Ask Annie for Oct. 1, 2003 Dear Readers,
This week I got a letter that would be difficult to print, because it's too long to fit in this space. Here are excerpts. It was in response to the letter about the big winner who didn't tip. "I've been in that man's shoes. Years ago I was a cab driver in Seattle and joined in a pool and won big. Just when the person came to pay my winnings, I got an emergency call, and left without even counting what I got. Later, I went back to give the person a tip and they were rude to me and even verbally abusive." The writer goes on to say this person wanted a quarter of the winnings as a tip! And to caution clerks to remember that their customers pay for a service or item and don't owe anything other than that. The writer also made a point to say they would tip clerks who are always friendly and don't ask for or expect a gratuity. My point in the original column was that the customer might not owe them a tip, but when winning that amount of money, he could've given each of the five clerks a hundred dollar bill and never missed it. (Remember, his excuse for not tipping was he couldn't recall exactly which of the five had sold the winning ticket.) No, he wasn't required to be openhanded with his prize money, but how nice it would've been if he had been! I didn't mean to imply that anyone who wins should feel obligated to tip the clerk, dealer, or bingo caller. It's not always appropriate. But what a cheery difference it would've made in those clerks' day if he had, out of the goodness of his own heart, just decided to be generous.
Annie
Please write to: Annie, P.O. Box 1084, Eatonville,WA 98328
E-mail: letters_annie@hotmail.com
Past Ask Annies:
Sept. 24, 2003 Church-goers Inattentive
Sept. 17, 2003 Friend Sells My Stuff on Ebay
Sept. 10, 2003 Lottery Winner Didn't Tip Clerk
Sept. 3, 2003 Business Insults to Consumers
Aug. 27, 2003 Divison of Wedding Expense
Aug. 20, 2003 School Workers' Kindness & Men's Attractiveness
Aug. 13, 2003 Attractiveness Hints
Aug. 6, 2003 Annie's Husband's Accident at Work
July 30, 2003 Deer Automatic Sprinkler Best & Stores Don't Stock Washington Clothes
July 23, 2003 Scarecrows and Halloween Decorations Scare Off Prowlers Too
July 16, 2003 Redhead Asks Attractiveness Advice
July 2, 2002 Atomatic Deer Scarecrow Blasts Prowler