Tipping etiquette

     

     Once again I return to the topic of tipping.  You don't tip fast food workers or places like Panera where you pick up your own food and bus your own plates and silverware.  I never tipped at La Madeline even though they bring your food and bus your table.   Just seemed confusing when one person takes your order, another brings the food and a third person buses the table after you leave.  Last week I noticed a table that hadn't been bused yet and there was a couple of dollars on the table.  Needless to stay I left a tip too on this trip.  I will plan on tipping there in the future too.
     When I travel I usually don't need help carrying my luggage to my room but I let a porter carry my bags if they grab them when I check in.  I always heard you tip $1 for each bag but maybe that is cheap.  How much am I supposed to tip the housekeeping staff at hotels?  $5 a day? $10 a day?  What about the days they make up the bed but don't change the sheets or vacuum?  Hotels now seem to only give you new towels when you request them.  I like how they frame this new towel policy because of environmental reasons of going "green" when we all know it's to save them money.
    I think tipping is out of date as a way of paying low wage service workers.  I am sure that the workers would prefer a higher minimum wage and not rely on the generosity of the general public.  I really would also prefer to have the cost of the help raised to $10 or $15 an hour and pass the cost on to me in my bill.
    Believe me most of us are cheap when it comes to paying others.   We may feel we are underpaid but we often take advantage of service workers when we tip.

P.S.
    French words like "etiquette" in the title of today's blog always stump me on spelling.  Thank goodness for spell check and Google.  Let's Americanize the word to "edicut."