tipping started in 19th-century British restaurants, with the word originally being an acronym for "To Insure Promptness." The tip was given to the waiter before the meal. In some countries, that's still the case.

Perhaps the next time I'm back in the United States, I'll try that: tipping the waiter or waitress right after they first come to our table instead of waiting until the end of the meal. That way, I'll be able to see their reaction to the tip, and perhaps be able to judge whether it is making any difference to the service. In the meantime, however, the cheapskate in me is more than happy to live in the tipless bliss of Japan.

Shukan ST: July 25, 2003

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