Let's start with temporary help. By and large most temps receive only perfunctory training. This is true not only during the holiday rush but also year-round. The theory is why spend time thoroughly training people who will only be employed for a short while?

In that regard, I'm reminded of a company that won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award several years ago - Pal's Sudden Service in Tennessee, a fast-food chain. The company spends as much time training part-time and temporary help as they do permanent employees.

When asked "Why?," the response from president/CEO Thom Crosby is straightforward:

"We train our temps and part-timers in the same manner as our permanent staff. Otherwise, if temps and part-timers remain on our payroll due to increased business, we end up with an untrained staff and customer service quickly deteriorates."

Certainly makes sense and one of the reasons their company is an award-winner!

And now, those tip jars.

At first these "courtesy canisters" were only commonplace at car washes. Now the jars are permanent fixtures at coffee shops, ice cream parlors, service stations, card shops and delis. For the holidays these canisters are festooned with bright ribbons and ornaments. The message is clear: "I've waited on you for 35 seconds so I deserve a tip!"

Invariably the jar contains an abundance of singles and maybe even a five spot which telegraphs to us that others found the service extraordinary and acted accordingly. I think it's just a matter of time before the jars make an appearance at hospital emergency rooms as a way of getting moved to the front of the line!

On a recent trip cross country we stopped at a rest area in Indiana only to find a "tip jar" solidly anchored down in the men's restroom. Now I've been in hoity-toity establishments where a restroom attendant hands you a towel, brushes down your suit, gives you a spritz of cologne and holds the door - and thus a tip may be in order.

But in a highway rest area? Come on! Is someone changing my oil and rotating my tires while I'm inside? I think not!

Frankly, my message is this: Since when did I become responsible for increasing the minimum wage in your store and what makes you think that your spending a few seconds with me entitles you to a tip?

And, frankly, this tipping practice is only effective if the clerk sees you depositing coins and currency in the jar. And maybe it's just me but I have encountered some of the worst service in establishments that display a "tip jar."

Tipping is a practice that is supposed to reward and single out exceptional service. Personally I make it a habit to inscribe notes on the receipt such as "great food" and "exceptional service" when it is appropriate. I then tip accordingly.

Occasionally, if I have developed a good rapport with the waiter or waitress, I will ask them to rate their own service on a scale of 1 to 10. The feedback is usually priceless! Once I had a waiter who provided extraordinary service but when asked to quantify his service stated somewhat facetiously that he had performed poorly and would immediately enroll in a remedial waiter service course. His humor and personality got him a 25 percent tip!

If some of this makes me sound like the Scrooge that stole Christmas, so be it. On the other hand, I'm still leaving cookies for Santa to ensure that he will return each year - so maybe I have succumbed to the "tip jar" mania myself!

Bill Kalmar

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