Do black people tip?
Mpho Tlale | Friday June 20, 2014 13:00
Whoever said black folks don’t tip must have been high on an illegal substance. I am black and I do tip but not every time because I feel and believe that tipping is not an obligation. I tip when my mood or money allows. However, to date I fail to grasp and understand why an act of courtesy such as tipping has to be attributed to the colour of my skin.
In general I feel tipping is out-dated, prone to abuse and most of the time discriminatory. In other cases it’s confusing when one has to consider when to do it, how to do it or how much to pop out. Some places and countries don’t even allow tipping! I also doubt I am the only person who doesn’t feel good about tipping in some instances. The history of the practice is not even straightforward and is quite confusing. It’s unclear when or how it started, why it came into being, who introduced it or what it was introduced for. One online article on the history of tipping states: “Tipping began in medieval England and Europe as a way to buy protection and evolved into a complicated social practice. Contemporary tipping involves a complex set of motives, including social expectations, guilt, hope for future good service and the public exhibition of one’s wealth.”
Like many things imposed on us blacks, tipping is one of those things that I doubt many have been able to investigate and fully understand. That’s why in all honesty, I think for the longest time we black folks have been at the receiving end of a social construct that puts us on the spot on the issue. We just don’t get it or its logic.
For what’s its worth I do stand at variance with this stereotype and can bet with everything I have on this one. Black people do tip and I say this with no reservations whatsoever.
The simple truth of the matter is that despite the belief held by many, including black folks themselves, my fellow brothers and sisters do reward good service if it happens that they do stumble across it. The problem is that good service, let alone any form of service, has become a luxury in general, Botswana included.
Crap service, both in private and government entities, has become the order of the day so much so that when one is assisted in a courteous manner, one spends a lifetime sharing with whoever cares to listen about the rare encounter with decent service.
If everything went according to our wishes, magnificent service would be a basic part and parcel of our daily interaction with service providers. However that still remains a distant dream that may never come true.
I believe that the only thing that stands between black folks and tipping are the service providers themselves. In the case of restaurants, the waiters and waitresses have no one but themselves to blame for not getting tipped.
Just recently, my friend Kutlwano and I went to one restaurant at Riverwalk and the reception we received pretty much stank. Although I had issues with the place, she somehow convinced me to stay and we did. During the time we spent at the eatery, I made some observations. Through the waiters and waitresses’ interaction with the people around, I noticed something amiss. Being the only black people there, prior to the arrival of another couple, I connected the dots and immediately realised that we were actually profiled before we were assisted. This ticked me off, but I maintained my cool. The waitress somehow warmed up to us but not the way she did when assisting the Indian family or the white couple present.
In the end after our dining and wining, I settled the bill and did not leave a tip. Not because I could not afford to, but because I was unhappy with the service. I simply could not tip someone whose service I was unhappy with. Tipping bad service is equivalent to rewarding bad behaviour and that in my books is a total no-no. Somehow the experience made me realise that the dynamics of tipping are quite complex and may remain that way for years to come or maybe even forever.
I sincerely think that black folks are, to a certain extent, limited with their tipping because unlike their white counterparts they don’t enjoy top-notch service. Because of their skin colour, service has terms and conditions attached. I believe that is why blacks and whites will never tip in the same manner. Each tips the way they best feel served. A waitress told me that white people tip more than black people do. She confessed that when white folks come into the restaurant, she goes out of her way to serve them with the biggest smile ever and best efficiency. However, she does the opposite with black folks because “they don’t fork out money after being served”. I asked her: “How do you expect to be rewarded equally by both people if you don’t serve them in the same manner?” I also asked the young lady why she helped people on the basis of their skin colour.
I also asked her if she understood that by serving white folks with a higher regard than blacks folks, she herself valued her own self less because she too is black.
Despite the fact that she tried to respond to my questions, I saw that I had actually struck a chord with her. I really couldn’t be bothered. I had achieved my mission and driven my point home. It’s rare to get a universal stance on any matter hence the reason views on issues tend to vary. Tipping is no exception.
Nonofo Makaba views the issue in this way. “I think black people have grown to like tipping or rather more and more black people are now doing it. I think it’s because of how things have changed. There are many developments and they don’t want to be left behind. It makes them look ‘classy’ or ‘big’. If being appreciative makes you look that way, then they do it. But I do think that for some, it comes from the bottom of their hearts and that they are truly thankful.”
Abel Badubi believes that the “blacks don’t tip” line is not a stereotype. “Truth be told, black people don’t tip. Even people working in hotels in Maun and Kasane areas will tell you they prefer helping whites over us blacks. We are greedy. We always think ra jewa (we are being cheated) when we tip”.
Self confessed tipper, Nelson Direng says he has no issues with giving extra cash when the service is good. He points out that he mostly does so because he feels sorry for the waiters. He attributes this to his one-day experience of being a waiter at a local restaurant in 2007.
The experience gave him hands-on knowledge of how hard waiters and waitresses work. Direng however says that he has other reasons guiding when and how much he tips.
“I tip based on how deep my pocket is, how good the waiter/waitresses’ service is and how good the food tastes.”
Although popularised by restaurants, tipping cannot be limited to them. It extends beyond that to general service delivery. I remember a certain incident when I went shopping and the customer in front of me was a white woman. The teller helped her with a smile and the added bonus of “thank you”. Immediately after she was done with the woman, she moved to serve me and her face literally dropped, the smile fading. You could have sworn she had just been handed the death penalty. I promptly asked to replicate the service she had given the customer before me. I questioned the “white privilege” apparent in her service delivery and the cashier was shocked and uncomfortable that I had brought the issue up. It didn’t bother me much but I was glad that in the end I was accorded the service that every customer deserves.
In almost every activity we engage in, “white privilege” appears to play a major role going beyond service delivery and tipping.
Take for example, if I was to sip some Chibuku. It would be frowned upon but if a white person my age and gender was to do it, the act would be endorsed. Better yet black people who frown upon me doing it, would endorse it. Why it should be that way still beats me. Unless service delivery shifts, I see the stereotype that black people don’t tip continuing into the future. My stand is that black folk do reward good service. However the tipping is determined by the quality of service.