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Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

maxinomics.com

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Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#111

Post by bombcar »

ghaff wrote: post #94
freedomben wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with your sentiment on tipping - I feel the same way. However I think the article did a pretty good job at answering your question of Why cant we just give employees dignity and a fair wage? . It's for economic reasons. To make it work you'd have to collude on pricing with all the other coffee shops (which I think would be illegal but IANAL), or you'd have to use government force to ban tipping (which would w…

>the status quo of expecting 20+% tip on an already expensive product is not good. Eliminate the expectation of a 20% tip and prices will basically go up 20% to cover an increase in base pay for the staff. So consumers probably won't actually save money if tipping were eliminated.

I'm all for that - and then you can tip in addition when you have a request that is above and beyond.

(Many restaurants I'm seeing have "18% gratuity automatically added" and yet still have a tip line for those who don't read.)

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#112

Post by lotsofpulp »

2fast4you wrote: post #103
ghaff wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>the status quo of expecting 20+% tip on an already expensive product is not good. Eliminate the expectation of a 20% tip and prices will basically go up 20% to cover an increase in base pay for the staff. So consumers probably won't actually save money if tipping were eliminated.

That is an acceptable outcome. Take out the social aspect and just pay people.

The west coast states in the US have not had a lower tipped minimum wage for many years, and the social aspect still has not changed.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#113

Post by Raed667 »

hailwren wrote: post #99
Raed667 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

we are not machines, if i'm paying more (or even less) than the person in front of me at the line: 1- I'll make a scene 2- I'll never come back 3- It is probably a discrimination lawsuit waiting to happen

I mean, this is what is happening with the dynamic tipping system and none of these things appear to be happening.

Because it is thinly veiled as a customer-choice.

Again, not saying the outcome is different, but socially it won't be accepted, as it removes that veil.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#114

Post by mortenjorck »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #33

Some (many?) countries have demonstrated that no-tipping can work just fine. > makes them less competitive to any nearby coffeeshops that haven't raised prices Maybe I'm an outlier but for me I'm sick of the mental game of "Am I good member of society for the % I selected, and how much will my date judge me if I choose what used to be the norm -- 10%-15%... and am I the sucker if I choose a high amount while other pe…

> Some of you may be too young to realize but there has been tip % inflation that is when combined with price inflation the tip amount has grown geometrically

This is the most annoying part of many point-of-sale systems at counter-service restaurants today. You tap your card/phone/watch, and are then presented with big buttons for say, 35%, 30%, and 28% (I'm exaggerating, but not by much). The "custom amount" button is somewhere different for each POS vendor (Square, Toast, etc.) so you have to search for a moment if you want to tip a more traditional amount (or an amount that you might consider more commensurate with having to dispense your own water and bus your own table, for that matter).

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#115

Post by maxwell_smart »

ghaff wrote: post #94
freedomben wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with your sentiment on tipping - I feel the same way. However I think the article did a pretty good job at answering your question of Why cant we just give employees dignity and a fair wage? . It's for economic reasons. To make it work you'd have to collude on pricing with all the other coffee shops (which I think would be illegal but IANAL), or you'd have to use government force to ban tipping (which would w…

>the status quo of expecting 20+% tip on an already expensive product is not good. Eliminate the expectation of a 20% tip and prices will basically go up 20% to cover an increase in base pay for the staff. So consumers probably won't actually save money if tipping were eliminated.

If you assume labor is 50% of the cost of a coffeeshop, and maybe only 30-40% of the cost when you factor out management, prices would have to go up only 6-7%.

And remember, you are assuming a zero-net-revenue change.

Maybe your former non-tipping customers would see that 6-7% increase and leave, but your former tipping customers (who may be price sensitive, but tipped because they believe in it) would see a decrease in pricing, from a 20% gratuity reduced to a 6-7% price overhead. And some of them would probably still tip anyway.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#116

Post by izzydata »

Der_Einzige wrote: post #63
lghh wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The post addresses why raising prices isn't a good option for most businesses. I find the argument convincing. Tipping culture _is_ you paying the higher price. > The only reason I continue to tip is the knowledge that my food will be spat in / worse if I don't. I know this is anecdotal, but I have worked in many places that serve food/drinks & take tips. I have never seen someone get their food spat in. The places w…

I'm talking about being spat in the NEXT time you go there. If you're known to not tip, you're at risk of this behavior. It's far worse with things like UberEATS. Your paying the driver to not eat your fries and sip your drink One time, my drink from UberEATS had a line of lipstick on the rim of the straw. I guess I should have tipped more.

Why would anyone subject themselves to such ridiculous behavior? If someone spat in my food or ate some of my food I would never use their service again.

Any business with any sense should immediately fire such employees or risk losing customers.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#117

Post by hailwren »

freedomben wrote: post #104
hailwren wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, this is what is happening with the dynamic tipping system and none of these things appear to be happening.

There's a critical difference between dynamic pricing and tipping: one is optional, the other is not. That makes a huge difference in the psychology.

Ok, you can replace dynamic pricing with dynamic tipping in my original comment if that makes it more comprehensible for you.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#118

Post by kdazzle »

soperj wrote: post #69
snowwrestler wrote: post #44

This is exactly how I think about tipping. I, and many friends and family, worked retail and food service jobs when we were young. Now I’m professionally successful and will not miss a couple extra bucks on a cup of coffee. So I’m happy to help boost the person serving it to me. I know it means way more to them than it does to me. This also explains why people (including me) get SO MAD if they find out that tips don’…

I used to work shipping & receiving, where I got minimum wage, and didn't get a tip for anything. That's why I'm happy to let people working retail & food service jobs just do the work for their wage. See how that works?

People working in restaurants in the US have a lower minimum wage than the rest of the country. So letting them do their work for like $3/hr doesnt really cut it

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#119

Post by lotsofpulp »

mihaic wrote: post #109

Being slightly more cynical now, I'm wondering if this push is merely the payment processor realizing they could increase their cut by shaming the customer into paying more. And I don't believe we can measure this purely financially, as simply not tipping in a coffeeshop with a tablet now comes with a bigger sentiment of shame, which is especially levied on the ones for which that extra 20% actually matters.

I always assumed that was it. The tip for paying at a counter started when clover and other touch tablet point of sale systems came around.

Some genius figured out that asking people to write down a tip on a receipt and signing it was too much friction and off putting, but on a touch screen, where a tap takes a fraction of a second and zero effort, at least some people would not mind hitting the tip button.

And it worked beautifully.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#120

Post by soco »

freedomben wrote: post #101
jankyxenon wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can you tell? Most wealthy people - in my experience - don't dress the part.

In my case I delivered pizzas, and a person's house is often (though importantly not always) an indicator. My experience was that wealth doesn't seem to matter much for tipping. When I first started I always hoped for the order to the big houses, but as I gained experience I realized it really doesn't matter. Some wealthy people gave generously, as did many poorer people. One of my favorite customers was an illegal i…

Because the poor know best the value of 5$? Even if often they wouldn't afford tipping. But the wealthy won't really know that, 5$ would be nothing for them so why bother tipping. Unless they actually care about the delivery guy, an attitude which is definitely not a given - some would also think that "poor deserve it for not working hard like us" so again why tipping a "slacker"...
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