After the Gold Rush

This nonsense of tipping needs to come to an end. For awhile I use to pride myself on being a "good tipper" and I actually enjoyed tipping someone who went above and beyond their normal service. However it's now come down to everyone in the service industry feeling entitled to at least 20% of their service regardless of the quality of service they provide. All of this came to a breaking point for me last Monday. Below is a typical travel day and the gratuities involved.

Shuttle from the car park to the airport. Tipped the drive $2.00...all he did was pick up my bag from the curb, put it on the shuttle and manage not to crash while en-route to the terminal.

Curbside baggage check-in. Now normally I don't check a bag while traveling (this is for the amateurs), however because of the zealots at the TSA my bag needed to be checked. The agent got $2.00 for his work...which by the way is the same task as the people inside however you are not required to tip them.

Hotel Valet Parking Agent. The total for the day was $10.00, dropping it off and picking it up.

Bellman. $2.00

Housekeeping. $5.00 per night

Meal gratuity, lunch and dinner total $65 @ 20%...$13

So for those of you keeping score at home, that's close to $35 in gratuity for just one day of travel! May not sound like a lot, but figure I'm gone 2-3 days a week!

I guess overall I try and tell myself that these people are making my life easier and their "help" is what I am tipping. It's fuzzy logic but it's the only thing that gets me into my wallet.