Tiping

Any true Chicago sports fan must know the story of Patrick Kane by now. In case you don't know it, it was a late Saturday night, Patrick and his cousin was out for a night on the town in Buffalo, Kane's hometown. By 4 a.m. we can assume they were a little tipsy, considering they were in the "night life" district of Buffalo. Anyways, they took a cab home and had a little altercation with the driver. The fare was a whopping $13.80. Now even thought Kane made $875,000 this year, the most any rookie in NHL can make as a rookie; Kane did not want to tip the driver. The cabbie gave back one dollar from the 15 the Kane's gave. However, the driver did have the remaining $0.20. The Kane's decided to beat up the driver, break his nose and glasses, and took the $15 back. So there's story.

The point of this post deals with a person who called into the Danny Mac Show today on 670. This guy tried to justify the actions of the Kane’s. He then went as far to say that people have a right to walk out on restaurants went they don't enjoy the food. Danny Mac pursued to rip him apart. And I completely agree with him. People have to pay for food when they order it. Just because the customer isn't satisfied with the service or the food, does not give them the right to leave the place without paying. Customers have right to speak their opinion about the food and the service based on their tip. Tipping is the silent language between a customer and a server.

This brings me back to the Kane's. Patrick and his cousin have every right in the world not to tip the driver. However, no way in the hell do they have a right to beat up the driver over $0.20. This is the same for someone who walks out on a bill at a restaurant which cooked the steak too long or took too long to take an order. The restaurant and the cab provided a service, and the customers need to pay the minimum, which is the bill. Even though Patrick is a professional sports figure, in his hometown, drinking underage by the way, he has to pay the cab fare. We all do dumb things during these years, including me. However, we all take responsibility for our actions. Kane should be punishing himself. He should take him off the Olympic tryout roster. He should make it up to the driver. He should apologize. This is just another incident showing that athletes are not role models, but gifted individuals taking advantage of their talent.