We’re at a cultural tipping point ...

According to an interesting story from the Associated Press, some folks in this country are getting tired of being “required” to provide a tip for services rendered every time they spend a dime.

I suppose we've all known from a young age that people are expected to leave tips at restaurants, but I didn't realize until much later that you were also supposed to tip the barber, even if he gave you a truly terrible haircut.

But if the barber, why not the dentist? Or the doctor?

I know after my last colonoscopy, I thought everyone involved should be tipping me.

Of course, tipping a firefighter who saved your life or the cop who recovered your stolen car is strictly forbidden.

According to the AP story, “Across the country there's a silent frustration brewing about an age-old practice that many say is getting out of hand: tipping.”

Fair enough, but last time I checked, tipping is still voluntary.

I do recall a time when a fairly standard tip for good service in a sit-down restaurant was 15 percent. That figure has now shifted sharply upward to 20 percent, with “inflation” being the excuse.

Which is silly. If my restaurant

Enterprise staff

As some readers may have noticed, the Sunday edition of The Davis Enterprise may be arriving a day early to certain parts of the city. This reflects consolidated production schedules and diversifying delivery options.

In addition, the financial uncertainty created by 2019’s AB5 legislation, which reclassifies certain classes of independent contractors as employees, looms over the entire industry. Implementation of AB5 for the newspaper publishing sector was put on hold by the Legislature through Jan. 1, 2025.

“We now offer mail bill used to be $50, the tip would be $7.50 at the 15-percent rate. So if inflation now takes that same bill to $60, a 15 percent tip would increase to $9.00, which covers the inflation. Going from 15 to 20, by the way, is a 33.3 percent increase.

The other part that doesn't make sense is that the tip is based on the size of the bill, not the difficulty of serving the food.

Is it harder for a server to deliver filet mignon and a baked potato (say $50) than a bacon cheeseburger and fries (say $20)? Then why should the tip on the former be $10 and the latter just $4?

Why should the tip on a $60 bottle of wine for two people at one table be twice that of six $5 bottles of beer to six people sitting at the next table? Sounds like the latter is considerably more difficult than the former.

Why do you tip at Denny's but not McDonald's? Have you ever delivery,” Enterprise circulation manager Bob Franks explained, “and in order to facilitate that, we are printing earlier and the Sunday paper is available to deliver on Saturday as we expand delivery options. Some carriers are delivering on Saturday and some are doing it on Sunday.” looked over the counter at a McDonald's or Raising Cane's and seen how very hard those people are working?

The Sunday paper is also available on Saturday in news racks across the city.

The Enterprise will continue to post breaking news and sports coverage online at www.davisenterprise.com throughout the weekend and in the “Morning Edition” newsletter, which goes out by email every morning.

Added the AP, “Some fed-up consumers are posting rants on social media complaining about tip requests at drive-thrus, while others say they're tired of being asked to leave a gratuity for a muffin or a simple cup of coffee at their neighborhood bakery.”

Full disclosure — two of our kids have part-time jobs as baristas as they work around their studies, and the tips they receive are helpful to their bottom line, even though their hourly wages are more than fair.

But again, tipping is optional. And a cup of coffee no longer costs a quarter.

“As more businesses adopt digital payment methods, customers are automatically being prompted to leave a gratuity - many times as high as 30 percent — at places they normally wouldn't.”

There's no doubt if you're paying with a credit or debit card rather than cold, hard cash, you're likely to leave a larger tip. It doesn't matter if your restaurant bill is $10 or $100, you're paying for either with the same piece of plastic. But if you're paying with cash, there's a big visual and emotional difference when you count out all those 20-dollar bills.

“Academics who study the topic say many consumers are now feeling irritated by automatic tip requests at coffee shops and other counter service eateries where tipping has not typically been expected and service is usually limited.”

Given the wide variety of beverages available at “coffee shops” these days, many of which require significant preparation, I disagree that service is “limited.” The workers are not just pouring alreadymade hot coffee into an empty cup. Nowadays what they're making more likely resembles a milkshake than a straight cup of coffee.

The AP even quotes an expert from Murray State University who studies tipping. Makes me wonder if he gets tipped for studying tipping.

“Unlike tip jars that shoppers can easily ignore if they don't have spare change, experts say the digital requests can produce social pressure and are more difficult to bypass. And your generosity, or lack thereof, can be laid bare for anyone close enough to glance at the screen, including the workers themselves.”

Indeed, stiffing the help is not for wimps.

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunnng@davisenterprise.net.

Thursday Live! welcomes alt-country star

Special to The Enterprise

The Davis Odd Fellows’ Thursday Live! music series returns Feb. 2 with San Francisco musician Maurice Tani.

Doors open at 7 p.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall, 415 Second St., with music starting at 7:30 p.m. All ages welcome. Thursday Live! shows are free, but donations are encouraged to support the musicians.

Tani has been a fixture on the local altcountry scene for more than a decade with his band 77 El Deora. He previously sang and played guitar for the seminal Motownstyle party bands Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra and Big Bang Beat.

Known for his agile guitar style and expressive singing, Tani's particular flavor of Americana is a broad-spectrum tincture of influences to cure the wide range of ills his fertile imagination conjures. While rooted (at times distantly) in country music, his writing is centered on an urbanwestern perspective — short musical narratives of life on the left coast, a sort of cinema for the blind.

Thursday Live! is sponsored by the Davis Odd Fellows Music Committee with support from KDRT radio. It’s a continuous music series that happens the first Thursday of most months.

“We are so proud and thankful for music lovers in our community who continue to keep live music with local musicians alive and thriving,” committee member Juelie Roggli said.

To be added to the email list, contact Roggli at juelrog@gmail.com.

From Page A1 to the story of Captain Bob on his journey,” he said.

“It’s gonna be a very great addition to Davis, and it will be a landmark bar in the whole Sacramento region,” he said.

“The decoration — I’m going all out. It’s going to be a Disneyland when they walk in. It’s a great wow factor.”

Davis has another tikithemed bar — Wiki Bar — at 234 D St., on the Best Western Plus Palm Court property.

For its former space, Woodstock’s was paying rent to two landlords. The pass-through connecting 217 G St. and the larger 219 G has since been filled in to accommodate separate tenants. After a midDecember closure during the transition, Woodstock’s reopened Dec. 22 at 238 G St., a spot last occupied by KetMoRee

University of Beer, which started in Davis in 2012, has locations in Vacaville, Sacramento, Folsom, Roseville and Rocklin. All but the Davis location, at 615 Third St., include restaurants. The company plans to open a seventh location in East Sacramento in March.

After that, Yungvanitsait said he will focus on opening Shipwrecked.

Davis Cards and Games closed its virtual reality escape room early this month. When the game store moved to 1790 E. Eighth St., it kept its original space at 654 G St. for the new concept, The Davis Cards & Games VR