Demise of the optional gratuity

TIPPING is a traveler's last resort for getting and rewarding good treatment.

But now, suppliers are toying with that sacred cow by imposing mandatory gratuities and other charges. The result? Confusion and conflicts on the front lines.

Hotels, cruise ships and restaurants have become the venue for such disputes, but tensions are highest at curbside check-in, where passengers are locked in a struggle with skycaps over tips.

United, American and other airlines say a $2-per-bag curbside fee instituted last year is in lieu of a gratuity, although passengers can still tip for excellent service.

Baggage handlers, on the other hand, complain that they "don't see a dime" of this fee and sometimes campaign for tips, even though they're not supposed to mention the "T" word to customers.

Meanwhile, some passengers -- fearing their luggage will end up in Siberia or that they will be refused service -- say they feel pressured to tip anyway.

Annette Drey of Pasadena says that on four recent occasions, she felt forced into tipping above and beyond the service charge.

"A United skycap actually went down the line at LAX, telling passengers to tip because they don't get any of the fee," Drey says. And that was shortly after a porter in Portland, Ore., refused to take her bags unless she promised to pay a gratuity.

"Tipping was obviously not optional, as I had been informed by the airlines," Drey says. "I felt like I was being held hostage to a new system I don't understand."

As the rules of tipping change, similar dramas are unfolding around the country. Travelers are not only mad about being forced to tip, but they're also suspicious about where their money is going.

And many, like Drey, are asking: "Should I pay the fee and tip, or am I getting taken for a ride?"

The answer is not clear-cut. It never has been when it comes to this highly fickle practice. But one thing's for sure: The explosion of service fees is mainly to blame.

In Europe and Japan, such charges are common and expected. Tips are included in the charge. But in this country, service fees are new, largely unwanted and very misunderstood.

"When someone adds a service charge in the U.S., it's newsworthy because that's not what people want," says Tim Zagat, founder of the Zagat restaurant guides. "More than 90% of the hundreds and thousands [of people] we've surveyed dislike these charges."