Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

461–470 of 508 posts

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

#461

Post by aaron_m04 »

gamblor956 wrote: post #220
DtnB wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 extrem…

When the employers multiply these consequences by the (extremely low) probability of a legal claim, they may just decide that it's worth it to pocket the tips...

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

#462

Post by gbear605 »

Symbiote wrote: post #420
pastor_elm wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Used to be like this too in much of Europe, but now they expect tips from you if they think you're American.

It's true, but I reckon[1] I can ask for the bill in 6 European languages :-) I've had Danish waiters press the "No tip" button on their machine. One of them even said it was only used for "foreigners", which I took to mean Americans. [1] Bad Anglo-German pun?

[1]: vielleicht

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

#463

Post by gremlinsinc »

My rule of thumb: I only tip for full table service, and the amount depends on how full our drink cups remain. I have tipped though for holidays and things - esp. for places I frequent where the person behind the counter gives exceptional service.

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

#464

Post by SahAssar »

jstoiko wrote: post #311
tptacek wrote: post #209

Hacker News threads about tipping are always rough. US tipping is not complicated. You are being asked to share with a service worker's employer some of the burden of compensating them. The notion that you're rewarding exceptional service is a polite fiction. Depending on where you are, the tip is either expected or it isn't. Unfortunately for the mindset of a typical software developer, there won't be much clarity o…

> You can reasonably withhold a tip from someone who is actively hostile or incompetent, but really all you're doing is making yourself feel better. Well, one could argue that this is effectively NOT making you feel better, quite the opposite. Empathy is what makes people feel better. So to counter-argue your point, tipping someone despite the fact you may have negative feelings about their service or judge incompete…

If that's the case for tipping then why aren't all service jobs "tipping jobs"? I mean you wouldn't tip at mcdonalds, right?

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

#465

Post by terryf »

tptacek wrote: post #209

Hacker News threads about tipping are always rough. US tipping is not complicated. You are being asked to share with a service worker's employer some of the burden of compensating them. The notion that you're rewarding exceptional service is a polite fiction. Depending on where you are, the tip is either expected or it isn't. Unfortunately for the mindset of a typical software developer, there won't be much clarity o…

Right. But how much? I'm not from the US, but I know that the expectation is to tip. And I do. However, every time I leave some place I have this vague feeling of unease and guilt - technically I could have afforded to tip more. Was it enough? Did I offend them by accidentally calculating 15% instead of 20% ? Is the norm actually 30% in that place?

It'd just be so much easier if it was already included in the price.

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

#466

Post by SahAssar »

make3 wrote: post #301
gmjoe wrote: post #294

I think a lot of the frustration isn't from tipping... it's from tip creep . To many people, tipping feels like an unfair relic of the past that can be associated with negatives like racism (servers of color receiving less), pay disparity (why do underpaid servers get to benefit from tips but not underpaid line cooks), etc. At least here in NYC there's been a growing movement of "tip included" restaurants and coffee…

tip included.. that should mean no tip, tip included in the price of the thing, aka salary

That is what it means, but it makes tippers feel better than if it said "no tip"

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

#467

Post by SahAssar »

justfor1comment wrote: post #224
PunchTornado wrote: post #152

So you walk into a place, you say you want a muffin, they hand it to you and expect a 20% tip for that? Like wtf?! US is weird.

There are also restaurants in the US where the tip is optional or mandatory depending on the party size. If you and 2 other friends go to a restaurant, tipping is optional and you can decide the percentage. If you and 5 other friends go to a restaurant, tipping is mandatory and fixed at ~20%. And people wonder why I am asocial.

Mandatory tipping isn't tipping, it's just the price of the service. This is ridiculous.

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

#468

Post by alan_wade »

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.

Their employers are the ones who are screwing them if they dont pay them, why would I feel guilty for actions of another person?

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

#469

Post by diegs »

I can afford to tip, so I tip. I pay 20% more a year for the privilege of consuming expensive capuccinos and muffins served by people who are being priced out of the city in which I live by my profession.

Whether or not the system is just, the businesses are compensating their employees fairly or not, or my tips are going to one person or the whole group, I feel better about not needing to worry about such things, eliciting a good reaction from the employees I interact with on a regular basis, and putting more of my money into the local economy in which I live and interact with on a daily basis.

I can't solve any of the macro problems, but for a minimal cost to me as a highly paid tech worker, I feel good about my contribution to the micro problems. YMMV.

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

#470

Post by albertgoeswoof »

diegs wrote: post #469

I can afford to tip, so I tip. I pay 20% more a year for the privilege of consuming expensive capuccinos and muffins served by people who are being priced out of the city in which I live by my profession. Whether or not the system is just, the businesses are compensating their employees fairly or not, or my tips are going to one person or the whole group, I feel better about not needing to worry about such things, el…

Except you are actually exacerbating the problem by subsidising companies that don’t pay their workers properly.
Post reply on HN