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You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

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Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#211

Post by thaumaturgy »

blacksmith_tb wrote: post #36
Simulacra wrote: post #5

I don't feel guilt when they swivel that ipad around, more like annoyance. When I'm asked to tip for someone handing me a cup of coffee, I say no tip. We should really be pushing to get away from this relic of slavery, and don't tip unless it's absolutely clear we need to; i.e. at a sit down restaurant.

Ouch, having worked in cafes and restaurants as an undergrad I pretty much always tip 20%. Is it absurd? Of course, but given how badly most waitstaff are paid, the idea that you will somehow eliminate the practice by stiffing a few barristas seems both sadistic and highly unlikely to change the world. Until robots hand me muffins, I accept it as a tax on eating out.

> I accept it as a tax on eating out.

I'm highlighting this part because it's one of the main contributing factors to dining out less and less, for me, and that includes coffee shops. I always tip well when going out; ergo, I don't go out as often.

Going off of the "I'm not very unique" rule of thumb, businesses are losing some amount of money because of tipping culture.

Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#212

Post by ballenf »

i88y6 wrote: post #186
siruncledrew wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tipping on a digital device (iPad register) also doesn't make sense because the tip money is going straight to the bank account the owner connected to the point of sale software.

That was the first thing I asked the barista once I became a regular and tipped Them: do you actually get these tips? She reassured me they did. What bothers me is the ACH networks still get their cut of the tip (assuming they get a percentage of sale and not a flat rate). No visa, you don't need 5% of the waitress hard work.

If it makes you feel better, you paid Visa not the waitress. You just subtracted that amount from what you left the waitress.

Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#213

Post by sureaboutthis »

codemac wrote: post #53
sillyquiet wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet strangely, the loudest voices AGAINST doing away with tipping in favor of a wage are often wait staff themselves.

Have you ever worked at a restaurant or in a tipped position? It constitutes a HUGE part of your take home pay for two reasons: - If you are a waiter, tips will be multiples of your hourly pay. - Tips will be under the table, saving you another ~25% easily. So if you make a tipped hourly wage in Ohio: - $4.15/hr * 7 hour shift (5pm open to 12pm close): 29.05 - Wait 6 tables, each with 3 seated parties, that tip you e…

Thank you for showing that. Most people don't understand these things.

My son was a waiter and did very well for himself while in school. Far better than working in my fast food restaurant when he was younger and I paid more than minimum wage.

Given the choice, I had several staff quit on me because they got a waitressing job and getting tips to make more money was the reason. I had several waitresses tell me that was the reason they would not work for me.

My son always tips 20% or more, no matter the service, because he was a waiter once. I tell him he's foolish as I tip 15% for good service and adjust up/down accordingly.

Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#214

Post by aniketpant »

behringer wrote: post #47
n1000 wrote: post #16

Haha. Glad to see this. I’m new to the US and thought the tip was expected...

The tip is expected only when you're at a real restaurant. No tip is required for fast food places. No tip is required up front before you're served. You should tip hair stylists and restaurant staff that brings you food or drink. I generally only tip 15 percent and I never tip at a buffet.

Where exactly are these unwritten tipping laws written? I've been living in US for the last one year and I feel that the entire tipping culture is a social custom that you are expected to adhere by. I was told that I should always tip at least a $1 per drink at a bar or cafe and I've been doing that but I notice that people go for "No Tip" on these iPads.

So if most people are choosing "No Tip", where did this unwritten rules of tipping go. If I should be concerned of living wage, why is there no consumer pressure on business owners to make these changes? If people keep on complying with this unwritten culture of tipping, most people will always be in a dilemma when they are expected to tip.

Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#215

Post by ghaff »

frereubu wrote: post #49
dwater wrote: post #29

Not tipping in America rarely if ever gets you poor service. You have to return to the same business and happen to get served by the same server enough times for them to remember you. It does deprive the server of a living wage.

A British friend of mine was chased down the street and harangued by a waitress when he tipped 10% (pretty standard in the UK for decent-if-not-amazing service). I get the feeling they'd remember someone who left a tip which was that underwhelming, let alone no tip, wouldn't they?

The UK may be one of the most potentially confusing places. Some places where a waiter takes your order include "optional" service charges and others don't. And, of the ones that don't, some prompt you to add a tip on the PoS terminal and others don't.

Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#216

Post by tk75x »

pg_bot wrote: post #83
jjuhl wrote: post #17

No guilt. No tip. Never. If they want more than the listed price they should raise the listed price. Social customs/expectations/guilt/whatever be damned. I never tip. Never have, never will.

I can guarantee that you've never worked as a waiter/waitress. This is so fundamentally insulting that I can't believe anyone actually would hold this position. When you sit down at a restaurant you are paying the wait staff to serve you. If I ever saw you a second time, I would insist you pick up your own orders, drinks, and bus your own table you skinflint.

If picking up my own plate/drink and wiping the table down after myself was an option, I would take it every time. I frequently drive to pick up the pizza/takeout I order in order to avoid tipping. In fact, many "fast casual" restaurants operate this way: at Panera Bread, you place an order at the front, get your drink cup, and receive a buzzing tile to notify you when the order is ready. Places like this have no reason to include tips.

Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#217

Post by justfor1comment »

Tipping makes it very difficult to stick to a budget. This was a big problem for me when I was a student. I wanted to limit every meal to $10. Since neither tips nor taxes are included in the prices at restaurants it became infeasible to eat out. Ended up cooking most of the food at home.

Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#218

Post by i88y6 »

acheron wrote: post #44
sillyquiet wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet strangely, the loudest voices AGAINST doing away with tipping in favor of a wage are often wait staff themselves.

That's because it would make it harder for them to continue committing tax fraud.

And it would dismantle the sexist construct that allows attractive women to claim disproportionately higher wages than men.

Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#219

Post by berbec »

DtnB wrote: post #187
EpicEng wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It goes to the workers though. Are you claiming that the owners are not distributing them back?

Not the parent but: I would imply exactly such a thing. Just like how, in some/most states you are supposed to pay a tipped employee minimum wage if they don't make the equivalent in tips. As far as I can tell from having worked in food service: that payout never happens.

I owned two Domino's pizzas for 15 years. I paid every cent in credit card tips to the employee, and never passed along the transaction fees. There were routinely thousands in tips weekly and I never even thought of keeping any of it. I started at the store answering the phones and did years of delivering. I understand tip money is the difference between eating and going hungry.

Re: You Want 20% for Handing Me a Muffin? The Awkward Etiquette of iPad Tipping

#220

Post by gamblor956 »

DtnB wrote: post #187
EpicEng wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It goes to the workers though. Are you claiming that the owners are not distributing them back?

Not the parent but: I would imply exactly such a thing. Just like how, in some/most states you are supposed to pay a tipped employee minimum wage if they don't make the equivalent in tips. As far as I can tell from having worked in food service: that payout never happens.

What you've described is a state crime, a federal crime, and a violation of several different state and federal labor laws. Easily a dime worth of prison time, plus criminal fines, plus civil penalties, plus having to pay out the stolen tips to your employees with treble damages for the intentional tort you've comitted.

Not really worth it. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but the calculus is so bad that it's extremely rare to happen at scale. Especially if there's a digital trail run by a third party...

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