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Syag – a couple of points:
1. This was a learning camp, with the campers all age 13/14 and up. There were no counselers, and hte Rabei’im were not tipped. The waiter was the only one who was tipped ($30 for half a summer, $50 for the full summer).
2. The cost of this camp was significantly less than most, as they were far from a “luxury” camp – the focus really was on the learning.
3. The camp clearly included mention of the tips in the information package that was sent to campers/parents before the summer. This was not a surprise sprung on campers at the last minute.
4. There were clearly some campers who had no ability to tip at all, or who were only able to tip a minimal amount (I recall one person giving me $5 for the full summer). I can not have a ta’ana against someone like that – and in fact, I was told that I could count the tip that I “should have” received from such a person against my ma’aser obligation.
5. It is so common to need to tip staff that it should be taken into account in determining your budget for camp.
6. I have more than a clue as to what life is like for “most of the Frum population”. I was working at camp as I otherwise could not go – waiters at that camp were essentially regular campers with a job on the side. We attended Seder and Shiurim with everyone, but had to come a bit late/leave a bit early to set up and clean up the dining room, had much less free time, and had to bolt down our meals so that we could do our jobs properly – but that was something we did it so that we could be in a proper learning environment for the summer.
So while I sympathize with you to an extent, there is another side to the story…
an Israeli Yid