We do a lot of traveling, Estelle and I. That means a lot of hotels and restaurants, sometimes a taxi and other necessities of the road.

I am a tipper. I don’t go by a per centage of my cost. I look at the time and trouble involved and the merits of the person who helps us. Everybody gets a tip — usually a generous one. Not only the people who are good and cheerful. Heck, I wouldn’t be in a good mood if I had to do some of the things these working people do. In fact I have.

Right out of high school, I washed dishes in a truck stop for $1.10 an hour. Minimum wage at that time was around $3. My girlfriend was a waitress there (she got me the job — well, a no-show dishwasher actually got me the job) so I knew what she had to put up with and how little she made.

That’s why my stolen quote today is from my favorite marketing guru — he’s not only wildly successful and a great role model, but he is about my same age and went through some of the same things I did while growing up.

“You can absolutely make some working stiff’s day with a kind word, a few minutes of conversation, a decent tip.”
— Dan S Kennedy, Marketer