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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

#351

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

eslaught wrote: post #323

I recently saw a "3% cost of living" charge at a restaurant (in California). This same restaurant provided suggested tips of 18, 20, and (I think) 25%. At a certain level I think this is just dishonesty. They want to raise prices, but they know some people will stop coming, so they try to hide it in extra fees instead. I don't mind tipping per se, but the hidden fees and tip inflation make me think that if this keeps…

It's an extra fee, sure, but the salient quality is that it's an optional fee, which a price increase is not.

I'm not condoning it, just clarifying what strikes me as the central point.

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

#352

Post by kingkawn »

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…

Just let people tip if they want instead of making a moral high ground out of it

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

#353

Post by bcrosby95 »

tptacek wrote: post #17
plantwallshoe wrote: post #8

I’ve implemented a personal policy to make it easier for myself and reduce bias: Full waiter experience (seated, handed menu, food brought to table, plate cleared) gets 20%. If the level of service is less than that, the percentage starts to go down proportionally. Counter service is flat-rate $1 per person served. This is the same every time regardless of quality of service (unless something truly malicious happens,…

If the level of service declines below "full waiter experience", likely so too do the prices.

Pretty much every place I've eaten at will do takeout. Back when I lived in SF, I ordered a $60 takeout steak dinner once or twice.

I usually still tip for these because it's tying up the kitchen for the in-restaurant diners which might slow down the service for the staff. But not the full 20%.

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

#354

Post by sneak »

kenjackson wrote: post #302
barbariangrunge wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish you would take cash. Every other method of payment gets tracked and is used to profile people

You can buy a gift credit/debit card with cash and use that. Those normally work.

Those are tracked, too, and can't be obtained without strong identity.

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

#355

Post by lotsofpulp »

hedora wrote: post #267
ntr-- wrote: post #83

> Tipping is about making sure the people who are performing that service for you are getting paid what they’re owed Here in AU we call that "wages". Having to do quick maths while under social pressure and the threat of having your service quality degraded to make up for an employer or state being unwilling to pay workers enough to live might be called "coercion", but certainly it is externalising costs onto the cus…

The US faced a dilemma: Post civil war, many people didn't want to pay freed slaves for their labor. A combination of tipping and converting jobs that were typically held by blacks to unpaid positions provided a solution. It became popular despite attempts to ban the practice. Today, tipped workers in the US are paid, but have a lower minimum wage than normal workers. Source: https://time.com/5404475/history-tipping-…

> Today, tipped workers in the US are paid, but have a lower minimum wage than normal workers.

No, they have the same minimum wage as all workers. The employer is liable to pay the employee if tips + earnings from tipped min wage are less than earnings from non tipped minimum wage.

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

#356

Post by silisili »

crossroadsguy wrote: post #307

I’ll pick some examples from the article. > Schenker says it’s hard to sympathize with consumers who are able to afford pricey coffee drinks but complain about tipping. How will it reflect upon tipper if they in turn judge Mr Schenker for being in this position in the first place? > Tipping is about making sure the people who are performing that service for you are getting paid what they’re owed This just sounds igno…

Completely agreed. Tipping by definition is paying for good service - what you feel they've earned. Not what they're 'owed.'

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

#357

Post by sneak »

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…

Unbanked people don't have bank cards.

New York City has a law preventing businesses from refusing cash because only accepting cards is discriminatory.

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

#358

Post by lotsofpulp »

blacksmith_tb wrote: post #324
hgsgm wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you tip the cook when the cook does a really good job?

At least in the cafes I worked in as an undergrad we split tips between the waitstaff and kitchen, which of course also sort of shifts around the "rewarding good service" aspect, but I think then you feel like you're letting down your coworkers if you piss off customers enough for them to tip badly.

How do you determine which labor there is a point to leaving a tip for and which labor there is not a point to leave a tip for?

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

#359

Post by rhplus »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #351
eslaught wrote: post #323

I recently saw a "3% cost of living" charge at a restaurant (in California). This same restaurant provided suggested tips of 18, 20, and (I think) 25%. At a certain level I think this is just dishonesty. They want to raise prices, but they know some people will stop coming, so they try to hide it in extra fees instead. I don't mind tipping per se, but the hidden fees and tip inflation make me think that if this keeps…

It's an extra fee, sure, but the salient quality is that it's an optional fee, which a price increase is not. I'm not condoning it, just clarifying what strikes me as the central point.

OP states that it was a non-optional fee, a hidden surcharge.
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