By Moza Abdel Aziz Alishaq
The primary concern of our state and its leaders is to provide a decent life to the citizens in terms of healthcare, education and economic status proportionate to the country’s development.
Even though Qataris are among the highest-paid people in the world, the government is determined to provide the citizens good health and educational services and ensure their economic stability and safety in the light of the political and economic conditions prevailing in the Arab region, which suffers from poverty, lack of security and instability.
But this high income is costing Qatari citizens dearly in the form of ‘taxation’ within the country and outside. The Qatari, it seems, is at the centre of global attention; wherever he goes, he encounters a hitherto unknown phenomenon called “tipping.”
Qataris learned of this practice from Arabic television series and are exposed to it when they travel to some Arab countries.
Before the country opened up, Qataris didn’t know of this practice, but following our exposure to people of different nationalities and cultures, tipping has become a sort of psychological and economic harassment, and a kind of financial burden on Qataris.
For example, if I go to a women’s salon where prices are fixed and also exorbitant, I must tip those providing the service in order to be better taken care of and given priority during peak hours. So a Qatari gets better treatment and a friendlier smile after tipping.
If you go to a busy restaurant, you can get a table despite the crowd if you tip the right person, which is considered normal. Even workers don’t put in their full effort unless they are tipped from time to time.
If you go to get your car washed, you must tip the workers to make sure that they clean the car properly.
If you are getting maintenance work done in your house, you must tip the workers’ supervisor to ensure that the work is done well, on top of the exorbitant price you have paid to the maintenance company.
If you have hired individual labourers, they talk to you as if you are a walking oil well; you must pay a high price because your earn well.
The increase in the standard of living has brought many other daily annoying experiences, which are in addition to our monthly financial obligations.
Qataris also encounter bothersome situations during their travels abroad. As soon as people come to know that you are Qatari, you hear them mention “highest salaries internationally”, and you are seen as a cash machine; prices go up when you book a hotel room or have a drink in a cafe.
Every transaction is based on your “high” salary and you end up paying double the normal price because you supposedly own an oil well. Many of us have stopped saying that we are Qataris in order to avoid such irritating situations.
But sometimes you have to identify yourself as a Qatari citizen, and say whether you are a tourist, a patient or a student, especially in some countries where you cannot get anything done except by tipping people right and left. Therefore, tipping has become an additional financial burden equivalent to a tax.
Who is responsible for this and how can it be stopped before it becomes a disease in our society?
Tipping could get a different name in the near future and the quality of work could heavily depend on it.
We urgently need the media to highlight this issue and request the government to monitor it and try to check it before it becomes a social and economic malady and work begins to depend on payment of money on top of the agreed amount.
Perhaps tipping doesn’t exist in many Asian and European countries because their culture calls for excellence in work, which is contrary to what happens in our communities. Our culture primarily emphasises titles and positions, and lately we have introduced tipping.
We need to increase awareness of this practice to limit its spread, as it could get worse than what it is now. Let’s put an end to this disease while we can.
