I am writing today’s blog from, Starbucks, where I write many of them. I have come to think of Starbucks as my chain of offices around town. Not that I don’t have a real office. I do. But unless I need to collect my mail or find some book from my small library, there really isn’t much reason to be there anymore. All my files are on my laptop and I have always loved the coffee shop atmosphere. In fact, atmosphere is the only reason I come to Starbucks. I’m sure they make great coffee too but I am no coffee connoisseur and I really wouldn’t know one from the other. I just order a tall regular and go to work on my computer. In the background, I hear orders from the other customers who care much more than I do about the entrees of the day. “I’ll have a Frappuccino double latté, marshmallow flavored with a touch of carob and brussell sprouts.”
The workers are friendly at Starbucks and they remember everyone’s name, making them feel like Norm walking into Cheers. This is a sign of good management from the top down. Unfortunately, Starbucks has been getting into trouble lately, not from its satisfied customers, but its employees. It seems the employees are objecting to sharing tips with the managers. As you know, tips are just put into a jar in the front and divided up later in the day. Since managers already get paid extra, the employees argue that their managers don’t need tips on top of the larger salary. Managers respond by saying that in addition to their administrative responsibilities they too are serving customers.
Let me share my own two cents. (No, that’s not the amount of my tips, just some advice) We live in an age of narcissistic whiners. I can sympathize with a hard worker who barely gets by and comes to depend upon tips. At the same time, we should not lose sight of the fact that a tip is meant to be something extra and non-obligatory. It is between the customer and the server. If I am happy with someone’s service and I want to put forth some extra money as a result, that is my own business. It simply doesn’t matter if I am rewarding a manager or some other worker. I am rewarding a job well done either way.
Honestly, there are so many more important problems in the world today. Starbucks, up to now, has been a nice chance to get away from it all. Let’s not ruin Starbucks by socializing it.
This is Bob Siegel, making the obvious, obvious.
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