Tips

Re “Tip as If Your Living Depended on It,” Voices, Dec. 4:

Back in the late 1930s, tips were given by the customer based on “extra special service,” a decision made by the customer, without percentage contracts or agreements. In today’s society, servers beg for or demand a percentage of the bill as a gratuity, still without agreements or contracts. Many hotels and resorts add the gratuity to the bill without your consent.

The servers cannot negotiate a living wage from the restaurant owner, since they are in a highly competitive business, so they pressure the customer to supplement their income.

If Shayne Hood cannot handle the “back-breaking, foot-aching and degrading” work that she does, I urgently suggest that she get into another line of work. (I am a retired senior living on a fixed income.)

DANNY DEMPSEY

Huntington Beach