Last night, at the grocery store, I faced that conundrum that comes up every time it's time to refill the fridge nowadays: You've got your stuff on the conveyer-belt contraption, you've shelled out your cash, and you're ready to take your bags home.
But then there's that queasy, "what's the etiquette here" moment where your eye falls on that plastic deli container half full of change and the lone dollar bill, put out there by the guy who just bagged your groceries.
Do you tip the guys who put your food in sacks?
There are a couple arguments I could think of against:
- The way-things-are-done argument: I don't ever remember it being a tradition for bag boys to leave out tip jars until somewhat recently. Suddenly, seemingly overnight, tip jars popped up everywhere. So why now? No reason I can think of.
- The big-picture argument: Where's the tipping end? If the bag boy becomes a mandatory tip, what's to stop you from feeling obliged to tip every single stranger who does a job that benefits you at some point during the day? What's next? Crossing guards? The woman who alphabetizes the magazines at the bookstore? Drive-through workers? The guy who constantly asks you if he can help you find something at the aquarium store?
- The etiquette argument: Emily Post says you don't have to.
- The voluntary-choice argument: It's not like you're given the choice of bagging or not. By the time you've paid and made your way to that end of the counter, he's usually done. No one ever asks if you'd like your purchases bagged for you or not.
- The cultural argument: Have you actually seen anyone else leave a tip in that jar?
- The selfish argument: It's not like refusing to leave a tip could result in worse bag service.
And there are reasons for, as well, of course:
- The guilt argument: that feeling you get when the guy won't look you in the eye but obviously is keeping track of the tip jar out of the corner of his eye.
- The philanthropy argument: These guys aren't exactly making a ton of money, or doing this for the fun of it.
- The Golden Rule: If I were bagging groceries, I'd certainly appreciate a tip.
- The maybe-it-is-an-elective-service argument: It would look odd, but I could tell the guy I'd rather bag the food myself, if I wanted to. And if you were given the choice between bagging yourself or not, isn't it more likely that you'd choose to have it bagged while you took care of the bill and change?
- The regular-customer argument: If it's your daily or weekly place to buy groceries, doesn't it make sense to foster a sense of neighborliness and goodwill by taking care of the people who take care of you?
What arguments do you make for or against? Does anyone who ever worked as a bagger care to chime in? Do you tip the guy who bags your groceries?
By Michael Y. Park
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