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Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

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Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#161

Post by ot »

tptacek wrote: post #76
godelski wrote: post #30

One thing I've never understood is the argument for tipping. It has always been "because servers are being paid less than minimum wage." Which the issue with that is that that varies state by state. Most west coast states do not have a separate tipped wage[0]. So the question is, why do we tip at all on the west coast[1]? Worse, it seems to be expanding and increasing in size[2] The followup argument is often "well t…

Tipping is a system in which customers explicitly, optionally, and variably share some of the cost of labor. It has the features of allowing individual patrons to modulate the labor subsidy they provide, based on their current price sensitivity, the value they place on warm fuzzies (don't dismiss this!), the relationship they want to build with the business, and the service they perceive themselves to be getting. You…

Those same arguments apply to several other professions where it is not customary to tip. The reality is that tips are expected only for the lower social/economic classes, where it is acceptable that the price for labor is set based on the whims of the customer instead of being pre-agreed (which, personally, I find degrading).

Right-leaning people like it because it creates a power dynamic. Left-leaning people like it because they delude themselves that they're helping the working class. In both cases, it boils down to paternalism, and all other reasons are rationalization.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#162

Post by akomtu »

jacktribe wrote: post #99

I've just opened a coffee shop in Los Angeles last month, and we don't take tips. We only use self-ordering iPads (I've custom coded an iOS app w/ Stripe Terminal for it), and we don't accept cash either. We've had a few customers baffled by the no-tipping policy, and still insisting that they leave a tip. Some even left cash on the counter or on the table. We had to chase a few of them down to return their money. Al…

If you show the full price with taxes upfront, that's an astonishing level of integrity.

One idea is to print qr codes on coffee cups: customers can scan those and leave anonymous feedback later.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#163

Post by brightlancer »

pirate787 wrote: post #19
exabrial wrote: post #2

Yes. If you business wants to collect a "tip" up front, before services rendered, it's not a tip (Doordash, Instacart, etc). If 100% of the proceeds don't get straight to the employees, but some end up in the pocket of the business, it's not a tip. This last one is going to be to hear, but if you pay your employees below mimimum wage and allow for tips to make up the difference, well..... Always tip, in cash, direct…

I worry if I don't tip, they will vandalize my food. It's a hostage situation. I limit my use of the services because of it.

Because online for-hire car services allow drivers to rate customers, I tip so that I don't get blackballed.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#164

Post by detaro »

purpleblue wrote: post #130
detaro wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The US has tipping because for some reason, the law allows restaurants to pay below minimum wage Tipping predates minimum wage laws. (indeed the first laws to ban tipping in the US also predate minimum wage laws, but it clearly didn't stick)

I'm not talking about the history of tipping. I'm talking about why tipping exists right now in the US. It's a form of additional tax on consumers that the restaurants don't have to pay and exploits workers with the promise of tips. Restaurants going below minimum wage should be illegal and if they can't afford to do that, then I'm perfectly okay with them going bankrupt.

You made a claim about causality, I'm suggesting the causality is the other way around: these laws exist because the US has a culture of tipping. It seems unlikely that this existing culture of tipping would've stopped being a thing if these laws didn't exist, given the long confusing list of people you're apparently supposed to tip in the US.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#165

Post by cactusplant7374 »

avereveard wrote: post #141
cactusplant7374 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tip up front with Uber Eats and Rappi because it usually means I get my order faster. But I have reduced tipping recently because I can see other orders are taking priority over mine.

I absolutely do not use these services unless there's a substantial coupon involved, it's madness. You get a delivery surcharge, a service surcharge, and a 20% tip to top it all or risk the food be messed with. Last order was 25 eur food and 20 eur charges for two hamburger before I went in and reduced the tip %. If it weren't for the 15e coupon I'd never have completed such a predatory transaction.

A few years ago Uber and Uber Eats in Ecuador was awesome. I could order a meal for $5-$8. Sometimes two dishes. I could take a taxi around town for $3. The promotions were dropped and the price of food increased substantially.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#166

Post by joegahona »

zzzeek wrote: post #107
tmnvix wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a place without a tipping culture and significant income inequality. I really don't like the idea that service in a bar might be prioritised according to who gives the biggest tips. That seems like highlighting inequality to me. It would go down very badly here. A queue is a queue. Queues are fair.

ive never heard of servers or bartenders doing that. they are pretty good here about being fair to people.

Bartenders and other service-industry workers absolutely prioritize good tippers. I was a valet-parking attendant in my 20s, which allowed me to pay my way through college, and you’d better believe we gave better service to the regulars who threw us a $20 on the way in. If a large function breaks and two guests hand you their claim check, one with a $5 and one with nothing else, who do you think is getting their car first?

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#168

Post by zzzeek »

jjav wrote: post #156
zzzeek wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well the federal minimum wage hasn't been increased in ... 14 YEARS. So...maybe tip in the meantime? not to mention current legal frameworks allow workers who are tipped to be paid less than minimum wage. as well as some workers are undocumented and are victims of an obsolete immigration system that has not been fixed for decades due to political gridlock. so maybe just TIP, at the very least.

> So...maybe tip in the meantime? Do you tip every employee in every industry that might be making minimum wage?

no, I tip in establishments where the workers are service workers who explicitly asking for tips, as well as for specific transactions where tipping is customary hence expected.

note that restaurant workers in the US make less than minimum wage before tips in many cases.

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#169

Post by [deleted] »

syngrog66 wrote: post #65

Not exactly tipping but very similar: Panera became very annoying in recent years by hassling me every time I ordered at the cashier about whether I wanted to "round up" to ostensibly donate to some charity or other. Here's my take: I might already be doing charity work or donations elsewhere, and I'm at my limit. And I went to Panera for food and a place to sit a while. If Panera's ownership or rich executives want…

[deleted]

Re: Is tipping getting out of control? Many consumers say yes

#170

Post by Insanity »

JimtheCoder wrote: post #160
Insanity wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a European living in Canada, the tipping culture took some time to get used to. It's such a stupid/bad system.

Am Canadian, can confirm... I do wish there was a way to tip the drivers who deliver my Amazon Prime stuff, though. I don't want to tip someone who presses a few buttons on a screen to take my food order, that they usually mess up and sometimes add on a free side of bad attitude. I would like an easy way to tip the guy who is trudging through the snow to deliver my 2KG jar of peanut butter at 9:30pm in January. I lik…

Found this after a quick google but can't vouch for it: https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/shopping/you-can-...

EDIT: seems like a limited program. But a more permanent one would be good

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