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People no longer know how much to tip

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Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#91
post #7

Yesterday I had lunch at a Shake Shack. Humans don't take orders there any more; you place your order at a self-serve touchscreen kiosk. As I finished placing my order, I was prompted to leave a tip; 10% was the default and you had to press a button to change it. Who am I tipping, exactly? The kiosk? Myself? No one had even made eye contact with me up to this point. I have ordered fast food from a computer. When I ha…

I had the lady at PetChain ask me if I wanted to donate to starving dogs (as I hold a bag of food, to feed MY starving dog). I ignored her, anyway, then i go to pay and theres another question on some digital pad asking if I want to donate to X shelter. I just ignored it and played dumb. It was enjoyable to watch her say 'its asking you a questsion' and me just tapping my card repetitively like a boomer. I refuse to…

You sound delightful.

Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#92

It can sound controversial, but can we please stop with tipping altogether? Leaving aside for a second the fact that now tipping is basically asked everywhere (even at automated machines) - as an European I consider it an extremely stupid trend. If you're "forced" to tip, then it's not a tip anymore. The concept of tipping, at least in Switzerland, has always been to show gratitude for an *exceptional* service. I tot…

> It can sound controversial, but can we please stop with tipping altogether? Yes, I'm all for it. But it would easier to do during times in which service workers aren't just barely scrapping by, and had more negotiating power.

This is a big misconception - servers make way more with tips.

Here's a reddit thread [0] to give you some perspective. They're absolutely right, why would they take minimum wage when they can make 50-60/hr.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Serverlife/comments/14fl21y/servers...

Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#93
post #7

Yesterday I had lunch at a Shake Shack. Humans don't take orders there any more; you place your order at a self-serve touchscreen kiosk. As I finished placing my order, I was prompted to leave a tip; 10% was the default and you had to press a button to change it. Who am I tipping, exactly? The kiosk? Myself? No one had even made eye contact with me up to this point. I have ordered fast food from a computer. When I ha…

In theory tips are shared with back-of-the-house staff (which probably also depresses their salaries). So if you usually tip 10%, tipping 5% sounds fair!

(thankfully I'm in Europe and don't have to deal with this bullshit)

Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#94
post #7

Yesterday I had lunch at a Shake Shack. Humans don't take orders there any more; you place your order at a self-serve touchscreen kiosk. As I finished placing my order, I was prompted to leave a tip; 10% was the default and you had to press a button to change it. Who am I tipping, exactly? The kiosk? Myself? No one had even made eye contact with me up to this point. I have ordered fast food from a computer. When I ha…

> Who am I tipping, exactly? The staff who make pretty crap money to do a pretty thankless job who opened the restaurant, kept it clean + stocked, kept the bathrooms cleaned, make the order, serve the order, help you if something is wrong, help keep condiments/drink machines working, etc. I agree with this logic we should always tip everybody we interact with $1 and that isn't the standard. It's a weird thing. Tippin…

I don't agree with this way of looking at things. It isn't a thankless job; they're getting paid. It's a different argument if they're not getting paid enough, but it seems backwards to pass on the responsibility of properly compensating them to the customer.

The customer should pay for the product. The employees should be paid by the employer. This whole tipping nonsense has been exacerbated by the move to POS systems nationwide. Tipping should be seen as a reward for doing something excellent or extraordinary.

Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#95

It can sound controversial, but can we please stop with tipping altogether? Leaving aside for a second the fact that now tipping is basically asked everywhere (even at automated machines) - as an European I consider it an extremely stupid trend. If you're "forced" to tip, then it's not a tip anymore. The concept of tipping, at least in Switzerland, has always been to show gratitude for an *exceptional* service. I tot…

People are innumerate/irrational and cannot understand the difference (or lack thereof) in pricing at restaurants that do not accept tips. See [1].

I've become convinced that the only way tipping is going away in America is if it is made illegal.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqHKMovMWaQ&t=149s

Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#96

The right amount is 0%. Tipping is stupid, if you can’t afford to pay your staff, your trading insolvent.

It's not stupid for exceptional service. If someone made extra effort that impressed me, I'd gladly give them some extra money because that was worth something for me.

But, yes, the default/baseline expectation should be 0.00 on top of the sale price.

Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#97

It can sound controversial, but can we please stop with tipping altogether? Leaving aside for a second the fact that now tipping is basically asked everywhere (even at automated machines) - as an European I consider it an extremely stupid trend. If you're "forced" to tip, then it's not a tip anymore. The concept of tipping, at least in Switzerland, has always been to show gratitude for an *exceptional* service. I tot…

> It can sound controversial, but can we please stop with tipping altogether? What does the average tip-receiving worker who isn't a bartender/waiter/waitress look like wage wise? Probably $14/hr base salary, get a split $20 worth of tips a night Say you work 6 hours a night. $104 -> $84 is like getting a 20% paycut. Reworded: > It can sound controversial, but can we cut all barista pay/takeout food baggers pay/etc.…

Do we tip cashiers? Nope

Should their salary be paid with the revenue the shop is making? Yes

Why should that be different in bars and restaurants?

Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#98
post #89

My controversial opinion: Everybody should just start charging for tips. For years now, whenever I've pointed out that tipping makes no sense, people hit back with how that's just the way it is or point out how servers would make way less with it. Fine then, everybody should start charging a tip until it's normalized, until people start tipping at counter service, at self-checkouts and wherever else because the peopl…

If people expect an annual bonus from their employer, it is somewhat analogous to expecting a tip.

Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh most workers prefer tipping as they can usually make more with tipping then they can with an increased wage. The real problem is where tipping is now demanded when no customer service is given or before.

The real problem is that minimum wages are too low. If you make more in tips than with your wage - there is something conceptually wrong. I understand this is the norm in the States, but in Europe this is definitely not the case (as far as I know).

States like california have a comparable (if not higher) minimum wage and require the servers to be paid at least the minimum.

I guarantee you, if european servers had a chance, they too would try to charge tips as much as possible because they do make way more with it.

Re: People no longer know how much to tip

#100

It can sound controversial, but can we please stop with tipping altogether? Leaving aside for a second the fact that now tipping is basically asked everywhere (even at automated machines) - as an European I consider it an extremely stupid trend. If you're "forced" to tip, then it's not a tip anymore. The concept of tipping, at least in Switzerland, has always been to show gratitude for an *exceptional* service. I tot…

I'm for doing away with the practice. Not all states have a lower tipped wage. But we are still culturally expected to tip.
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