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Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

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Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#161

Post by UncleMeat »

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.

That's probably true. But so what? That just means that everybody pays the same amount rather than varying amount based on cultural norms around tipping. That's good! And it also means that bosses can't hide behind "oh, tips were just low this week" when their employees complain about pay.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#162

Post by hazmazlaz »

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…

We can, and should give employees dignity and a fair wage. We can each start right now by directly transferring a tiny portion of our wealth to the individuals that we interact with who could benefit from it (at least in this specific context, not exclusive of others who could also benefit).

I figure, I have it, they could use it, and I don't need to change everything about our economy and society to do it. I can just give someone some money. Simple and elegant.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#163

Post by UncleMeat »

xfitm3 wrote: post #110
2fast4you wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Tipping incentivizes good service. When I travel to countries without tips I always have to chase down someone for service..

I get a tip popup at the checkout register for my local frozen yogurt place, where the cashier just watches me put my yogurt on a scale and tells me how much it costs.

Many of the very best restaurants in the country have fixed gratuity and still have absolutely extraordinary service.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#164

Post by pb7 »

cammikebrown wrote: post #90
eatsyourtacos wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>but most people tip fine. We tip out of guilt. I literally freaking hate it, and I'm starting to tip less and less and prices go up. Why should I tip you to pour me a drink? You are literally just doing your job. I don't call up my customers for a tip when I release an update to their program. I don't send them invoices with a TIP line and show how much 15, 18, 20% of the invoice is so they can add on to it. Tipping…

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?

Funny because it used to be 15% and in a few years, someone else will probably be saying 25%.

Why are you complaining about inflation? Just pay 10% more, it's that simple!

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#165

Post by UncleMeat »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #62
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…

> Why cant we just give employees dignity and a fair wage? Apropos of nothing, I’ll just mention that the Fed is currently trying to decrease employment [1] and eliminate people’s savings [2]. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2022/08/27/fed-chair-... [2] https://twitter.com/schwarz/status/1587873284997218304

You are being downvoted because this is largely unrelated to the topic at hand.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#166

Post by KptMarchewa »

ulber wrote: post #131
lenzm wrote: post #41

> Deadweight loss happens when a person who is willing to pay more is charged less than the amount they're willing to pay. > Tom is willing to pay $6 for coffee and the shop only charges him $4, the deadweight loss is $2. That is a consumer surplus, not deadweight loss.

The argument the article makes is indeed a bit blunt. The idea here is that tipping enables better price discrimination, which in turn allows a higher "quantity" of coffee to be produced. With coffee shops that "quantity" will translate to things like 1) higher density or 2) more attractive placement of coffee shops, both of which increase coffee consumption by making it easier to pick one up, or 3) higher quality (t…

Places without enforced tipping culture still seem to have decent amount of coffee places.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#167

Post by dheera »

willnonya wrote: post #134
lbriner wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

The solution seems clear, stop tipping...

The problem is, it requires everyone to stop tipping simultaneously for the owners to start paying wait staff properly.

If only a small fraction of people stop tipping, they'll get shamed as assholes and nothing gets changed.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#169

Post by wdb »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #125
kdazzle wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

No, they do not. The employee is still owed the minimum wage, whether it be via tips or their employer if the tips do not add up to minimum wage. Also, quite a few jurisdictions do not have tipped minimum wages anymore. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped

I always thought tips was on top of minimum wage but sounds like it is more sponsoring/helping the employer to pay it's employees instead of an extra to the employee.

Re: Why Is Tipping Everywhere You Checkout?

#170

Post by sushid »

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’…

Not defending what DD was doing there but whether it directly goes to the driver/server/cashier or not, you're still implicitly giving that money to the store owner/delivery company/restaurant by allowing them to get away with poor pay.
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