by Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jan 09/98) - OK, here it is -- the ultimate server's nightmare. The customer gets the bill and turns to the waiter or waitress and says, "Here's your tip. Don't eat yellow snow."

Or the ever-painful, "Don't spend it all in one place." As if you could spend all those shiny coppers on much of anything in the North in 1998.

But is the tipping situation really all that bad in Yellowknife?

Warren Chomiak doesn't think so. "I'll tell you the truth. I've never made the kind of money I make here anywhere else in Canada," says Chomiak, who has been waiting tables at the Office Dining Lounge for two years.

The 27-year-old has been slinging food and drinks for eight years and goes into his shift expecting to receive an average tip of 15 per cent of the total bill, including tax.

It doesn't always happen though. "A couple of times I've felt choked. You give the guy fantastic service and he shakes your hand and pats you on the back and then leaves you almost nothing."

Domino's Pizza delivery person Michael Roblin says it all depends on how he presents himself. "You've got to be fast, polite, well-groomed, and it depends on whether or not you're nice to their pets," says the 19-year-old full-time employee, whose best time for tips is Friday night.

Liquor store employees even receive monetary tokens of appreciation from customers. "I occasionally make up to $20 a day. Sometimes people leave money because they don't want to take their change and others just leave it for you as a tip," says cashier Claire Tearle, 28.

Gallery Neighborhood Pub waitress Sarah Nicholson, 22, says alcohol affects the amount of money she gets. "When people start getting drunk, they forget about their money. I'll bring them their change and they say, 'You could have kept it all and I would have forgotten about it.' But I'm nice."

No matter where they work, members of the service industry agree -- they depend on tips to compensate for their small salaries.

The exception is in the air. No matter how friendly or efficient flight attendants are, they are not allowed to accept gratuities. "That would put the slant on service and we're there for safety," says Canadian Airlines employee Tanda Wynn.

Her colleague, Doug Webster, agrees. "It's a mindset. People pay thousands of dollars for their flight and $4 for a drink. They don't want to tip after that."

Customers also agree on something. Good service gets the bucks, while poor, unfriendly service earns a few shiny coppers at the most.