Phil Jackson has been a less than generous tipper in the past — by his own admission.
I reported that the new president of the Knicks tipped 18 percent last Friday at the Knickerbocker Bar and Grill, after a long dinner with Steve Kerr that included free appetizers and desserts.
But Jackson also had a gratuity issue after his first trip to New York in 1967, when he was drafted by the Knicks from the University of North Dakota.
“I had to take a cab to the airport, and all I had left was a ten-dollar bill,” Jackson wrote in his 2001 memoir, co-authored with Charley Rosen.
“The cabby took one look at me, heard me say ‘Howdy’ and then took off on the great circle route. The fare came to $9.50, and as I finally boarded the plane, I still heard the cabby’s curses ringing in my ears for giving him only a fifty-cent tip.
“Welcome to the big city, Phil.”
Tipping isn’t mandatory. If the service was bad, and you have the requisite courage, you don’t have to tip at all, or you can really make your point with a tip of a few pennies. At least that’s what I’ve heard.