Yes, you can ignore those
tip tablets that appear at every store checkout. But the people who have been
doing the real work for you deserve something extra.
EXPERT OPINION BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V
AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS @HOWARDTULLMAN1
DEC 17, 2024
This holiday season is a tough and
confusing time for year-end tips and tippers. What used to be a traditional and
largely mechanical process of annual gratuities will likely be much more
complicated this year. We’re obligated to make sure that the important but
often invisible folks in our lives aren’t left behind because so much of the
new normal in the working world has permanently changed – especially the time
we’re spending in the office.
Unfortunately, it seems to me that
absence isn’t likely to make the heart grow any fonder and that it’s more
likely to be a case of “out of sight, out of mind” than abundant generosity. We
need to go out of our way to avoid falling into the “what have you done for me
lately” trap that makes it so easy to just forget about doing the right thing
and ignore the people who’ve spent the last year holding down the fort.
Don’t Forget That the Supreme Court
Just Legalized Bribes
On the other hand, there has been
nothing but good news for crooked politicians since the Trumpified Supreme
Court ruled recently in Snyder v. United States that
tips, gifts and other gratuities given to politicians after they have enacted legislation, voted in
favor of specific laws or policies, or otherwise catered to the needs of their
interested supporters aren’t illegal “bribes.” Seems as if they knew Trump and
his cronies were headed back to the White House and would need a little
reaffirmation by Clarence (the uber-tipee) and his corrupt Court cronies that
the bazaar is open again; feel free to buy and sell anything and anyone you
want. I’d probably still stay away from gold bullion bars and Benzes, but that’s
just a tip from me.
Also the charitable process of
pandemic guilt tipping been a real bonanza for all the crooked restaurants
still charging extra fees and calling it a Covid fee, or a charge for using
your credit card. If you confront your waiter, most of these joints will
subtract the fake fees from your bill, but you’ll feel like a cheap asshole for
making a big deal about it and you’ll also have to sit around waiting for a new
check as well.
This isn’t quite as bad as the new tip
tablets that have appeared on every counter at every kind of take-out place
suggesting that you tip the clerk behind the counter 20 to 25 percent of the
bill for essentially handing you a bag full of goodies that they were unlikely
to have even prepared. Here again, this is mainly about shaming you into adding
something to the bill.
Don’t Get Your Hopes Up About Tax-Free
Tips
Frankly, I’m not really concerned
about the millions of service industry workers who voted for Trump and who will
soon be sorely disappointed because they believed his campaign lie that their
tips would no longer be taxed. You’d think, given his complete failure as a
casino operator, that no one would accept any casual Trump lie — especially one
made up on the fly in Vegas. Then again, nearly half the country did buy
into his many other bundles of BS. Forgive me if I don’t have any sympathy for
these idiots.
The sad result is that the wait staffs
of the world and all the giggers in the “scrambling for scraps” economy will be
joining the other deluded fools who bought into the unending flow of MAGA
fantastical falsehoods. They’ll be standing right beside the tariff
trolls, the election deniers, the veterans watching the Trump tech bros talking
about shrinking the Veterans Administration, and the anti-vaxers whose kids all
have measles or polio. He’s already backed off any pretense that his
administration of clowns and crazies had any chance of reducing grocery prices.
The realization will slowly dawn on all of his supporters that they were once
again played for fools by the same fraudulent and narcissistic con man they
elected in 2016.
There’s no end in sight for the wave
of disappointments that every American will feel over the next few months,
whether they voted for Trump or not. When the Orange Monster appeared
on Meet the Press a week ago, he backed away from his
campaign promise that his tariffs won’t drive prices higher for American
consumers. Hundreds of economists have, of course, pointed out that imposing
huge additional and indiscriminate tariffs on our major trading partners —
Canada, China and Mexico — is guaranteed to raise consumer costs on almost
every imported product. But I don’t really feel sorry for the dolts who again
voted for the Donald.
Take Care of the People Who Took Care
of You
I’m more concerned at the moment — as
this painful year grinds to a close — with the seemingly more trivial questions
around how we should handle the traditional end-of-year cash gift giving for
the many essential workers in our offices, buildings, and businesses. These are
folks whom we basically haven’t seen for a year or two except by accident, but
who have still had to show up, do their daily jobs, keep the trains and planes
running, and generally take care of business while we all took it easy at home.
It’s far too easy to overlook them and forget that they had a very rough time
of it for a couple of years and that every little contribution to their
struggles to get by helps them a lot.
And to be clear, throughout the entire
pandemic, the white collar, executive, and management worlds did these people
dirty. While we “worked” from home, spent our “spare” time in buddy bubbles and
support circles, traveled far and wide, and wondered about bringing our
newly purchased or adopted pets back to the office with us when we returned,
these essential workers, along with millions of others in factories,
warehouses, government offices, police and fire departments, schools and
hospitals, showed up every day and did their jobs. They risked their own health
and made family sacrifices that their employers along with the media
steadfastly refused to recognize and appreciate, or do anything more than
complain about.
The past is past, but there’s really
no excuse for not trying especially hard to seek out these people and make sure
that you acknowledge and fairly reward what they’ve done. Now’s not the moment
to try to save time or save a few bucks by skipping out, “forgetting” to fund
your fair share of the company kitty or cutting back and dropping folks from
your Xmas list because no one will know the difference.
It’s worth the extra steps and effort
to get this one last annual responsibility done and done right. And while the
world might not notice or know exactly what you do, at the end of the day, you
will. This is the time of the year when it’s so much more about what you give
than what you get. Step up, dig deep, and make it happen.
