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7| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,D ecem ber 14,2017 theifp.ca Furnace Air Conditioning Gaslines Boilers Water Heaters Radiant Heating 905-877-3100 proud local dealer of Canadian made products .ca • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 Wehandleall insurance work. We handle all insurance work. To book this space call 905-873-0301 To book this space YOUR AD HERE! Trucks can't stop on a dime Better education of truck drivers is no doubt needed, along with chang- es to the pay structure, as well as certain driving re- strictions. But the major reasons are overlooked. For whatever reason, most car drivers appear to have an uncontrollable de- sire to drive in the left- hand lane at 120 km/h or more. Just look next time you go on Hwy 400, hardly any- body is in the right-hand lane. This causes people having to pass on the right, an absolute no-no in Eu- rope. This weaving in and out from lane to lane is what is causing most accidents, and the trucks cannot stop on a dime. You get the picture. If you don't believe me, just look at this: Deaths per billion kilometres driven in Sweden, the U.K., Ire- land and Denmark average 3.75. For Canada, the number is 6.2 and in the U.S. it's 7.1. Even Germany, with no speed limit in many stretches of the autobahn, is below us, at 4.9. By the way, enforcing the speed limits might help as well. Food for thought. Svend Deman As we close in on the Christmas season, we find ourselves gathering with friends and colleagues to celebrate the holidays. More often than not, those celebrations include good food, a few drinks and lots of camaraderie, usual- ly at a local restaurant. I belong to a couple of groups who gather before Christmas to enjoy the sea- son at a local establish- ment. One of our members takes command of the event and books the venue for dinner. She's proactive when it comes to booking the place. It goes without saying, groups need to book their spaces early, as there's lots of competition for a loca- tion that can handle 15-20 people. We nailed down a date and agreed to meet at the same place as last year. Group members and their spouses were set to go. Our group covers the cost of the members, but we ask that spouses cover their own tabs. Two days before the event, our organizer called the restaurant to confirm our reservations. It was then she learned that a 20 per cent gratuity would be automatically applied to our tab by the restaurant, as we are a 'big group'. On top of that, those bringing spouses would have the 20 per cent added to their tab as well, even though they were paying separately. This was two days before our event. Have you ever tried to find a restaurant for 20 people two days in ad- vance? It ain't possible. We begrudgingly stayed with the original venue. I know I wasn't alone when it came to feeling like we'd been taken advantage of with a 20 per cent tip - a tip that we didn't even have any input into the amount. Is the word 'TIP' an acro- nym for 'To Insure Proper Service'? How can a patron at a restaurant be able to 'in- sure proper service' if the tip is arbitrarily included regardless of the level of service? I'm not against tipping, far from it. I realize servers rely on their tips as part of their income. And I'm hap- py to tip, especially for good service. Even when it's questionable service, I will still tip, just not as gener- ously. Tipping is my way of saying 'Thanks for your good service - you've made this an enjoyable night.' When the proprietor of the restaurant tacks on 20 per cent, not even allowing the patron any input to the level of service, it really makes me question if I want to return. I'm a fan of the shop local campaign, and when The Sidekick and I go out for dinner, we rarely leave Hal- ton Hills. We have our favourite lo- cations, and some we at- tend to support local busi- nesses. There are a few that we don't attend, simply be- cause they aren't our menu. At our Christmas gath- ering, many members of our group expressed an- noyance at the 20 per cent tip being added to the tab. I don't think the owner of that establishment real- izes the magnitude of tack- ing on that added 20 per cent. Out of principal alone, The Sidekick and I won't be back to that location. One member of our group had a family party planned for the future. It's now moving to another location. Anoth- er person I spoke with is al- so moving her party else- where in January. And it goes without say- ing, our group won't be re- turning for our Christmas celebration next year. That's what happens when a proprietor gets too grabby, at a cost to their em- ployees who are out the tips. In this festive season, restaurants are booked to the rafters, with huge groups coming in, spending lots of money. Is it really necessary to add another five per cent to the tab? Just remember- karma always comes back to bite ya . Ted Brown can be reached at tedbit@hot- mail.com. OPINION Beware the added holiday gathering tip Karma always comes back to bite you, warns Ted Brown TED BROWN Column THE WAY WE WERE Founded in 1895, what was once the Georgetown Public Library has undergone several transformations during its 122-year history. One such change was merging with the Acton Public Library in 1974 to become the Halton Hills Public Library. In 1960, the library was located in the former Congregational Church, as shown in this photo with a tree the staff had decorated for Christmas. Photo Esquesing Historical Society COMMUNITY