For years, Jessica and Eric have lived down the street from their favorite sandwich shop. Despite its being so close to home, they preferred to dine in, and always tipped generously when they did. But, during the pandemic in 2020, the cafe temporarily closed, then reopened—for takeout orders only. So their new routine became to order online, go pick up their food, and eat it at home. 【小题1】

That is, until the day they drove up and a waitress ran out to meet them. “I was wondering if I’m doing something wrong, because you never leave a tip,” she said. Eric attempted to explain: “Because we aren’t being waited on, we didn’t think tipping was necessary.” 【小题2】 “She stormed off.” Jessica says.

The pandemic has been particularly hard on people working for tips. Some haven’t been able to do their jobs at all, while others don’t interact with customers the same way. 【小题3】 Meanwhile, many customers felt the need to tip more because of the new risks and hardships that essential service workers suddenly faced.

“【小题4】 We were tipping based on emotion, and that may not have had anything to do with the service. And that service also became harder to assess.” says Toni Dupree, a professional etiquette (礼仪) coach. Some old standards no longer seem fair, and several newer ones will apply long after the pandemic is over.

Next time, in Dupree’s view, you’re unsure whether a tip is in order, follow this simple rule: 【小题5】 The novelist George Eliot asked, “What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other?” Dupree adds: “Tipping well is one way to make things easier for someone else.”