For reference you may want to check the original Curmudgeon Chronicle posting titled Really? At the end of that post I pointedly ignored a tip jar when I had received sucky service. This post is not the same. Though it is technically not the closest pizza place to our house, Uncle Joe's on Old Seward is the closest decent pizza place. You know I could eat pizza at least once a week. Twice a week, if I make it once. Mom doesn't like pizza all that much, so pizza becomes my, eat it when mom is gone, food, or my, we stayed at the office too late and I am not cooking food. By either measure, I give Uncle Joe's a good bit of business. In fact, when Susan & Chuck came to visit, mom & I were running late, so had a pizza. S&C had not eaten and were hungry, so, we stopped at UJ's on the way home and got a second 12" all meat.
UJ's is also located at that perfect distance from the office that allows me to call as we are leaving and have it coming out of the oven when we walk in the door, then stay hot until we get home, leaving just enough time to open a bottle of Chianti. It is also a pleasant well run business. Everyone seems to work hard and appreciate the job.
For years, one of the reasons to pick up a pizza was to not feel obligated to give the delivery person a tip. So, in our early visits to UJ's tipping was not a high priority. I did, however, occasionally throw a buck or two in the jar when I had cash. I soon noticed that, when you give a tip, the server hits one of those little bells with the push button on the top and all of the staff in the cooking area yells thank you. I also noticed that a small tip gets one bell push and a modest thank you. A good tip gets three bell rings and a hearty thank you.
Like Pavlov's dog, I have developed the habit of generous tipping at UJ's for the pure joy of hearing the staff call out Thank You. How brilliant is that? Create a way to attract attention to tippers and show them some appreciation, and you get money. Wow!
Small gestures like thank you take so little effort and make such a difference. Maybe one day when I am feeling down I will go to UJ's throw 50 in the tip jar and listen to them yell Thank You!!