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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

#381

Post by [deleted] »

pj_mukh wrote: post #245
ramphastidae wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like promoting a fairer society is a priority for you, given your focus on paying fair wages. That’s great! Please consider extending that desire to serving people who do not have credit cards or bank accounts (or crypto …) Plenty of them exist and like coffee too.

This seems like one more problem of policing individual behavior instead of solving the infrastructure problem, by say, having the Post Office run a free bank for the under-banked [1]. [1]: https://www.fastcompany.com/90683033/the-post-office-is-fina...

[deleted]

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

#382

Post by iancarroll »

sneak wrote: post #354
kenjackson wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Disposable gift cards are widely available in the US that will run as debit/credit without any need for identity verification. They are disposable, though, and as the other comment mentions aren't very economical (~1% outright in fees if you buy in $500 increments).

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

#383

Post by MichaelDickens »

tptacek wrote: post #67
adam_arthur wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, thus higher tippers subsidize lower tippers by reducing the list price of goods. If tipping didn’t exist and were instead embedded in wages, the employer would just raise the list prices commensurately. There’s a fair argument to be made that restaurant wages would decline in aggregate without tipping though. Certainly there would be both winners and losers

Which is generally what you want: for less price-sensitive customers to subsidize the more price-sensitive customers; see: any demand curve chart. Of course, raising prices is exactly what happens when you eliminate tipping. But prices are sticky; people react strongly to price increases. They can, to some extent, modulate their tipping behavior (from 25% down to 15%), but if all they can do is take or leave prices,…

Tip size probably correlates with price insensitivity, but since it's completely voluntary, it also correlates with prosociality: prosocial people are paying to subsidize antisocial people.

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

#384

Post by lotsofpulp »

tptacek wrote: post #296
alluro2 wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Friendliness or a general level of service is in a lot of industries considered a competitive factor that contributes to increased customer lifetime value through repeat sales, loyalty etc. Why should the restaurants be any different? If I like the food and the service, I'll want to come again - the restaurant increases their earnings that way and both I and the business are happy. The question then again comes down…

People keep asking "why should American restaurants be different?" The answer is simple: because they choose to set these terms. Restaurants are far from the most idiosyncratic businesses customers interact with. Buy a plane ticket sometime! Different businesses have different pricing structures.

They did not set the terms.

There is no clear disclosure that you will need to pay more than the listed prices to get your food as you should.

Also, if you go to a counter service business, and the point of sale system asks you to tip, again, the terms were not set prior to engaging in the transaction.

In another comment, you write:

> You're going to have bad relationships (and experiences) with American restaurants if you make a habit of undertipping.

I classify this as the restaurant (and waiter) violating the terms. You do not get to claim your prices are low and then spring and increase on people, even if it is a “cultural” norm.

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

#386

Post by jurassic »

I pride myself on being a big tipper in restaurants with table service, but when the point-of-sale prompts me for a 25% tip on a counter-service transaction before I have even been served I balk. Why should I pay so much extra for service when all they did was hand me my food/coffee/whatever? I recently got into a big argument with my wife over whether and how much we should have tipped a "valet" who didn't fetch the car and just handed me my keys.

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

#387

Post by tsmarsh »

ddyevf635372 wrote: post #306
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…

There isn't any tip in New Zealand and Australia. Everybody get proper salary. The service is always exceptional. How is that possible?

Look at the UK. Tipping has gotten weird in the last decade but the service culture is just missing. The service industry is what you do in high school or college because it’s the first cost that the food service industry wants to optimize. Consumers don’t expect or demand good service, so we don’t get it.

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

#388

Post by inetknght »

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…

> we don't accept cash either.

Not accepting tips is one thing. But not accepting cash means you will never have me as a customer.

Edit: I've already walked away from a dozen different food places in airports because of this kind of trash: please install this app, can't pay in cash, can't see a menu without scanning a QR code, use an iPad with shitty touchscreen that I can barely see or use...

I just wanted to order some food and pay with legal tender.

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

#389

Post by narcraft »

jryhdtjtdhy wrote: post #364
csomar wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if all these laid off engineers will end up opening small businesses and using their skill to cut one or two employees. Maybe we'll finally get a push toward real automation.

Because then those engineers will no longer be out of a job, but some other people with a smaller skillset will be! And all will be good, because we finally had a push towards real automation!

This, but unironically

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

#390

Post by inetknght »

bmitc wrote: post #339
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

That is a pretty fringe worry of tracking that places a major burden on the business. While I am no fan of the amount of tracking going on, I'd say this is pretty far down the list. You're still tracked when you pull out cash. Credit cards have quite a bit of protection on them.

> Credit cards have quite a bit of protection on them.

"Quite a bit" is not the same as "to my satisfaction when traveling"

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