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Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

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Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#141

Post by radicaldreamer »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #59
pwdisswordfish9 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they're not being reported as income and taxed.That might not be the "law", but that's pretty much de-facto what happens everywhere In other words, it punishes the most virtuous; those higher on the spectrum unscrupulousness benefit the most. Not a good arrangement.

For tipped employees, most of whom are getting all their federal and state taxes back at refund time, giving them the money directly does nothing other than increase efficiency of the overall system because you cut a party out of it.

It also doesn't create a cash flow problem, which lower income people are more susceptible to. Even if you claim that most of these employees would get this money back in a tax refund, that doesn't help if they have bills to pay month-to-month.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#142

Post by lotsofpulp »

lghh wrote: post #21
sergiotapia wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's a US thing. I came from Bolivia and never once tipped anywhere outside of restaurants. No, I won't tip you for packaging 4 cookies in a box at Crumbl Cookies lol.

Not just packaging, it also tips the baker.

How is a customer supposed to know that?

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#143

Post by 1-more »

lbriner wrote: post #54
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…

It seems different in the US, where everyone is expected to tip as part of the overall price, like the article describes, and there is tipping Europe where the tip is not needed to boost the wage to an acceptable level but is simply to reward people who have gone above and beyond. In many restaurants in the UK, a "tip" is automatically included for large parties to reward the extra work required but can be removed on…

> In many restaurants in the UK, a "tip" is automatically included for large parties to reward the extra work required but can be removed on request if they didn't think your service was good.

This is often the case in the US where it's default 18-20% for parties of more than 6-8 in my extremely unscientific recall. What's funny is that now 20% is already the default so they just made it a bit easier on the diner is all.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#144

Post by cammikebrown »

rebelos wrote: post #132
cammikebrown wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You literally don’t have to think about it. Just tip 20% every time you’re at a bar or restaurant. That’s it. It’s a way for us to make better money. If that 20% was included and hidden I know you wouldn’t care as much, but it makes it tougher for us to get legally paid as much. Did you even read the article?

Did you read his comment? His point is that this hidden costs system is grotesque. In fact, it is such a predatory tactic that it's either implicitly or explicitly outlawed in most parts of the developed world. It is also a convenient way to exploit many laborers beholden to tips, since a substantial part of their compensation is non-deterministic.

I would be fine with getting rid of tips if we could get our labor laws up to the standards of the rest of the world, but until then we’re going to have tips.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#145

Post by pwdisswordfish9 »

zeroonetwothree wrote: post #22
pwdisswordfish9 wrote: post #6

> If a coffeeshop wants to pay their employees more they will have to raise prices This does not follow purely from the facts presented. Consider: "If a coffee shop wanted to pay their employees more, the coffee shop itself might take a smaller cut and keep prices the same."

In practice coffee shops have tiny margins so they can’t afford to do that.

I'll reiterate: the resolution is an answer to a question of whether it is true that "if a coffeeshop wants to pay their employees more they will have to raise prices".

If you have a defense (or a response where the phrase "in practice" appears anywhere, really), then that's a separate matter, but it does not follow strictly from the matters presented that the coffee shop "will have to raise prices" in order to pay their employees more. That's, in fact, a stronger claim than the factorable defense that the author (and others who make the same argument) is depending on.

In other words, both "have to" and "can't" are doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#146

Post by lotsofpulp »

no_wizard wrote: post #137
FalconSensei wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> employee that's willing to show up to work and service you So you tip the cashier at the supermarket? They bag your groceries for you

I've noticed quite recently in the last 4-5 years that this isn't true anymore. More and more grocery stores I shop at expect you to bag your own groceries. Its been a wild shift in labor there to me. When I was growing up I worked at a big box retail grocery and I don't remember ever having customers bag their own items unless it was self checkout (which was barely a thing and truly seemed relegated to simple checko…

I would expect more of that as the population pyramid skews older and older and supply of lower price labor decreases.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#147

Post by rhino369 »

joenot443 wrote: post #48
kshacker wrote: post #2

But the cost of carrying deadweight by shaming is not going to work forever. I have been shaming myself and clicking lowest % shown in the screen but this past weekend I finally said no and clicked on 0%. Was not a restaurant just to pick up something pre ordered forget where.

Of the dozens and dozens of times I've smiled and happily tapped 0% or No Tip, I've never had the cashier say a thing. I did four years of minimum wage work at McDonalds. The only time I can remember getting tipped was when I jumped out the window after a $50 the guy had dropped. He let me keep the $10 change. If people running a drive-thru for 12h without a break don't deserve tips, I don't see why the people pourin…

>If people running a drive-thru for 12h without a break don't deserve tips, I don't see why the people pouring coffee in a trendy cafe like the author describes would.

Exactly why I don't tip at coffee shops or to-go places. For waiters and delivery guys, that's part of the deal. But I guiltlessly hit 0 everywhere else.

I'm only not even sure who gets the tips at some places. Like I go pick up a to-go order and I tip 10 bucks. Who is getting it? The person who packed it up? The person who handed it to me? The boss? I have no clue.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#148

Post by cammikebrown »

SeanLuke wrote: post #85
cammikebrown wrote: post #5

As a bartender, I know that I will make more money from tips than any business owner would ever pay me, even if prices were raised 20+% and tipping was removed. I’d rather risk a slow shift with less tips than work a job with a slightly higher hourly rate and no tips. I know there is a lot of bitching online about tips, and I agree that since COVID I’ve seen some absurd situations with asking for tips when the custom…

How do you know this? In other countries the front of the house staff do just fine without tipping. And how much of your tip goes to the food preparation staff? You're supposed to be sharing your tips with them: how much do you tip them? Tipping needs to be burned with fire. Tipping and its history is dripping in classism, racisim, corruption, and the perpetuation of poverty. It grotesquely unevenly distributes wealt…

I live in the Pacific Northwest so we do in fact tip out the kitchen quite a bit. In other countries, there are guaranteed rights that we don’t have in the US and especially not in the service industry.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#149

Post by ozzythecat »

> The cost of eliminating some deadweight loss is making some people feel awkward or shame when they get to the tip screen.

90% of the places I’ve recently visited displayed a tip screen, and I’ve tipped maybe 5% or even 0%.

I’m alright with tipping properly if I sit down at your restaurant and you serve me food, with reasonable service.

I will not tip you 25-20%, if I drive in and picked up my food myself, and all you did was hand me the food at the counter.

Unfortunately, nearly every restaurant and eatery has this expectation in my area. They give you no service other than literally just giving you the food, and then they want a tip. I should feel pressure or feel bad I’m not paying you extra? Nah.

If anything, I find this behavior appalling, and we avoid eating out. The food isn’t great for my blood pressure and diabetes anyway, and we’re better off saving or investing it for our grandchildren.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#150

Post by dangerface »

> If a coffeeshop wants to pay their employees more they will have to raise prices. This makes them less competitive to any nearby coffeeshops that haven't raised prices.

You what? I can buy coffee from McDonalds for a pound, or I can get the nicer stuff from a barista for £3 the coffee is the same brown warm stuff the environment and customer service is what makes it worth the extra money.

Coffee is a luxury good trying to be the cheapest coffee isn't a winning strategy. It's like trying to make the cheapest super car. It's a race to the bottom larger companies that have scale will destroy you.

Managers do this all the time hire a bunch of 16 year olds pay them next to nothing and wonder why they spend all their time on their phone rather than impressing the customers and winning recurring business.

BuT LoOk HoW MuCh MoNeY I SaVeD! :^)

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