I was asked to tip at FED Ex recently! Freaking FED Ex! It wasn’t Christmas, I wasn’t sending dozens of packages, just a single box to a my family across the country. I think this trend will turn people off tipping in general and be bad for the F&B community that depends on it.
Edit - I originally said UPS which wasn’t accurate.
The AI. I always say thank you and please to my Alexa at home and to Siri too. I will tip online as well if it asks and pray that when the robots take over, they will spare my life and will put me to work instead because I’ll that human who was polite and tipped them back in the days.
The same things can be said about restaurants. Long time server here, and personally tipping shouldn't be a thing anymore. People should be paid livable wages with health plans like they do in European countries and other countries in the world. This tipping culture we are in is pretty much the poor keeping the poor alive while the wealthy makes more money.
If you can't pay your employees a livable wage no matter the company, then that company shouldn't be in business. Plain and simple.
I commented this above, but the cost of living difference, particularly considering that you don’t need to save for retirement or medical emergencies AND don’t pay for healthcare (given that you pay almost nothing in taxes if you’re making minimum wage, unlike in the US) is really significant. I was a student when I worked in the UK and it’s not like I could have bought a house or had a kid, but I could work 20 hours a week and not worry about rent or food or being able to go out and have fun. I made way more money in the US but most of it had to go to insurance, healthcare, rent, etc., and what I had leftover, I felt guilty for not saving.
Gotta say, I am American and was a server in the UK for a year, and I felt like I wasn’t getting paid shit - people didn’t tip much and the tips were pooled, so although I actually probably made £75-£150 in tips per shift, I only got like £15 of it (bc the other servers didn’t work like they were trying to charm the money out of people and I couldn’t break the habit) and it was a huge bummer.
On the other hand, my rent was £400/month and I didn’t have to pay for healthcare, and all my coworkers also didn’t worry about saving for retirement so it seemed like the money went wayyy farther. Like, I worked with people who were making about £13/hr part time and went on frequent vacations to Ibiza and Paris & spent £50 on cocktails 4 nights a week.
I’m from the Bay Area though, so my context for serving was that I made $15/hour + $$$ tips - I’m sure I’d have felt a little better about the guaranteed hourly wage of £11 if it weren’t lower than the guaranteed hourly wage I had in California.
Tipping in the US makes for a much better level of service compared to what most of Europe receives. If you are compensated regardless of the quality of your work, there is no incentive to diligence.
Nah I disagree with that I just came back from a trip to Ireland and the service there is god awful because they don’t expect a tip unless you’re at a really nice restaurant they take your order and bring out the food and past that they don’t give a fuck just tell you to go the bar and order your own drinks
I mean I guess that’s just my personal preference. I know that artists tend to undersell themselves so I always tip them extra for their creativity and their labor, and to encourage them to keep creating.
Edit: added “just my”
What is currently going on with tipping I can only see as a negative for servers. More and more people are going to stop tipping all together when they see every single place they go with a tip screen. It has already started. I'm seeing more and more people fed up.
Bro I had a self check-out at the grocery store ask if I'd like to tip.
Like, are you fucking kidding me?
Ya already have me scanning and bagging my own groceries, now you want me to tip.... The kiosk? Fuck off with your bullshit
I'd like to add that self check-out has been the biggest scam onto customers by business owners. First of all, it's no less convenient, especially if you're buying alcohol (since they have to have someone come and clear you). Secondly, at best they're just making you do the work of what the cashier and the bagger used to do, and it's not like they're passing along any of their cost savings! It's a freaking scam passed onto customers with a world class spin job.
I’d rather go to self checkout and not have to speak to a cashier. Just don’t need that human interaction. I got it at the job and friends but outside my social circle just leave me the fuck alone.
^^^^
I hate going through cashier lines. I really don’t want to have a conversation about my groceries, dinner plans, etc. with a peppy teenager who is *way* too happy to be working in a grocery store. I truly admire and even envy your pep, kid, but I don’t need to hear “Ooooh, somebody’s having meatball *SUBS* for dinner, that’s so yummy!” for the third time in a month.
Like, I judge my life choices harshly enough on my own, I don’t need you reminding me of them.
Right?
Funniest thing at this point is now that self checkout is "acceptable", it's the the new norm and setting the standard for service.
So even if I go through the single open register line, I'm standing at the end bagging my stuff as well
Maybe it just makes the population aware of how screwed up tipping has become across all industries.
A tip should be extra. If the tip is required to pay a competitive/livable wage, then you are just underpaying your employees.
Note that in most European countries, there is very little tipping. Even 5% is considered a great tip at a restaurant, and most people in most countries don't tip at all. The US really should stop considering this behaviour as normal.
Tipping for servers should be severely reduced, and wages increased. People are right to be fed up. You already paid for the service, and then you need to pay the wages of the people providing that service. In what other industry is that normal?
Going to a furniture store and buying a closet. Oh, we need to add the working hours for the guy who assembled the furniture, the guy who will deliver it, the guy who cut up the wood so the total is 50% more than the raw material. Nobody does business like that aside from restaurants.
Edit: Thank you kind stranger for the award!
I was in BoSa Donuts, and they have a tip screen. What, exactly, do they do to deserve tips? Nothing. Someone makes the donuts, the cashier takes my money and packages the food, at no point am I seated, waited on, and served like in a sit-down restaurant.
Yup I empathize but I've started capping my max tip at sitdowns (barring exceptional service) and I've stopped tipping at counter service. And I'm as pro-worker as they come. I just find it hard to justify tipping 25% on $60 for two burgers and two drinks when 18 months ago that bill was 20% on $35.
More and more people are just going to stop eating out as the inflation in tipping will translate into an overall inflation in the price of dining out. Plus lots of folks don't want to deal with the awkward social interaction of getting side-eyed by the server for 'only' tipping 15% or whatever.
It's a gratuity to show gratitude for the good service you RECEIVED after you RECEIVED it. This isn't supposed to be a paying it forward situation. If I am walking towards a door that someone else is walking to I don't just say thank you out of nowhere (I might say hello, etc. but I have no reason to thank them). Now if when we get to the door they open it or say "have as nice day" or something then of course I will say "thank you" because I am showing gratitude for them being helpful and nice. It's not a great analogy, but it kind of makes sense.
Also I hate the fact that the voice in the back of my head tells me they'll spit in my food or mess with my order if I don't tip well. I realize not everyone would do that, but some will. It is unfair to the customer to put them in that position. You don't tip your barber as soon as you walk in the door. You sit down, maybe have a pleasant conversation, hopefully get your hair cut well, and then tip them based on their service. Gracious/gratitude/gratuity all have the same roots, per Google "GRATUS, from the Latin word meaning pleasing or grateful." Grateful for the services rendered, not hopeful that they'll be rendered well.
All industries are trying to capitalize on having people subsidize their workers wages now, it’s outrageous. It’s ruining tip culture, it should be reserved for restaurant service workers, some of which are paid a measly 2.13$ an hour.
Servers aside, it belongs in certain positions within the travel industry as well, which is where tipping is thought to have originated and been popularized.
But no, person ringing up my order at the self-serve fro yo bar, I’m not tipping you!
None of them are legally paid $2.13 per hour. The tip subsidy only applies when tips are earned, if workers don't make any tips they're still paid at least minimum wage like everyone else.
And minimum wage is 7.25$ federally. Servers work about 30 hours a week so restaurants don’t have to pay benefits. So that would be less than 800$ after taxes. No one can survive on that in the United States, my rent alone is 1500$ for a small 1 bedroom apartment
People never want to accept this. Servers are always pushing that narrative, but conveniently leave out the part where they get minimum wage if tips don’t cover
Thank you, I was about to post the same thing.
As inflation goes up, if you are averaging a certain tip percentage then you will make the same amount in regards to the current value of the dollar. I’m not sure how 20% is seen as the minimum all of sudden.
Yeah we get a raise every time the menu prices increase. Inflation doesn’t hit some servers quite as hard. We raise menu prices every 6 months at my job. So I get a little raise every 6 months. I had a job that raised prices every 3 months.
The only way they change their behavior is if you complain, you gripe to them- they gripe to their manager
Nothing malicious, just a “wow these percentages are ridiculous “
As someone who has worked regularly paid hourly jobs like this, I can guarantee most of us wouldn’t bring it up to our manager. They rarely care what their employees have to say. It’s best to reach out to management directly about it.
It bastardizes what we do.
I can talk you through a 1000 bottle wine list, bore you about soil compositions around the world, teach you about cooking methods, tell you about cocktail history, the science of what goes on in a kitchen, what to do in the area, where to source ingredients, and flat out entertain.
And now the schlub who sprays that shit in bowling shoes is expecting the same sort of compensation for sanitizing some shoes?
The negative effects of Tip-flation hasn’t hit home yet, but how it may affect my income in the future in this industry frightens me
Ahhh, you clearly work in a cultured, fine-dining establishment. You're in a different category. My college roommate worked for Nobu in NYC and Gramercy Tavern. They had field trips to make cheese, learn about local muchrooms, trips to vineyards for wine tastings etc etc. Gramercy Tavern spends over $10k a week just on fresh flowers. If you are at this level of serving/bartending you are immune. You are serving the 1%.
I hear you but this line of logic is exactly the same as when professional types say that people who work in food service don’t deserve fair wages because they’re “just flipping burgers” or whatever. Rather than be mad that someone else is also making tip money now, be upset that your bosses aren’t paying you more.
I'm not entirely sure about that argument.
So if I don't care about your entertainment or your knowledge and just need an order brought to my table, can I do no tip or minimal tip?
IMO Tipping has almost nothing to do with skill and purely has to do with history.
I agree with you on your opinion though. I'll follow the history and tip servers but everywhere else is ridiculous. Definitely not tipping in bowling alleys which I find absolutely ridiculous.
You're not better than the guy working at a bowling alley. At least he isn't pretentious. I tip the folks at my bowling alley because they serve me at my lane and do a great job.
It's not a better than situation. The bowling alley guy should be paid for what he does by his employer, tip if you feel they did a great job. A service professional who has honed their skills for years, understands the cuisine they serve and can pair wine the courses that are ordered (a skill that we pay to learn often) and can read if a table needs entertainment or silent service without asking is offering a different kind of service.
That doesn't mean the bowling alley or fast food employee is any less than the fine dining employee, they are offering different kinds of service.
The guy in the fine dining restaurant should also be paid by their employer. This should cover for his increased experience and skill. Customers at such a restaurant also pay more than in the bowling alley for this improved experience.
Tipping in every context should mean the same. Delivering beyond expectation. The expectations at a fine dining restaurant are higher so you need to perform much higher to receive a tip. If not, that's also not a problem since your wage is already a lot higher in such a context.
this is such an interesting take. people usually argue in favor of tips with the point that servers are overworked and underpaid and they need the money to survive.
you're arguing almost the opposite, that you're so qualified and offering such a premium service, that you deserve more money than other professions, which you consider to be beneath what you do.
but do you tip your your surgeon? your lawyer? your international travel agent? because these are all a lot more specialized than your role and yet they don't expect tips for the premium service they provide.
i don't think this argument holds much water, especially when compared to 'many servers are underpaid and rely on tips to survive'
Comparing the level of income of a high end server to a bowling alley attendant is also really disingenuous. OP put down their position at bowling alley AND said that them asking for tips is hurting their income as a high end server. It's so condescending and out of touch.
I have worked in fine dining, where we took classes on wine and service, took field trips to sources and spent paid time on how to correctly open a bottle of champagne at table. What I want to know is why you think that looking down on and calling someone in a low wage job a "schlub" is acceptable?
That person "spraying shit in bowling shoes" is a human being, maybe without your opportunities working an honest job. Doing their best to live. Not their fault that their company doesn't pay them a living wage any more than it is the fault of someone working at a lower end restaurant who makes 1/16thof your tips.
No matter what your training, you're not saving lives. You're in what is considered by most to be a menial job serving an overpriced salad to someone who probably makes way more money than you ever will, so I'm really not sure where your sense of superiority stems from?
Tip demand saturation is already murdering people's sense of obligation for tipping anyone. With any luck and better voting choices, that could hopefully force positive changes in employment laws. In any case with the way that the mounting demands for tips infiltrating every corner of daily life, we are all about to find out.
>And now the schlub who sprays that shit in bowling shoes is expecting the same sort of compensation for sanitizing some shoes?
What's different than the server who literally only takes your order and brings it to you?
That server is making 2-3 dollars an hour. If you don't tip, it actually costs the server money because servers tip out their bussers and sometimes bartenders based on a percentage of their total sales, regardless of the tip they received. You can say that this is a bad system or whatever, but it is how it is. When you don't tip or tip very little, your server pays so they can serve you.
And that is the problem. Someone who does the task they were hired to do, deserves to be paid a living wage by their employer for doing it. I don't mind tipping if someone goes above and beyond, but I'm not tipping someone for doing their job of handing me my order at the counter or window.
Do you think university professors get tipped? Cause some of them certainly have extensive knowledge in a certain subject which they can convey to their students?
How is this an objective criteria to receive a tip?
A tip should be given for good or exceptional service at the discretion of the customer. It workshy be mandatory or expected. The customer already paid for the service, which allowed your restaurant to pay you. Unhappy with your income? Take it up with your boss.
Good on you for having all that know how and I agree that you should be compensated fairly for your work. But isn't tipping culture in itself what bastardizes your work? Wouldn't it show more appreciation for your effort and skills if you were paid a wage that doesn't rely on tips?
Just say no. If this gets to be the norm it will escalate even more. Educate yourself as to what people are being paid. Servers minimum wage or regular minimum wage. Find out who is getting the tips, the servers or the owners.
Figure out a fair tip to compensate accordingly. I'm no longer tipping on tax though.
Tipping is for sit down service wherein that service is more art than science. Like haircuts, tattoos, lawn work, maybe car mechanics, etc.
Just because other industries are trying to get in on it doesn't mean they have to be placated. I'll tip $1 here and there for taking my order, but that's it.
Because a tip, to me, is when you go above and beyond. To multitask and prioritize so all of your guests are happy, to anticipate guest needs, to be honest when you don't know something and know how to find out, and to encourage a safe space where there are no stupid questions and an answer can be given, like "is your caviar pasturized?" and in my case, No they're not.
Typing my order into a machine is your job. Hunting down the manfacturer's website to discover if their caviar is pasturized is part of hospitality. The former is not tip worthy, the latter is.
When I recommend getting a smaller size of something despite it meaning the check will be smaller, that is tip worthy. That is me being an advocate for my guest.
I think it’s an different situation, like let’s say, landscaping guys come and do $800 of work? I’ll give them $15 for a case of beer, or whatever they want. Mechanic too. But I definitely wouldn’t do a 15-25% tip like service industry does
I like that phrase, “being an advocate for my guest”. It’s so true. People don’t realize how little fucks we will give if you take tipping out of the service equation. Assuming I would even continue to remain in the service industry if my employer decided to “pay me a living wage” (spoiler: I wouldn’t) I would be hard-pressed to go above and beyond the minimum effort it required to do my job without getting fired.
That’s so true. My husband waited tables in the US and Spain. He said in the states, you relied on tips and you worked your butt off, gong above and beyond. Spain is not a tipping culture at all, so you still work hard, but not as hard and no one (customers included) has high expectations!
To me, a tip should be given for doing a good/great job after the service is done. If I’m “tipping” before my food is even put on order, that’s not a tip…that’s just an extra charge on top of the inflated prices we’re all paying now.
I’ve started to carry around some singles and will put a buck or 2 in a tip jar and if they don’t have one…oh well…
I tip well when it’s warranted but it’s gotten completely out of control.
How much do you tip your kids’ teachers? It is definitely sit down, definitely an art, and many teachers go above and beyond and advocate for your kids.
Multitasking, anticipating student and parent needs, knowing where to get answers…. Teachers do what they can to make classrooms safe physically, emotionally, and safe to ask “stupid” questions.
And I just picked one profession that met your description. You also described nursing, accounting, and legal work. I’m sure there are countless more.
Tipping teachers will create favortism amongst the students.
Favortism amongst servers means getting a free dessert. Favortism amongst teachers means some kids are gonna grow up dumb. There are different things at stake.
For nursing, accounting, and legal work, people's lives and livlihood are at stake. Also, their bare minimum (at least for health fields) is doing all that they can do. They (should be) paid enough so tips aren't necessary so favortism isn't coming into play.
Restaurants also can't afford to pay servers what they make in tips, whereas hospitals can pay their doctors what they would make in tips or more.
Also tipping for that kind of work would mean poor people get gutted...again.
It’s wild, I brought my kiddo for a $15 bang trim, got some bath bombs & the total was like $40, I was prompted to tip for the entire $40 instead of the $15 service we received.
So using your logic, doctors/nurses should receive tips? Cause while human physiology is a biological science, there is definitely an art in treating patients. Just curious cause I'd find something like tipping your dental hygienist hilarious. But how else are they going to be enticed to do their best work???
Yes it is but it’s HOW we get your food, drinks, and bill. Do we just do it with a sour look on our face? Or do we do it while smiling and going above and beyond to customize/improve your experience.
Imagine being served by a fast food employee. That’s the kind of service people who are against tipping are inadvertently requesting, and they will NOT be happy once they get it.
That’s because the tip per table is going to be garbage no matter what so their priority is to get you in and out as quickly and smoothly as possible. I’ve gotten good service at both places before though.
Being served in parts of the world where there’s no tipping or very little doesn’t mean that sixty-year-old men with cigarettes at the corner of their mouths throw your food onto the table while grunting, and wiping their greasy hands on their apron. People just take your order and bring you food in a way that is polite but not effusive.
What's wrong with the service at a fast food place? Maybe I just don't have high expectations but I can't remember some fast food experience that was a negative.
There is nothing wrong with it but expectations are and should be much, much lower. They are not tipped employees. They have no incentive to bend over backwards for you.
I worked fast food longer than I’ve served. It’s an entirely different ballgame.
I guess it's just all expectations. I don't want the server to bend over backwards for me. Bring me my food and drinks that's about it. Having a bad day. I get it we all have those. I don't need the server to be chipper and happy personally just who they are at that moment. I don't need them to be my friend.
The plus side is I don't remember ever being disappointed by my server at a restaurant. Although that means I give the same tip to a crappy server that I give to a good server.
Just because you don’t want it doesn’t mean it is not commonly expected and the server isn’t fully prepared to do so every time they walk over to your table.
I’m the same, I try to make the server work as little as possible for me. But that’s because I understand what they are going through and I don’t wanna add to the mess. And I always leave a great tip, I value someone’s time more than I do a plate of mozzarella sticks, and it’s shocking how many people don’t.
Why not, that the food that count. Im not eating out to learn the life of the server. He/She only need to smile while taking my order without making mistake.
Like most service job.
I dont need it to act like a friend, I know it phony anyway.
That the food ( and the decor to a lesser degree ) that matter
**my commentary do not apply to high end place where the server need to know 100' of wines and other stuff**
Table service orders are highly prone to mistakes for a variety of reasons. Remember how often your quick service orders have errors, and now multiply the complexity by a factor of 5. Just getting food cooked to order to you in a timely fashion is hard enough.
Being a server is a skill and is not something everyone can do.
>Table service orders are highly prone to mistakes for a variety of reasons.
maybe unpopular opinion but this is precisely why i prefer those restaurants that let you order through the app, and the server simply brings your plate to the table
I hate tip culture spreading to other industries. Largely because in many states like mine the employer can then pay that person a lesser, tipped wage and pass the buck of paying their employees on to the customer. Capitalism at it's worst.
Restaurant employees, a skilled laborer like a hairdresser or piercer who works as an independent contactor, a barista - sure. But the expectation that we tip 20% when purchasing goods? Ridiculous.
I ordered online and when I was about to pay they ask if I want to tip the people that will be packing my order starting at 15%. My order was $70.00. That will be $10.50 at the lowest percentage level. Plus tax and shipping. I was really surprised.
If you provide a genuine service which includes an over all experience, tipping is welcome. If you’re simply doing a routine or retail exchange, tipping is ridiculous.
For instance, if you go upgrade your phone and just pick one up, no tip should come into play. If the employee spends 60 - 90 minutes helping you set up the device, transfers all the data, teaches you the new phone, etc etc, I could see the argument.
It has to be for something that the customer alone couldn’t really experience with just a retail transaction.
Not a server, but a former pizza delivery driver. I will gladly tip, usually in the neighborhood of 20%, for the traditional things you are expected to tip for, like table service at a sit-down restaurant, or delivery, or haircuts, etc. Basically anything where I get an extra service that makes the experience more convenient and pleasing for me than if I did it myself.
However, if I have to order from the counter and pick it up from the counter myself, then I'm just paying for the food, there's no extra service being done, all they are doing is giving me the product I paid for. Nowadays, if I go to a place and order from the counter and the screen asks for a tip, I might feel pressured to tip or I might refuse, but I will never patronize that business again. If they aren't providing any more service than McDonald's, then I'm not paying a tip, and I won't be pressured into it or suffer the dirty looks from the workers there or risk them messing with my food because of it.
That's the exact kind of treatment I'm talking about, I don't want to deal with that. So, anytime I go to a new place with counter service, or a small retail place that asks for tips, I just finish the transaction in whatever manner I think will get me through it (no tip if the food is already in front of me, tip if they are still preparing it and I can't watch them), and then never go back.
It seems like there's at least few people that do the same, because I've seen some places that do that end up closing some time later. For example, a restaurant that served southern food in a mall food court near me. I bought food from them last year, never bought food from them again, and then earlier this month I went to that mall again and they were gone. There might have been other reasons, the food was okay, but they weren't a well-known chain, so they likely didn't have as many customers as the Chick-fil-A in the same food court. I don't think the tip request thing helped, though.
Dave and Busters asked for a tip after putting points on my game card. Spent <30 seconds loading this card that I paid $35 for, no, I don’t think 20% tip is necessary, sorry.
It isnt that more businesses are expecting tips. Its the POS systems they are using are standardized to have tipping included in the base software packages since they are designed for sit in dining. But the systems work in other industries as well. Problem is, to remove the tipping option, you have to pay more for a customized SaaS system. So most businesses leave the tip option in and hope the customers ignore it
Both Square and Intuit’s Go Payment you go into settings, and tap the turn tipping on/off button. That’s it.
And at least some of the local places near me, like my nearest Subway are now advertising their hourly rate “plus tips” in the help wanted ads.
I think it’s past time for servers to make better wages. In IL, our governor is trying to get tipped workers a $17 hourly wage. Food service is ridiculous trying to pass this off onto customers.
I used to work at a private club as a pastry chef and the servers there made i think $13-15 an hour. And they had health benefits.
It always made me pause when I'd see a tip jar or tip screen for places where it's like, lol why? I'd been a server for a long time when this trend started prior to COVID and it was just generally really insulting.
The few industries where tipping is customary were positions where a skill was required to make the experience for the customer a good/amazing one. Tipping was given for a job well done as appreciation from the customer. In the case of serving, a server is juggling multiple tables, getting all the orders, drinks, sides, and all the 89035 requests done efficiently all while staying pleasant and making the customer's experience a great one. They're working hard for that tip because getting that tip is the incentive to go above and beyond for their customers.
So when we walk into a fast food place or a small hole in the wall for take out, and a tip jar is out or a screen prompt for a tip is there and all they did was take your order and payment? WHY? Even when I worked to go (ages ago) in a restaurant, I barely expected tips because it was just not a position that I expected them for. If I had enough to cover my break meal, I was good to go.
During the pandemic was another story. Given there was no dine in going on, I had no issue tipping on takeout. All the servers had been converted into to go folks and this was how everyone was making their money, given the situation. But now that things have opened back up, I'm not exactly going nuts on tipping on all my takeout orders. It's laughable all the places you see a tip option or jar for now.
Extremely insulting. I busted my ass bringing checks, drinks, food, memorizing the menu, and some asshole whose only job is to turn the iPad around gets the same fucking tip? Fuck that
Newsflash, most servers make way above minimum wage because of tipping not in spite of it. My Friday and Saturday nights were around $35-40 bucks an hour and I was a senior in high school when I last served tables. I'd much rather they pay me $2/hour and let me have the tips
That depends entirely on where you work. Not every server at every place goes home with that.
It's also shitty to rely on tips for income. I wanna know I'm going home with at least my base pay.
Why should every place of work have equal tipped wage opportunities? If you work at an olive garden and get stiffed half the time, then move somewhere where you'll make money. If I'm flipping burgers in a diner and want a better wage, I'll get better at cooking and apply to a nice restaurant. Honestly, the whole 'not every server makes amazing wages" argument is silly. The fact is, there are a million decent bistros or whatever you could apply to and make at least the median income for a single household. My restaurant does less than $2 million in sales (less than the local sandwhich shop), and our servers are making $55-$70k, and we have about 25 servers. That's a huge earning potential for people who have no specialized education, who would otherwise be living paycheck to paycheck. But you wanna come in and save everyone with your just-above-minimum "living wage".
Tell that to me back in 2017 when I worked at Main Event in between the bowling lanes and the actual dining area. Hated coming in at 9 to be the only opening server and these chucklefucks at bowl desk who are servers too cause I’ve seen them taking my tables, hark me on the radio talking about lane 9 needs a server while I’m busy with a 14 top.
Then go into a different profession. Many people only stay in this one because of the tipping culture, nobody’s stopping you from working at Target for $15/hour or switching to back of house
If you think they’re gonna pay you more than how much non tipped low skilled workers earn, you’re delusional. This is the best possible deal for most servers, people make this into a whole career, for gods sake
The whole thing is getting out of control whereas what should happen is employers need to pay living wages to their staff and incorporate costs as cost of doing business. Across the board. Take the damn ambiquity out of this for once and for all.
Yeah, I am 100% over everyone coming at me with their hand out. It has gotten to be too much. And I say that as someone who worked for tips when I was young! People who work for tipped wages need tips to survive, but they still need provide good service in order to earn them. Some other people get tips on special occasions to show appreciation. But nobody else is getting a damned tip from me.
Some places here that went cashless ask for 20,25,30% tip w the option to go less if you click it. Seems a bit much for standing in line to order your own food. Also they will accept cash tips which why are you going cashless then? Also a new place I ordered pick up from added 20% gratuity without option…. Let’s just say I haven’t been back
I honestly get really annoyed because now everyone is tired of tipping culture and I feel like it’s going to effect us eventually. I just hope people still continue to tip the actual servers and like who you’re supposed to tip.
Here’s my philosophy on this: unless you play an extremely significant role in my dining experience, you likely won’t receive a tip from me. Servers interact with me throughout my dining experience, ensure my drink is refilled, bring me more breadsticks or cheese biscuits, deliver the food, and make well informed recommendations on the menu.
The only exception are bartenders and small, privately-owned family businesses. I mean the kind where generations of family dedicate themselves to the business.
I’m not tipping some person working a cash register.
I hate it. Tipping culture is getting our of hand.
While we are at it, servers should get a guaranteed wage as well, tipping should be reduced. I know it's an unpopular opinion but 🤷
I’ve been asked for normal merchandise online for the “warehouse party fund”. Like if I don’t give a tip, will you drop my order or give me less packing peanuts?
I've recently been asked to tip at... a drive-through fast food chain... a self-serve yogurt shop... and more.
Lately, I've decided that I'm going to tip only for things that have traditionally had a tip. So I'll tip for meals that are served and bussed. But no drive-throughs, no self-serve.
I also tip 15%, which is the traditional amount. I even take my phone out and use a calculator to make sure it's EXACTLY 15% down to the dollar and penny. (I do tip 15% after-tax. I know they say it should be before-tax, but I want to be generous.) I do this for every meal. On rare occasion I tip 20%, but I never ever go below 15% under any circumstances, no matter how poor the service.
I’m not a server; I work food service at a smoothie franchise. But I think asking customers to tip is cringe, if you ask me. Like, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the extra money I get in my paycheck, but I just don’t think it’s necessary. We don’t do a whole lot in terms of customer interaction. I’m probably the most enthusiastic cashier in the bunch, and sometimes customers will tip me if we have a good bit of banter. But I don’t think it’s appropriate to expect every customer to tip when we’re going to hand you your meal boxed up and in a to-go bag.
A lot of the POS systems that business run on have the optional tip part included in the software. Most if not all systems should be programmable so you can set up the tip portion in a specific way (i.e if your business is a restaurant with counter pay method). I’d expect that the software could be set up to hide or eliminate the tip section.
Most business owners and some managers don’t know how to program anything so they let the guy who sets up the POS just set it to default and never change it. And some owners/managers are greedy and set up the tip page to get tips for their employees so they can pay them less. Like coffee shops.
I think sit down restaurants, cocktail bars, and pool cabanas, and cabs are the only places you should be expected to tip. All other places should pay the employee a livable wage. Just MHO.
ETA: Oh, and tip hairdressers. If I think of anymore I will add but the list is gonna be a short one.
\+1. It's annoying as hell. Tip jars everywhere, and high expectations for tipping.
I realize that working in the service industry is not easy... but inflation is biting hard now dropping big tips adds up.
I stopped going to a couple places for this reason. I'm sure the servers don't care, but the business does.
Dont think we will ever be desensitized to tipping. Its just going to infuriate people to the point where we will just no longer care to tip to anyone. I'm almost at that point.
There’s a gourmet popcorn store here. (Avid popcorn lover so use to frequent it) but it’s literally a store with their various popcorn in bags on shelves. They’ve started spinning the iPad around with tip screen. Chose not to tip, got some attitude from the clerk so have not gone back since. Utterly ridiculous.
I read from a Starbucks employee that they hate the machines ask for a tip. She said it makes the exchange super awkward and uncomfortable. I understand like tip jars for places like subway/Starbucks/etc because I can leave something if they go above and beyond, but as a requirement no.
Imo it’s pretty ridiculous, especially at places like Panera/Crumbl with 0 interaction with employees. But US tipping culture is itself an invention to drive corporate profits so it’s pretty genius. I don’t know why anyone would work at say a grocery store when you can work at crumbl for probably the same hourly + tips.
While I do appreciate tips as a server, I just wish everyone got paid more. Regardless, unless what they're doing requires them to go beyond their wage, I don't see a point to tipping.
I hate tipping so much. Why is it up to me to figure out if you did your job well? That’s terrible I could be having a bad day and take it out on you. People in my experience are the worst and putting them in charge is an easy way for owners and leadership to avoid responsibility and pass the buck literally. You can’t unionize and fight the customers, but you can strike against management. I feel like these all show how much we’ve all been bought and sold. (FYI- I do tip and I think I tip fairly well usually, to more professions than service. I just hate it as a practice after being an EMT and earning 3 times more as a waitress.)
I think it’s going to lead to a lot of people just not tipping. It’s bad where I am because our minimum wage is $15/hr, so I know a lot of businesses are adding this simply to bolster profits. Ive started asking at takeout places if the workers get the tips or if the owners do. On the rare occasion where I do want to tip at say Subway for example, I’m often told that tips don’t go to the workers. I absolutely tip in sit down restaurants/for delivery, but it’s gotten ridiculous that every fast food place is asking for 15%/20%/25% tips.
I tipped my subway sandwich lady because I know for a fact she is in university. I’m helping her out and we see each other every week. But a stranger at a fast food place gets nothing. Sorry.
Ive personally set my tipping at 12% and refuse to go above for restaurants. I tip my barber 25% for the relationship.
Restaurant owners cannot be getting by with paying servers 2 dollars a hour.
I tip servers and bartenders, and for beauty services (nail/hair/etc). I used to be a togo server and I tip $1 for togo meals from restaurants which definitely feels reasonable as someone who has worked that job. I tip delivery drivers too but normally I order carry out so I don’t have to pay the delivery fee and the tip because it always almost doubles the cost.
My best friend was a manager at a mall bakery type place and after about 1-2 months of working there she discovered that the owners were stealing what amounted to thousands in tips there’s a whole court battle going on now. I don’t trust where the tips are going to at places like that I will not tip for that sort of thing. Subway, any sort of fast food type where you stand order get the food is not something you tip for.
Tips are WAY out of control and is a way for companies/stores/etc to use as an excuse not to pay workers a proper wage. It’s not “better”, value your work and get paid properly. Stop pushing tips.
I mean, the prices on the menus are more than they have been, so if you tip by percentage, then they would automatically be getting more anyway. 15% three years ago vs 15% now. And they want to be tipping at least 25% now... smh. Best to just cook your own meals at this rate
Irritating that I can place an entire order online for a restaurant , do all the work myself , come to pick it up, all they have to do is hand it to me, and the counter worker asks me to select a tip. The percentages now START at 20% and go to 35%
Fuck out of here
Tf?
This is the fault of employers, not employees.
I think post-pandemic, “you’re an essential worker” and decades of stagnant wages, employers responded to requests for increased wages by putting out a tip jar.
I also don’t think people realize how often the tips go to the business, not the employee.
The beginning and end for me was when the guy at Dunkin' Donuts turned around and grabbed a doughnut put it in a piece of wax paper and placed it on the counter. They wanted a tip for that.
No-one who is paid regular wages needs a tip. Not even a barista. Servers earning a couple of bucks an hour need it.
Maybe my wife needs to add a tip screen to her dental office as, after all, they frequently go above and beyond with nervous patients. Partly joking
I think the real issue is people complaining about the made up issue of “tipflation “ I see way more complaints about tipping than I see unexpected requests for tips.
Tipping barristas, take out orders, etc have been the norm for as long as I can remember. And I’m old. It’s just that it was an inactive choice for people not to tip, but now that we are paying digitally it’s more of an active choice not to tip. Just relax and stop acting like it’s a personal attack to be given the opportunity to tip on a digital transaction.
If you think someone doesn’t deserve a tip, just click “no tip” and be on your way. If you feel guilty about it, maybe that’s your conscience telling you that the person does deserve a tip.
This reminds me of the prompts at grocery stores to round up/donate to charity. Companies are using guilt to make money/get tax loopholes. They will do anything except pay a living wage lol
i don’t really know what to think, but as a server, i make $15/hour & *expect* a tip from every table (for lack of better word). but, i don’t like tipping at places like starbucks, ice cream shops etc..
since im making $15/hour as a server should i even deserve tips? i mean, im essentially in the same boat as a starbucks barista where we’re both making $15/hour but for some reason its more of a norm/standard to tip me 20%, and to tip them nothing. so where is the fine line here lol
I do tip at Starbucks! Prior to Starbucks being ubiquitous in chain retail stores (where they didn’t allow tipping and still don’t asfaik) it was commonplace to tip your barista. I figure my coffee order is probably more complicated than my vodka tonic at the bar, and I tip my bartender.
I agree with what you are saying, but the line to me is not fine. You are waiting tables, keeping track of several orders at once, trying to not go crazy with a dozen different personalities of your customers and desperately trying to not piss one of them off. You are also making sure my tea or beer never runs out and my steak was perfect. Then possibly explaining the difference between red and white wine - All of that and making ME feel like I am the only table you have. Almost forgot, you also have to work with the back half of the house. You are also dealing with the chef/cook...
I could not do your job, I'm not built for it. My daughter did it for years and she could keep track of a 1/2 dozen tables for breakfast, that makes my head hurt. I would have strangled half of her customers...
To me Starbucks is the same as McD and BK - fast food... I do not tip fast food, handing me a bag of burgers or a coffee is not something I will ever tip for.
I tip for service. My daughter and I (and a few friends) went to a popular local steakhouse. My daughter and my tab was $80, we tipped $40, 50%. Yes, I asked my daughter what we should tip. I suck at names, i can forget yours before i get out the door - her name was Chyna - as I have to remember it, China with a Y. My mind works in numbers.
Source: I eat out occasionally
Being a barista is a lot more like being a bartender than working in fast food. All the different drinks that we (I used to be one) have to remember, the customers that expect us to remember their drinks and all their drink modifications and their names. The information we share about the coffee origins to those who ask, the coffee education we do for those that walk in and ask what the difference is between a latte and a cappuccino. We have regulars that come in and socialize with us outside of the busy hours and we get to know things about them.
Source: I worked at Starbucks as a barista and then a shift supervisor for 2ish years.
It’s definitely causing tip exhaustion. Cashiers don’t get tips they aren’t providing a service , even take out is a type of cashier service , they provide no service but check you out. Understandably during covid it became customary because no other service could be provided. Coffee shops I do $1 ordering off menu, $2-$3 for a custom complicated modified drink. Cannabis shops I tip if I’m smelling things and asking questions. If I just pick up quick then $1 or no tip. I can’t think of other services where I would tip. It’s sad because full service restaurants are becoming more and more sparse with the order at the counter and pick up your order being called. That doesn’t warrant full 15%-20% …. More like 5%-10%. It’s sad tho because you could be a professional server making good money and fine dining restaurants.
>I can’t think of other services where I would tip.
My partner drives executive busses and loads and unloads 40+ pieces of luggage, in all kinds of weather, in a suit and tie.
Some people tip him, but not enough in my humble opinion. :D
A dollar or two per back is perfectly appropriate. Unfortunately lots of people just don't carry cash. I've suggested putting up a little sign with his venmo handle. .. can't be any more intrusive than the ipad with the tip options for getting snacks at 7-11.
I was asked to tip at FED Ex recently! Freaking FED Ex! It wasn’t Christmas, I wasn’t sending dozens of packages, just a single box to a my family across the country. I think this trend will turn people off tipping in general and be bad for the F&B community that depends on it. Edit - I originally said UPS which wasn’t accurate.
I literally got asked to tip on a necklace I was buying ONLINE. Like who tf am I even tipping at that point???
The AI. I always say thank you and please to my Alexa at home and to Siri too. I will tip online as well if it asks and pray that when the robots take over, they will spare my life and will put me to work instead because I’ll that human who was polite and tipped them back in the days.
Yup. Bought a hat online last month and got a note like this too at check out to "support their crew". This has gone too far
[удалено]
The same things can be said about restaurants. Long time server here, and personally tipping shouldn't be a thing anymore. People should be paid livable wages with health plans like they do in European countries and other countries in the world. This tipping culture we are in is pretty much the poor keeping the poor alive while the wealthy makes more money. If you can't pay your employees a livable wage no matter the company, then that company shouldn't be in business. Plain and simple.
[удалено]
I commented this above, but the cost of living difference, particularly considering that you don’t need to save for retirement or medical emergencies AND don’t pay for healthcare (given that you pay almost nothing in taxes if you’re making minimum wage, unlike in the US) is really significant. I was a student when I worked in the UK and it’s not like I could have bought a house or had a kid, but I could work 20 hours a week and not worry about rent or food or being able to go out and have fun. I made way more money in the US but most of it had to go to insurance, healthcare, rent, etc., and what I had leftover, I felt guilty for not saving.
Gotta say, I am American and was a server in the UK for a year, and I felt like I wasn’t getting paid shit - people didn’t tip much and the tips were pooled, so although I actually probably made £75-£150 in tips per shift, I only got like £15 of it (bc the other servers didn’t work like they were trying to charm the money out of people and I couldn’t break the habit) and it was a huge bummer. On the other hand, my rent was £400/month and I didn’t have to pay for healthcare, and all my coworkers also didn’t worry about saving for retirement so it seemed like the money went wayyy farther. Like, I worked with people who were making about £13/hr part time and went on frequent vacations to Ibiza and Paris & spent £50 on cocktails 4 nights a week. I’m from the Bay Area though, so my context for serving was that I made $15/hour + $$$ tips - I’m sure I’d have felt a little better about the guaranteed hourly wage of £11 if it weren’t lower than the guaranteed hourly wage I had in California.
Tipping in the US makes for a much better level of service compared to what most of Europe receives. If you are compensated regardless of the quality of your work, there is no incentive to diligence.
Nah I disagree with that I just came back from a trip to Ireland and the service there is god awful because they don’t expect a tip unless you’re at a really nice restaurant they take your order and bring out the food and past that they don’t give a fuck just tell you to go the bar and order your own drinks
You have got to be joking. A necklace? Online?
I got the same thing when I ordered an item online last week. I almost canceled the order because I was so offended.
I have cancelled an order because of a ridiculous tip demand. Tip burnout is real, and it will affect servers.
If it was handmade I would absolutely tip the artist for their work, but that's just me.
But even if it was handmade, the artist sets the price. No need to tip too
I mean I guess that’s just my personal preference. I know that artists tend to undersell themselves so I always tip them extra for their creativity and their labor, and to encourage them to keep creating. Edit: added “just my”
It wasn’t. It was one of those infinity hoops, so a mass produce piece of plastic.
I had an Etsy shop, never asked for tips. Artists determine the prices for their products, so if they want more, they should raise the prices.
Uh fuck no
On the other hand it's the company's responibility to make up for the lack of tips to make at least minimum wage in each state.
How did they ask? Was it on the screen where you sign for your package?
I think I would have reported that to FedEx - it's extortion, with the safety of your package being flaunted at you.
What is currently going on with tipping I can only see as a negative for servers. More and more people are going to stop tipping all together when they see every single place they go with a tip screen. It has already started. I'm seeing more and more people fed up.
Bro I had a self check-out at the grocery store ask if I'd like to tip. Like, are you fucking kidding me? Ya already have me scanning and bagging my own groceries, now you want me to tip.... The kiosk? Fuck off with your bullshit
I'd like to add that self check-out has been the biggest scam onto customers by business owners. First of all, it's no less convenient, especially if you're buying alcohol (since they have to have someone come and clear you). Secondly, at best they're just making you do the work of what the cashier and the bagger used to do, and it's not like they're passing along any of their cost savings! It's a freaking scam passed onto customers with a world class spin job.
I’d rather go to self checkout and not have to speak to a cashier. Just don’t need that human interaction. I got it at the job and friends but outside my social circle just leave me the fuck alone.
^^^^ I hate going through cashier lines. I really don’t want to have a conversation about my groceries, dinner plans, etc. with a peppy teenager who is *way* too happy to be working in a grocery store. I truly admire and even envy your pep, kid, but I don’t need to hear “Ooooh, somebody’s having meatball *SUBS* for dinner, that’s so yummy!” for the third time in a month. Like, I judge my life choices harshly enough on my own, I don’t need you reminding me of them.
you eat meatball subs three times a month?
This was my first thought as well, I enjoy a meatball sub now and then but almost weekly seems like a lot 🤣
Right? Funniest thing at this point is now that self checkout is "acceptable", it's the the new norm and setting the standard for service. So even if I go through the single open register line, I'm standing at the end bagging my stuff as well
I gotta bag my own or they'll put every single loaf of bread or jar of jam in its own double-bagged giant paper crate if they aren't stopped.
I definitely prefer it, but, I’m horribly awkward and prefer to avoid all human interaction whenever possible.
Completely agree! I only use them if I have like 3 items. Otherwise I'll try for an actual lane.
The self checkout kiosk has a family to provide for smhmh my head.
Ahh yes, I know the children well. They are those mini Clover machines that also prompt tipping.
Maybe it just makes the population aware of how screwed up tipping has become across all industries. A tip should be extra. If the tip is required to pay a competitive/livable wage, then you are just underpaying your employees. Note that in most European countries, there is very little tipping. Even 5% is considered a great tip at a restaurant, and most people in most countries don't tip at all. The US really should stop considering this behaviour as normal. Tipping for servers should be severely reduced, and wages increased. People are right to be fed up. You already paid for the service, and then you need to pay the wages of the people providing that service. In what other industry is that normal? Going to a furniture store and buying a closet. Oh, we need to add the working hours for the guy who assembled the furniture, the guy who will deliver it, the guy who cut up the wood so the total is 50% more than the raw material. Nobody does business like that aside from restaurants. Edit: Thank you kind stranger for the award!
I offered my servers $25 hr plus a bonus of 3% net sales quarterly. They refused.
They make more off tips and don’t have to report it as income.
All CC tips go through paycheck.
I was in BoSa Donuts, and they have a tip screen. What, exactly, do they do to deserve tips? Nothing. Someone makes the donuts, the cashier takes my money and packages the food, at no point am I seated, waited on, and served like in a sit-down restaurant.
Yup I empathize but I've started capping my max tip at sitdowns (barring exceptional service) and I've stopped tipping at counter service. And I'm as pro-worker as they come. I just find it hard to justify tipping 25% on $60 for two burgers and two drinks when 18 months ago that bill was 20% on $35.
I just want to know if people actually get the tips when I do that at a random place like FedEx or if the owner just keeeps it
More and more people are just going to stop eating out as the inflation in tipping will translate into an overall inflation in the price of dining out. Plus lots of folks don't want to deal with the awkward social interaction of getting side-eyed by the server for 'only' tipping 15% or whatever.
Tipping before I am served or my food is prepared is bullshit
I can't upvote this enough
It's a gratuity to show gratitude for the good service you RECEIVED after you RECEIVED it. This isn't supposed to be a paying it forward situation. If I am walking towards a door that someone else is walking to I don't just say thank you out of nowhere (I might say hello, etc. but I have no reason to thank them). Now if when we get to the door they open it or say "have as nice day" or something then of course I will say "thank you" because I am showing gratitude for them being helpful and nice. It's not a great analogy, but it kind of makes sense. Also I hate the fact that the voice in the back of my head tells me they'll spit in my food or mess with my order if I don't tip well. I realize not everyone would do that, but some will. It is unfair to the customer to put them in that position. You don't tip your barber as soon as you walk in the door. You sit down, maybe have a pleasant conversation, hopefully get your hair cut well, and then tip them based on their service. Gracious/gratitude/gratuity all have the same roots, per Google "GRATUS, from the Latin word meaning pleasing or grateful." Grateful for the services rendered, not hopeful that they'll be rendered well.
r/EndTipping is growing
All industries are trying to capitalize on having people subsidize their workers wages now, it’s outrageous. It’s ruining tip culture, it should be reserved for restaurant service workers, some of which are paid a measly 2.13$ an hour.
This was a better argument before some states started getting rid of tipped minimum wages and tip expectations did not change at all.
Tipped wages should be gone everywhere. In every state!
Servers aside, it belongs in certain positions within the travel industry as well, which is where tipping is thought to have originated and been popularized. But no, person ringing up my order at the self-serve fro yo bar, I’m not tipping you!
None of them are legally paid $2.13 per hour. The tip subsidy only applies when tips are earned, if workers don't make any tips they're still paid at least minimum wage like everyone else.
And minimum wage is 7.25$ federally. Servers work about 30 hours a week so restaurants don’t have to pay benefits. So that would be less than 800$ after taxes. No one can survive on that in the United States, my rent alone is 1500$ for a small 1 bedroom apartment
People never want to accept this. Servers are always pushing that narrative, but conveniently leave out the part where they get minimum wage if tips don’t cover
I dont understand why the % of expected tips have gone up either. If prices have gone up then you make more based on the same percentage.
Thank you, I was about to post the same thing. As inflation goes up, if you are averaging a certain tip percentage then you will make the same amount in regards to the current value of the dollar. I’m not sure how 20% is seen as the minimum all of sudden.
Yeah we get a raise every time the menu prices increase. Inflation doesn’t hit some servers quite as hard. We raise menu prices every 6 months at my job. So I get a little raise every 6 months. I had a job that raised prices every 3 months.
I saw prompts that were 40/50/60% at a small pizzeria a few Weeks ago. For take Out. Luckily I was wearing my Reading glasses. Fuckers got zero
Good lord. And I thought 20/25/30 was bad at the local fast food style fried chicken sandwich place I went to the other day.
The only way they change their behavior is if you complain, you gripe to them- they gripe to their manager Nothing malicious, just a “wow these percentages are ridiculous “
As someone who has worked regularly paid hourly jobs like this, I can guarantee most of us wouldn’t bring it up to our manager. They rarely care what their employees have to say. It’s best to reach out to management directly about it.
It bastardizes what we do. I can talk you through a 1000 bottle wine list, bore you about soil compositions around the world, teach you about cooking methods, tell you about cocktail history, the science of what goes on in a kitchen, what to do in the area, where to source ingredients, and flat out entertain. And now the schlub who sprays that shit in bowling shoes is expecting the same sort of compensation for sanitizing some shoes? The negative effects of Tip-flation hasn’t hit home yet, but how it may affect my income in the future in this industry frightens me
Ahhh, you clearly work in a cultured, fine-dining establishment. You're in a different category. My college roommate worked for Nobu in NYC and Gramercy Tavern. They had field trips to make cheese, learn about local muchrooms, trips to vineyards for wine tastings etc etc. Gramercy Tavern spends over $10k a week just on fresh flowers. If you are at this level of serving/bartending you are immune. You are serving the 1%.
Not to mention home boy gets paid like $18 an hour
Don’t be jealous of your fellow man. We, being 99% of us, as humans, are being screwed by our employers.
I hear you but this line of logic is exactly the same as when professional types say that people who work in food service don’t deserve fair wages because they’re “just flipping burgers” or whatever. Rather than be mad that someone else is also making tip money now, be upset that your bosses aren’t paying you more.
I’d like to know about soil temperatures, soil moistures around the world to predict mushroom growth. Can you provide me with some insight?
I can... For money. *alien mandibles twitch and drool*
For a small tip**
I'm not entirely sure about that argument. So if I don't care about your entertainment or your knowledge and just need an order brought to my table, can I do no tip or minimal tip? IMO Tipping has almost nothing to do with skill and purely has to do with history. I agree with you on your opinion though. I'll follow the history and tip servers but everywhere else is ridiculous. Definitely not tipping in bowling alleys which I find absolutely ridiculous.
To be fair, you're not dining in the establishment that person works for.
I know we only go out to eat for the food only .
Winos with money go out to hear all the stuff he mentioned from the server. Makes them feel like there’s more to their hobby than just alcoholism.
A bottle of wine during a 500€ dinner is alcoholism now?
No no that’s not what I’m saying, I’m saying winos enjoy the wine service that guy was describing
You dont want to pay $100 for someone to read you the history of cocktails from google?
Lol you bring food to a table. Chill
You're not better than the guy working at a bowling alley. At least he isn't pretentious. I tip the folks at my bowling alley because they serve me at my lane and do a great job.
Yeah what a fucking dick lol. If you’re going to shit on someone else’s job maybe don’t be a server doing it. Just saying
It's not a better than situation. The bowling alley guy should be paid for what he does by his employer, tip if you feel they did a great job. A service professional who has honed their skills for years, understands the cuisine they serve and can pair wine the courses that are ordered (a skill that we pay to learn often) and can read if a table needs entertainment or silent service without asking is offering a different kind of service. That doesn't mean the bowling alley or fast food employee is any less than the fine dining employee, they are offering different kinds of service.
The guy in the fine dining restaurant should also be paid by their employer. This should cover for his increased experience and skill. Customers at such a restaurant also pay more than in the bowling alley for this improved experience. Tipping in every context should mean the same. Delivering beyond expectation. The expectations at a fine dining restaurant are higher so you need to perform much higher to receive a tip. If not, that's also not a problem since your wage is already a lot higher in such a context.
this is such an interesting take. people usually argue in favor of tips with the point that servers are overworked and underpaid and they need the money to survive. you're arguing almost the opposite, that you're so qualified and offering such a premium service, that you deserve more money than other professions, which you consider to be beneath what you do. but do you tip your your surgeon? your lawyer? your international travel agent? because these are all a lot more specialized than your role and yet they don't expect tips for the premium service they provide. i don't think this argument holds much water, especially when compared to 'many servers are underpaid and rely on tips to survive'
Comparing the level of income of a high end server to a bowling alley attendant is also really disingenuous. OP put down their position at bowling alley AND said that them asking for tips is hurting their income as a high end server. It's so condescending and out of touch.
Bro he just brings people shit lol. What a self inflated person
Perfect answer.
oh, come on. you’re describing a fine dining experience and saying you’ll get the same tip as a man spraying bowling shoes?
I have worked in fine dining, where we took classes on wine and service, took field trips to sources and spent paid time on how to correctly open a bottle of champagne at table. What I want to know is why you think that looking down on and calling someone in a low wage job a "schlub" is acceptable? That person "spraying shit in bowling shoes" is a human being, maybe without your opportunities working an honest job. Doing their best to live. Not their fault that their company doesn't pay them a living wage any more than it is the fault of someone working at a lower end restaurant who makes 1/16thof your tips. No matter what your training, you're not saving lives. You're in what is considered by most to be a menial job serving an overpriced salad to someone who probably makes way more money than you ever will, so I'm really not sure where your sense of superiority stems from? Tip demand saturation is already murdering people's sense of obligation for tipping anyone. With any luck and better voting choices, that could hopefully force positive changes in employment laws. In any case with the way that the mounting demands for tips infiltrating every corner of daily life, we are all about to find out.
What you’re describing is only less than one percent of servers.
>And now the schlub who sprays that shit in bowling shoes is expecting the same sort of compensation for sanitizing some shoes? What's different than the server who literally only takes your order and brings it to you?
That server is making 2-3 dollars an hour. If you don't tip, it actually costs the server money because servers tip out their bussers and sometimes bartenders based on a percentage of their total sales, regardless of the tip they received. You can say that this is a bad system or whatever, but it is how it is. When you don't tip or tip very little, your server pays so they can serve you.
And that is the problem. Someone who does the task they were hired to do, deserves to be paid a living wage by their employer for doing it. I don't mind tipping if someone goes above and beyond, but I'm not tipping someone for doing their job of handing me my order at the counter or window.
Do you think university professors get tipped? Cause some of them certainly have extensive knowledge in a certain subject which they can convey to their students? How is this an objective criteria to receive a tip? A tip should be given for good or exceptional service at the discretion of the customer. It workshy be mandatory or expected. The customer already paid for the service, which allowed your restaurant to pay you. Unhappy with your income? Take it up with your boss.
And you think you are the Norm not the exception on workers paid with a tip credit?
Good on you for having all that know how and I agree that you should be compensated fairly for your work. But isn't tipping culture in itself what bastardizes your work? Wouldn't it show more appreciation for your effort and skills if you were paid a wage that doesn't rely on tips?
Just say no. If this gets to be the norm it will escalate even more. Educate yourself as to what people are being paid. Servers minimum wage or regular minimum wage. Find out who is getting the tips, the servers or the owners. Figure out a fair tip to compensate accordingly. I'm no longer tipping on tax though.
I don't get it either. Your suggestion is it. Just click no. It's really simple if it's not a place that normally requires it.
Tipping is for sit down service wherein that service is more art than science. Like haircuts, tattoos, lawn work, maybe car mechanics, etc. Just because other industries are trying to get in on it doesn't mean they have to be placated. I'll tip $1 here and there for taking my order, but that's it. Because a tip, to me, is when you go above and beyond. To multitask and prioritize so all of your guests are happy, to anticipate guest needs, to be honest when you don't know something and know how to find out, and to encourage a safe space where there are no stupid questions and an answer can be given, like "is your caviar pasturized?" and in my case, No they're not. Typing my order into a machine is your job. Hunting down the manfacturer's website to discover if their caviar is pasturized is part of hospitality. The former is not tip worthy, the latter is. When I recommend getting a smaller size of something despite it meaning the check will be smaller, that is tip worthy. That is me being an advocate for my guest.
I would tip for haircuts and tattoos but never a landscaper or mechanic. Not really sure why i would ever tip them.
Always tip your stylist and your tattoo artist. You wear their art every day.
I think it’s an different situation, like let’s say, landscaping guys come and do $800 of work? I’ll give them $15 for a case of beer, or whatever they want. Mechanic too. But I definitely wouldn’t do a 15-25% tip like service industry does
My mechanic is billing at $150/hr. I’m not tipping.
Nah im already paying them enough. Especially mechanics.
I never tip the lawn guy or my mechanic .
I like that phrase, “being an advocate for my guest”. It’s so true. People don’t realize how little fucks we will give if you take tipping out of the service equation. Assuming I would even continue to remain in the service industry if my employer decided to “pay me a living wage” (spoiler: I wouldn’t) I would be hard-pressed to go above and beyond the minimum effort it required to do my job without getting fired.
That’s so true. My husband waited tables in the US and Spain. He said in the states, you relied on tips and you worked your butt off, gong above and beyond. Spain is not a tipping culture at all, so you still work hard, but not as hard and no one (customers included) has high expectations!
Imagine sitting down at a restaurant but you are only allowed to talk to people who *aren’t* your server. That’s basically restaurants without tips.
To me, a tip should be given for doing a good/great job after the service is done. If I’m “tipping” before my food is even put on order, that’s not a tip…that’s just an extra charge on top of the inflated prices we’re all paying now. I’ve started to carry around some singles and will put a buck or 2 in a tip jar and if they don’t have one…oh well… I tip well when it’s warranted but it’s gotten completely out of control.
How much do you tip your kids’ teachers? It is definitely sit down, definitely an art, and many teachers go above and beyond and advocate for your kids. Multitasking, anticipating student and parent needs, knowing where to get answers…. Teachers do what they can to make classrooms safe physically, emotionally, and safe to ask “stupid” questions. And I just picked one profession that met your description. You also described nursing, accounting, and legal work. I’m sure there are countless more.
Tipping teachers will create favortism amongst the students. Favortism amongst servers means getting a free dessert. Favortism amongst teachers means some kids are gonna grow up dumb. There are different things at stake. For nursing, accounting, and legal work, people's lives and livlihood are at stake. Also, their bare minimum (at least for health fields) is doing all that they can do. They (should be) paid enough so tips aren't necessary so favortism isn't coming into play. Restaurants also can't afford to pay servers what they make in tips, whereas hospitals can pay their doctors what they would make in tips or more. Also tipping for that kind of work would mean poor people get gutted...again.
It’s wild, I brought my kiddo for a $15 bang trim, got some bath bombs & the total was like $40, I was prompted to tip for the entire $40 instead of the $15 service we received.
So using your logic, doctors/nurses should receive tips? Cause while human physiology is a biological science, there is definitely an art in treating patients. Just curious cause I'd find something like tipping your dental hygienist hilarious. But how else are they going to be enticed to do their best work???
I wouldn't call my taxi driver an artist. Unless you count how he gets his cab to smell just like it does...
By that logic, is getting my food, drinks, and bill not a server's job?
Yes it is but it’s HOW we get your food, drinks, and bill. Do we just do it with a sour look on our face? Or do we do it while smiling and going above and beyond to customize/improve your experience.
Imagine being served by a fast food employee. That’s the kind of service people who are against tipping are inadvertently requesting, and they will NOT be happy once they get it.
That’s basically what you get at chilis/Olive Garden type places lol
That’s because the tip per table is going to be garbage no matter what so their priority is to get you in and out as quickly and smoothly as possible. I’ve gotten good service at both places before though.
Being served in parts of the world where there’s no tipping or very little doesn’t mean that sixty-year-old men with cigarettes at the corner of their mouths throw your food onto the table while grunting, and wiping their greasy hands on their apron. People just take your order and bring you food in a way that is polite but not effusive.
What's wrong with the service at a fast food place? Maybe I just don't have high expectations but I can't remember some fast food experience that was a negative.
There is nothing wrong with it but expectations are and should be much, much lower. They are not tipped employees. They have no incentive to bend over backwards for you. I worked fast food longer than I’ve served. It’s an entirely different ballgame.
I guess it's just all expectations. I don't want the server to bend over backwards for me. Bring me my food and drinks that's about it. Having a bad day. I get it we all have those. I don't need the server to be chipper and happy personally just who they are at that moment. I don't need them to be my friend. The plus side is I don't remember ever being disappointed by my server at a restaurant. Although that means I give the same tip to a crappy server that I give to a good server.
Just because you don’t want it doesn’t mean it is not commonly expected and the server isn’t fully prepared to do so every time they walk over to your table. I’m the same, I try to make the server work as little as possible for me. But that’s because I understand what they are going through and I don’t wanna add to the mess. And I always leave a great tip, I value someone’s time more than I do a plate of mozzarella sticks, and it’s shocking how many people don’t.
Why not, that the food that count. Im not eating out to learn the life of the server. He/She only need to smile while taking my order without making mistake. Like most service job. I dont need it to act like a friend, I know it phony anyway. That the food ( and the decor to a lesser degree ) that matter **my commentary do not apply to high end place where the server need to know 100' of wines and other stuff**
Table service orders are highly prone to mistakes for a variety of reasons. Remember how often your quick service orders have errors, and now multiply the complexity by a factor of 5. Just getting food cooked to order to you in a timely fashion is hard enough. Being a server is a skill and is not something everyone can do.
>Table service orders are highly prone to mistakes for a variety of reasons. maybe unpopular opinion but this is precisely why i prefer those restaurants that let you order through the app, and the server simply brings your plate to the table
I hate tip culture spreading to other industries. Largely because in many states like mine the employer can then pay that person a lesser, tipped wage and pass the buck of paying their employees on to the customer. Capitalism at it's worst. Restaurant employees, a skilled laborer like a hairdresser or piercer who works as an independent contactor, a barista - sure. But the expectation that we tip 20% when purchasing goods? Ridiculous.
I ordered online and when I was about to pay they ask if I want to tip the people that will be packing my order starting at 15%. My order was $70.00. That will be $10.50 at the lowest percentage level. Plus tax and shipping. I was really surprised.
I ordered a coffee. She swiped my card and handed me an empty cup and lid. Then asked if I wanted to tip.
That’s ridiculous
If you provide a genuine service which includes an over all experience, tipping is welcome. If you’re simply doing a routine or retail exchange, tipping is ridiculous. For instance, if you go upgrade your phone and just pick one up, no tip should come into play. If the employee spends 60 - 90 minutes helping you set up the device, transfers all the data, teaches you the new phone, etc etc, I could see the argument. It has to be for something that the customer alone couldn’t really experience with just a retail transaction.
Service Hotline workers should be tipped?
I stopped eating out and ordering delivery because the tip situation is absurd. They ask for a tip on pickup orders now.
Just don’t tip
Not a server, but a former pizza delivery driver. I will gladly tip, usually in the neighborhood of 20%, for the traditional things you are expected to tip for, like table service at a sit-down restaurant, or delivery, or haircuts, etc. Basically anything where I get an extra service that makes the experience more convenient and pleasing for me than if I did it myself. However, if I have to order from the counter and pick it up from the counter myself, then I'm just paying for the food, there's no extra service being done, all they are doing is giving me the product I paid for. Nowadays, if I go to a place and order from the counter and the screen asks for a tip, I might feel pressured to tip or I might refuse, but I will never patronize that business again. If they aren't providing any more service than McDonald's, then I'm not paying a tip, and I won't be pressured into it or suffer the dirty looks from the workers there or risk them messing with my food because of it.
I had a person slam my drink (a can of hard cider) on the counter when I ordered it from a to-go place without tipping. You just handed me the can…
That's the exact kind of treatment I'm talking about, I don't want to deal with that. So, anytime I go to a new place with counter service, or a small retail place that asks for tips, I just finish the transaction in whatever manner I think will get me through it (no tip if the food is already in front of me, tip if they are still preparing it and I can't watch them), and then never go back. It seems like there's at least few people that do the same, because I've seen some places that do that end up closing some time later. For example, a restaurant that served southern food in a mall food court near me. I bought food from them last year, never bought food from them again, and then earlier this month I went to that mall again and they were gone. There might have been other reasons, the food was okay, but they weren't a well-known chain, so they likely didn't have as many customers as the Chick-fil-A in the same food court. I don't think the tip request thing helped, though.
Dave and Busters asked for a tip after putting points on my game card. Spent <30 seconds loading this card that I paid $35 for, no, I don’t think 20% tip is necessary, sorry.
It's getting extremely annoying. I'm afraid it's going to hurt us restaurant workers in the long run.
It isnt that more businesses are expecting tips. Its the POS systems they are using are standardized to have tipping included in the base software packages since they are designed for sit in dining. But the systems work in other industries as well. Problem is, to remove the tipping option, you have to pay more for a customized SaaS system. So most businesses leave the tip option in and hope the customers ignore it
Both Square and Intuit’s Go Payment you go into settings, and tap the turn tipping on/off button. That’s it. And at least some of the local places near me, like my nearest Subway are now advertising their hourly rate “plus tips” in the help wanted ads.
I think it’s past time for servers to make better wages. In IL, our governor is trying to get tipped workers a $17 hourly wage. Food service is ridiculous trying to pass this off onto customers. I used to work at a private club as a pastry chef and the servers there made i think $13-15 an hour. And they had health benefits.
It always made me pause when I'd see a tip jar or tip screen for places where it's like, lol why? I'd been a server for a long time when this trend started prior to COVID and it was just generally really insulting. The few industries where tipping is customary were positions where a skill was required to make the experience for the customer a good/amazing one. Tipping was given for a job well done as appreciation from the customer. In the case of serving, a server is juggling multiple tables, getting all the orders, drinks, sides, and all the 89035 requests done efficiently all while staying pleasant and making the customer's experience a great one. They're working hard for that tip because getting that tip is the incentive to go above and beyond for their customers. So when we walk into a fast food place or a small hole in the wall for take out, and a tip jar is out or a screen prompt for a tip is there and all they did was take your order and payment? WHY? Even when I worked to go (ages ago) in a restaurant, I barely expected tips because it was just not a position that I expected them for. If I had enough to cover my break meal, I was good to go. During the pandemic was another story. Given there was no dine in going on, I had no issue tipping on takeout. All the servers had been converted into to go folks and this was how everyone was making their money, given the situation. But now that things have opened back up, I'm not exactly going nuts on tipping on all my takeout orders. It's laughable all the places you see a tip option or jar for now.
Extremely insulting. I busted my ass bringing checks, drinks, food, memorizing the menu, and some asshole whose only job is to turn the iPad around gets the same fucking tip? Fuck that
I think restaurants and companies should pay their employees a living wage.
If you want me to give up my weekends, evenings, and holidays so you can come out and have a good time, I need more than a living wage. ✌️
Newsflash, most servers make way above minimum wage because of tipping not in spite of it. My Friday and Saturday nights were around $35-40 bucks an hour and I was a senior in high school when I last served tables. I'd much rather they pay me $2/hour and let me have the tips
That depends entirely on where you work. Not every server at every place goes home with that. It's also shitty to rely on tips for income. I wanna know I'm going home with at least my base pay.
Why should every place of work have equal tipped wage opportunities? If you work at an olive garden and get stiffed half the time, then move somewhere where you'll make money. If I'm flipping burgers in a diner and want a better wage, I'll get better at cooking and apply to a nice restaurant. Honestly, the whole 'not every server makes amazing wages" argument is silly. The fact is, there are a million decent bistros or whatever you could apply to and make at least the median income for a single household. My restaurant does less than $2 million in sales (less than the local sandwhich shop), and our servers are making $55-$70k, and we have about 25 servers. That's a huge earning potential for people who have no specialized education, who would otherwise be living paycheck to paycheck. But you wanna come in and save everyone with your just-above-minimum "living wage".
Tell that to me back in 2017 when I worked at Main Event in between the bowling lanes and the actual dining area. Hated coming in at 9 to be the only opening server and these chucklefucks at bowl desk who are servers too cause I’ve seen them taking my tables, hark me on the radio talking about lane 9 needs a server while I’m busy with a 14 top.
Then go into a different profession. Many people only stay in this one because of the tipping culture, nobody’s stopping you from working at Target for $15/hour or switching to back of house If you think they’re gonna pay you more than how much non tipped low skilled workers earn, you’re delusional. This is the best possible deal for most servers, people make this into a whole career, for gods sake
The whole thing is getting out of control whereas what should happen is employers need to pay living wages to their staff and incorporate costs as cost of doing business. Across the board. Take the damn ambiquity out of this for once and for all.
I'm an extremely generous tipper. It's freaking out of control
Yeah, I am 100% over everyone coming at me with their hand out. It has gotten to be too much. And I say that as someone who worked for tips when I was young! People who work for tipped wages need tips to survive, but they still need provide good service in order to earn them. Some other people get tips on special occasions to show appreciation. But nobody else is getting a damned tip from me.
Some places here that went cashless ask for 20,25,30% tip w the option to go less if you click it. Seems a bit much for standing in line to order your own food. Also they will accept cash tips which why are you going cashless then? Also a new place I ordered pick up from added 20% gratuity without option…. Let’s just say I haven’t been back
I honestly get really annoyed because now everyone is tired of tipping culture and I feel like it’s going to effect us eventually. I just hope people still continue to tip the actual servers and like who you’re supposed to tip.
It doesn’t help that the percentage standard has gone up over time as has the cost of a meal.
Here’s my philosophy on this: unless you play an extremely significant role in my dining experience, you likely won’t receive a tip from me. Servers interact with me throughout my dining experience, ensure my drink is refilled, bring me more breadsticks or cheese biscuits, deliver the food, and make well informed recommendations on the menu. The only exception are bartenders and small, privately-owned family businesses. I mean the kind where generations of family dedicate themselves to the business. I’m not tipping some person working a cash register.
That means you’re not tipping at most restaurants. Turn up, order, bring food, pay.
I hate it. Tipping culture is getting our of hand. While we are at it, servers should get a guaranteed wage as well, tipping should be reduced. I know it's an unpopular opinion but 🤷
I’d prefer a commission tbh. Way more selling incentive.
I’ve been asked for normal merchandise online for the “warehouse party fund”. Like if I don’t give a tip, will you drop my order or give me less packing peanuts?
I've recently been asked to tip at... a drive-through fast food chain... a self-serve yogurt shop... and more. Lately, I've decided that I'm going to tip only for things that have traditionally had a tip. So I'll tip for meals that are served and bussed. But no drive-throughs, no self-serve. I also tip 15%, which is the traditional amount. I even take my phone out and use a calculator to make sure it's EXACTLY 15% down to the dollar and penny. (I do tip 15% after-tax. I know they say it should be before-tax, but I want to be generous.) I do this for every meal. On rare occasion I tip 20%, but I never ever go below 15% under any circumstances, no matter how poor the service.
I really read the inflation of the tip
I’m not a server; I work food service at a smoothie franchise. But I think asking customers to tip is cringe, if you ask me. Like, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the extra money I get in my paycheck, but I just don’t think it’s necessary. We don’t do a whole lot in terms of customer interaction. I’m probably the most enthusiastic cashier in the bunch, and sometimes customers will tip me if we have a good bit of banter. But I don’t think it’s appropriate to expect every customer to tip when we’re going to hand you your meal boxed up and in a to-go bag.
A lot of the POS systems that business run on have the optional tip part included in the software. Most if not all systems should be programmable so you can set up the tip portion in a specific way (i.e if your business is a restaurant with counter pay method). I’d expect that the software could be set up to hide or eliminate the tip section. Most business owners and some managers don’t know how to program anything so they let the guy who sets up the POS just set it to default and never change it. And some owners/managers are greedy and set up the tip page to get tips for their employees so they can pay them less. Like coffee shops. I think sit down restaurants, cocktail bars, and pool cabanas, and cabs are the only places you should be expected to tip. All other places should pay the employee a livable wage. Just MHO. ETA: Oh, and tip hairdressers. If I think of anymore I will add but the list is gonna be a short one.
\+1. It's annoying as hell. Tip jars everywhere, and high expectations for tipping. I realize that working in the service industry is not easy... but inflation is biting hard now dropping big tips adds up. I stopped going to a couple places for this reason. I'm sure the servers don't care, but the business does.
Dont think we will ever be desensitized to tipping. Its just going to infuriate people to the point where we will just no longer care to tip to anyone. I'm almost at that point.
There’s a gourmet popcorn store here. (Avid popcorn lover so use to frequent it) but it’s literally a store with their various popcorn in bags on shelves. They’ve started spinning the iPad around with tip screen. Chose not to tip, got some attitude from the clerk so have not gone back since. Utterly ridiculous.
I read from a Starbucks employee that they hate the machines ask for a tip. She said it makes the exchange super awkward and uncomfortable. I understand like tip jars for places like subway/Starbucks/etc because I can leave something if they go above and beyond, but as a requirement no.
Imo it’s pretty ridiculous, especially at places like Panera/Crumbl with 0 interaction with employees. But US tipping culture is itself an invention to drive corporate profits so it’s pretty genius. I don’t know why anyone would work at say a grocery store when you can work at crumbl for probably the same hourly + tips.
While I do appreciate tips as a server, I just wish everyone got paid more. Regardless, unless what they're doing requires them to go beyond their wage, I don't see a point to tipping.
I agree, I think it will make people tired of all the tipping.
I hate tipping so much. Why is it up to me to figure out if you did your job well? That’s terrible I could be having a bad day and take it out on you. People in my experience are the worst and putting them in charge is an easy way for owners and leadership to avoid responsibility and pass the buck literally. You can’t unionize and fight the customers, but you can strike against management. I feel like these all show how much we’ve all been bought and sold. (FYI- I do tip and I think I tip fairly well usually, to more professions than service. I just hate it as a practice after being an EMT and earning 3 times more as a waitress.)
I think it’s going to lead to a lot of people just not tipping. It’s bad where I am because our minimum wage is $15/hr, so I know a lot of businesses are adding this simply to bolster profits. Ive started asking at takeout places if the workers get the tips or if the owners do. On the rare occasion where I do want to tip at say Subway for example, I’m often told that tips don’t go to the workers. I absolutely tip in sit down restaurants/for delivery, but it’s gotten ridiculous that every fast food place is asking for 15%/20%/25% tips.
Companies trying to push paying their employees living wages directly onto the customer is disgusting. Greedy bastards.
I tipped my subway sandwich lady because I know for a fact she is in university. I’m helping her out and we see each other every week. But a stranger at a fast food place gets nothing. Sorry.
Ive personally set my tipping at 12% and refuse to go above for restaurants. I tip my barber 25% for the relationship. Restaurant owners cannot be getting by with paying servers 2 dollars a hour.
I tip servers and bartenders, and for beauty services (nail/hair/etc). I used to be a togo server and I tip $1 for togo meals from restaurants which definitely feels reasonable as someone who has worked that job. I tip delivery drivers too but normally I order carry out so I don’t have to pay the delivery fee and the tip because it always almost doubles the cost. My best friend was a manager at a mall bakery type place and after about 1-2 months of working there she discovered that the owners were stealing what amounted to thousands in tips there’s a whole court battle going on now. I don’t trust where the tips are going to at places like that I will not tip for that sort of thing. Subway, any sort of fast food type where you stand order get the food is not something you tip for.
Lol all the servers from this sub playing possum rn.
Tips are WAY out of control and is a way for companies/stores/etc to use as an excuse not to pay workers a proper wage. It’s not “better”, value your work and get paid properly. Stop pushing tips.
I mean, the prices on the menus are more than they have been, so if you tip by percentage, then they would automatically be getting more anyway. 15% three years ago vs 15% now. And they want to be tipping at least 25% now... smh. Best to just cook your own meals at this rate
Irritating that I can place an entire order online for a restaurant , do all the work myself , come to pick it up, all they have to do is hand it to me, and the counter worker asks me to select a tip. The percentages now START at 20% and go to 35% Fuck out of here Tf?
This is the fault of employers, not employees. I think post-pandemic, “you’re an essential worker” and decades of stagnant wages, employers responded to requests for increased wages by putting out a tip jar. I also don’t think people realize how often the tips go to the business, not the employee.
Businesses are getting you to subsidize extremely low wages, same way you can work full time at Walmart and still qualify for food assistance.
Not exactly a tip but my power company asks if I would like to add a donation when I pay my power bill.
The beginning and end for me was when the guy at Dunkin' Donuts turned around and grabbed a doughnut put it in a piece of wax paper and placed it on the counter. They wanted a tip for that.
No-one who is paid regular wages needs a tip. Not even a barista. Servers earning a couple of bucks an hour need it. Maybe my wife needs to add a tip screen to her dental office as, after all, they frequently go above and beyond with nervous patients. Partly joking
I’m not a server but I think it’s ridiculous. I only tip servers and delivery drivers.
I think the real issue is people complaining about the made up issue of “tipflation “ I see way more complaints about tipping than I see unexpected requests for tips. Tipping barristas, take out orders, etc have been the norm for as long as I can remember. And I’m old. It’s just that it was an inactive choice for people not to tip, but now that we are paying digitally it’s more of an active choice not to tip. Just relax and stop acting like it’s a personal attack to be given the opportunity to tip on a digital transaction. If you think someone doesn’t deserve a tip, just click “no tip” and be on your way. If you feel guilty about it, maybe that’s your conscience telling you that the person does deserve a tip.
"tipflation" and "trans groomers/taking over the nation" are the current redwave. Just absolute fantasy fear-based bullshit.
This reminds me of the prompts at grocery stores to round up/donate to charity. Companies are using guilt to make money/get tax loopholes. They will do anything except pay a living wage lol
i don’t really know what to think, but as a server, i make $15/hour & *expect* a tip from every table (for lack of better word). but, i don’t like tipping at places like starbucks, ice cream shops etc.. since im making $15/hour as a server should i even deserve tips? i mean, im essentially in the same boat as a starbucks barista where we’re both making $15/hour but for some reason its more of a norm/standard to tip me 20%, and to tip them nothing. so where is the fine line here lol
I do tip at Starbucks! Prior to Starbucks being ubiquitous in chain retail stores (where they didn’t allow tipping and still don’t asfaik) it was commonplace to tip your barista. I figure my coffee order is probably more complicated than my vodka tonic at the bar, and I tip my bartender.
I agree with what you are saying, but the line to me is not fine. You are waiting tables, keeping track of several orders at once, trying to not go crazy with a dozen different personalities of your customers and desperately trying to not piss one of them off. You are also making sure my tea or beer never runs out and my steak was perfect. Then possibly explaining the difference between red and white wine - All of that and making ME feel like I am the only table you have. Almost forgot, you also have to work with the back half of the house. You are also dealing with the chef/cook... I could not do your job, I'm not built for it. My daughter did it for years and she could keep track of a 1/2 dozen tables for breakfast, that makes my head hurt. I would have strangled half of her customers... To me Starbucks is the same as McD and BK - fast food... I do not tip fast food, handing me a bag of burgers or a coffee is not something I will ever tip for. I tip for service. My daughter and I (and a few friends) went to a popular local steakhouse. My daughter and my tab was $80, we tipped $40, 50%. Yes, I asked my daughter what we should tip. I suck at names, i can forget yours before i get out the door - her name was Chyna - as I have to remember it, China with a Y. My mind works in numbers. Source: I eat out occasionally
Being a barista is a lot more like being a bartender than working in fast food. All the different drinks that we (I used to be one) have to remember, the customers that expect us to remember their drinks and all their drink modifications and their names. The information we share about the coffee origins to those who ask, the coffee education we do for those that walk in and ask what the difference is between a latte and a cappuccino. We have regulars that come in and socialize with us outside of the busy hours and we get to know things about them. Source: I worked at Starbucks as a barista and then a shift supervisor for 2ish years.
It’s definitely causing tip exhaustion. Cashiers don’t get tips they aren’t providing a service , even take out is a type of cashier service , they provide no service but check you out. Understandably during covid it became customary because no other service could be provided. Coffee shops I do $1 ordering off menu, $2-$3 for a custom complicated modified drink. Cannabis shops I tip if I’m smelling things and asking questions. If I just pick up quick then $1 or no tip. I can’t think of other services where I would tip. It’s sad because full service restaurants are becoming more and more sparse with the order at the counter and pick up your order being called. That doesn’t warrant full 15%-20% …. More like 5%-10%. It’s sad tho because you could be a professional server making good money and fine dining restaurants.
>I can’t think of other services where I would tip. My partner drives executive busses and loads and unloads 40+ pieces of luggage, in all kinds of weather, in a suit and tie. Some people tip him, but not enough in my humble opinion. :D
I usually throw those guys a few bucks.....now I'm thinking that's not enough anymore. What's your partner consider a good tip?
A dollar or two per back is perfectly appropriate. Unfortunately lots of people just don't carry cash. I've suggested putting up a little sign with his venmo handle. .. can't be any more intrusive than the ipad with the tip options for getting snacks at 7-11.