Tipping for Counter Service: Does the Starbucks "Barista" Deserve a Tip.

I have a very quotidian pet peeve, the proliferation of tip jars in establishments that provide no substantial service. If I stand in line at McDonalds I'm not going to tip the guy taking my order, and he wouldn't expect me to. Why does the nitwit at Starbucks expect a tip? It's not like I can sit down at a table where my order is taken and then brought to me, where I am attended to if I need anything else. I have to stand in line and then carry my drink and food to my table. If I want anything else, I have to get up, get back in line and do the same thing again.

And it's not just Starbucks. All kinds of places that provide no real service now have tip jars. There it is on the counter of a Chinese take-out or a submarine sandwich shop. Let me respond to those nitwits and their tip jars this way, "If you really deserve a tip, a tip jar would not be necessary. People would know you deserve it."

The waiter at a restaurant deserves a tip. The guy who delivers my pizza deserves a tip. They have provided a service and brought my food to me. If I have to go to you to get my food...no tip for you! There's even a drive-through cofee place in my neighborhood that has a "karma jar" at the drive-through window. They're not driving to me to deliver my coffee! They're not providing any more service than the hamburger drive-through restaurant. And by the way, I don't believe in karma.

Some times these folks standing at the register will stare at you after you pay, as if to say, "Hey, buddy where's my tip?" I just want to respond, "Hey, nudnik, where's my service?" I have to admit, sometimes I have been coerced by their attempts to induce an ill placed guilt and dropped some cash in the jar. But no more. I will gladly and generously tip those who have traditionally received tips and who provide a service. No tips for those who provide no service.